Sing Karaoke - Karaoke Origins - The Great Social Equaliser

Karaoke is, without doubt, the definitive social equaliser. Regardless of your walk of life, no one is immune to the fear and nervousness of stepping up to a microphone to sing in front of a captive audience. Whether performing for friends, family, work colleagues or complete strangers, the fear of making a complete "ass" of yourself can haunt us all.

Karaoke is often considered as the ultimate DIY (Do-It-Yourself) experience, but don't despair, it needn't be the usual inevitable DIY disaster. By understanding the origins of Karaoke and by simply following a few basic Do's and Don'ts, as well as putting in a bit of private practice, you should be able to easily and quickly master the Art of Karaoke.

The Origins of Karaoke

The Narrow View: The general held view is that Karaoke (literally translated as "Empty Orchestra") originated in Kobe, Japan in the early 70s and the phenomenon quickly became institutionalised in its country of origin and other East and South East Asian countries. While met with slowly growing acceptance in Western countries (especially after a drink or two!), wider scale / mainstream popular recognition has only really been achieved in the last 6 or so years as a result of the success of the UK "wannabe a star" TV talent program Pop Idol and its associated spin-offs in over 30 other countries.

The Wider View: Perhaps a more considered view is that Karaoke, in a Western cultural context at least, should really be regarded as just a further step in the evolution of the notion of public singing. This phenomenon has been steadily growing in popularity for centuries in Western realms. The roots of this type of singing can be traced back to the general process of industrialisation, with the emergence of the working classes as a political force in society and their desire to be identified by common interests. In the UK, you only have to look at the popularity over the last 100 years or so of singing in pubs, music halls and working men's clubs to appreciate the connection.

Today in a more socially equal, cosmopolitan and mobile society, the advent of the Karaoke Machine by Daisuke Inoue in the 70s can simply be viewed as just the application of technology to an already firmly established Western Cultural past time.

So go on, why not enjoy Karaoke. We've been doing it for generations!