How to take song requests at a school dance or prom
The Special Request team2 min read
You know the scene: the gym lights are down, the music is going, and half the students are lined up against the wall, staring at their phones. School dances are won or lost in the first twenty minutes.
Requests are your best way in. Students who hear their song feel like the night belongs to them, and the phone that kept them on the wall becomes the way they talk to you. Here's how to do it without any surprises for the school.
Agree on the rules with the school
Before the night, sit down with the teacher or the student council in charge, and settle three things:
- Clean versions only. At a school, this isn't up for debate.
- What's off-limits: songs tied to a trend the school wants to steer clear of, or anything the staff flags.
- The key moments: the grand entrance, announcements, awards, the last slow dance.
In Special Request
In Special Request, keep explicit songs out with one switch. With Premium, go further and limit requests to a playlist the school approved: students can only request what's on it.Use the phones instead of fighting them
Students will have their phones out anyway, so give them something to do with them: a QR code on the wall by the entrance, on the stage, or on the screen behind you.
If the school agrees, open requests a few days before the dance. Students love suggesting songs ahead, and you'll know what the crowd wants before you even plug in.
In Special Request
Every event has its own QR code and a printable poster. Students request from their browser, with no app and no account. Add a 4-digit access code so only students at the dance can send requests, and turn on Open requests to take them days before. Create an eventLet the votes do the arguing
Teenagers will request the same three songs forty times. Instead of reading every request, look at the votes: they tell you exactly which songs the room is waiting for, and they settle the debates between friend groups for you. When a request has to go, here's how to politely say no to a song request.
In Special Request
Guests vote for the requests they want, and you can sort the list by votes to see the favorites at a glance.Leave tips out
Students shouldn't pay to hear their song. Keep tips off at school events: the school is your client, and every student gets the same chance to be heard.
In Special Request
Tips are set event by event: just leave them off for the dance.Pause requests for the big moments
Announcements, awards, the grand entrance at prom: nobody should be sending requests while the principal is at the mic. Pause requests for those few minutes, and reopen them when the music comes back.
In Special Request
Pause requests with one tap, and reopen them just as fast.End with the song they'll remember
Save the most voted song for late in the night, and finish with the slow dance everyone was waiting for. Ten years from now, that's the moment they'll bring up at the reunion.
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