The McDonald's Employee Singing Competition You Never Knew Existed

Imagine walking into your local McDonald's and heading up to the counter. You place your usual order and, right before you take out your wallet, the girl behind the counter suddenly sings your order back to you. Then, the fry-cook behind her starts to sing your order back to her. The guy mopping the bathroom floors suddenly joins in with a high falsetto, while the employee working the drive-thru launches into a soulful baritone. And as the whole restaurant joins in an impromptu chorus, you realize that you still haven't gotten your order.

The idea of a bunch of McDonald's employees singing together in the style of some Golden Arch barbershop quartet sounds like an awkward set-up to a joke, but there is some truth to the idea. According to QSR Magazine, McDonald's actually held its third global singing contest for its employees back in 2010. From the United States to the United Kingdom to the Philippines, everyone from fry cooks to cashiers could go on stage before a bevy of judges and perform a song of their choice.  A team from the United States, for example, performed a "breakfast rap" for the contest in 2011 (via YouTube).

The Voice of McDonald's seems to be a company secret

As Restaurant News explains, the Voice of McDonald's contest is open to every McDonald's employee worldwide, all with the purpose of helping one employee find fame and fortune by showing off their incredible voice. Overseen by judges composed of famous singer-songwriters and talent managers, the lucky employee will not only win a handsome cash prize of $25,000 dollars but do voice work in a DreamWorks animated film and work with a music industry executive. All finalists will also win $500 dollars to use for a party with their co-workers and a $1,000 donation to a Ronald McDonald House or a children's charity of their choice. The Voice of McDonald's winners have included an employee from the Philippines named Chenee Capuyan in 2010 (via YouTube) and an Australian employee named Chrislyn Hamilton in 2012 (via Globe Newswire).

Strangely, the "Voice of McDonald's" seems to be something obscure for such a massive company. While it's unclear if the restaurant chain plans to have more singing contests in the future, employees must follow some McDonald's workers follow pretty weird rules even when doing their day jobs.