The concept of what became Karaoke actually began in the United States. Two American Companies were the first to provide sing along tapes and equipment which originally was for singers at nightclubs. Japanese electronics companies saw the machines at different CES shows in the 1970’s, called it “karaoke” and spread the concept throughout the world. It was an instant hit in Japan and when it moved throughout Asia, it stayed very popular.
In the 1990’s, when the idea bounced back to the United States, it was met with some popularity, but more resistance. To some extent, the idea caught on enough that there are often karaoke nights in bars and nightclubs and some establishments are dedicated entirely to the venue. Karaoke machines caught on more than the actual practice of karaoke in the States, however. Karaoke machines were made a part of home theatre systems just before the home theater boom that hit the nation. As an addition to home theater systems, they did quite well.
Meanwhile, back in other parts of the world, karaoke maintained its popularity to a large degree. Several concepts springing from karaoke caught on in the U.S. One of those concepts was “Kamikaze Karaoke”, otherwise known as “Karaoke Roulette.” This is done with a machine that is pre-programmed and numbers are typed into the machine, setting in motion the tune to a song which the participants try to sing. Most machines are pre-set so that only a certain genre is played, so the participants are more apt to know the songs.
Karaoke machines of today have the capability of changing the pitch of the music so the participant can sing along to music by choosing a key that is appropriate to their vocal range. It keeps the original tempo of the song in-tact and only changes the pitch. With technology comes progress and it is so with karaoke machines which now can connect via fiber optic links that provide high quality music. The same quality music that is used by MTV is utilized with these karaoke machines.
Karaoke has moved beyond the nightclub scene and into video games! The first, Karaoke Studio was released by Nintendo in 1985. It was not a huge success because of the limitations such as a short catalog of songs. In 2003, Karaoke Revolution by Harmonix was created for PS2. This game was popular enough to inspire several others in the Karaoke line.
Still widely popular in East and Southeast Asia, there are many VCD players there that have built in karaoke functions. Even the elderly in Hong Kong enjoy karaoke by singing Cantonese Opera. In the United States, however, the popularity seems to be hit and miss. People either love it or they hate it and it seems that ne’er the twain shall meet! Karaoke, in many ways however, inspired shows such as American Idol which have gained huge success. Again, with American Idol, some love it, some hate it.
