The Background of Karaoke's Popularity

Although no one can quite agree when and where it began, karaoke has been around at least since the early 1980’s. It is far from only being a brilliant and innovative idea which suddenly came to someone’s mind. Its invention and popularity in Japan is deeply embedded in its national culture.

Music has always been a form of entertainment in Japan during meals and cocktail hour. The Japanese have always liked parties. From ancient times, a party became enlivened when someone started singing and the others kept time with hand-clapping, making the atmosphere more cheerful. It has never mattered whether the person sings well or not. Even if he sings out of tune, it can spark laughter and make the party more lively. In Japan, courtesy is very highly regarded. The Japanese are generous when they listen to other people sing, and can easily sing in front of others without feeling uncomfortable. This seems to be one of the reasons that karaoke has been largely accepted in Japanese society.

Karaoke was born in a night amusement quarter at the end of the high economic growth period. Before then, customers used to listen to popular songs via wire broadcasting, request favourite songs by telephone, and the wire broadcasting company put the songs on the air. Such a system continued for quite a while. However, it might have felt unnatural for many Japanese who liked to sing, to only listen to others sing. When karaoke appeared on the scene, holding a microphone and singing a song to the accompaniment of an “orchestra” made people feel like professional singers. Karaoke had thus stimulated their desire to sing.

Group value is the most important attribute of Japanese culture. The group mentality has a deep root in the typical oriental ideologies, shaped primarily by Confucianism and Taoism. Japanese leading philosophy Shintoism is actually the extension of Taoism. The emphasis on the seeking of harmony is the primary consideration to all these philosophies. It suggests that the morality of each human is only embodied in relation to the rest of human society. Social relations are an integrated part of people’s lives. The objective of entertainment is not primarily to entertain oneself, instead, it is a way to indulge oneself in the group and interact with each other. Given this background, it is reasonable to say that Karaoke is not only preferred for leisure and enjoyment, but also, it has significant social function. No one goes to Karaoke individually, and it is taken for granted that you should always be with your friends, business colleagues or even family members.

Modern Japan is a corporate society, i.e. the whole society is dedicated solely to corporation. The individual is identified with the corporation. Excessively long working hours is the norm for a corporate person. People’s lives centre around the corporation, functioning as part of production machines. The value of harmony and group thinking restrains people from expressing their wishes and opinions. Obeying the order and diligently playing the assigned role is the principle of living. Suppression of individualism is another reason for the boom of Karaoke in Japan. This is because Karaoke provides one of the few chances for an individual to show himself or herself in front of others with his or her own voice, without being branded arrogant or self-centred. Only in their art, is it acceptable to seek attention in expression. Karaoke fulfils the latent desire or urge to gain credit as an individual without jeopardizing the need to be accepted by the whole group, and for corporate soldiers living in a stressful society, there is no other entertainment that can make them feel so refreshed. That is why Japanese businessmen are especially fond of the hobby. It is the Japanese man’s equivalent of knocking back a few beers after work at a sports bar.

Karaoke is used extensively with Japanese businesses and is as important as Team Building courses are to them. With proper encouragement, people can learn to have confidence when in front of a crowd. Some companies make it mandatory to participate in karaoke where employees of a company, including the boss and managers, are all gathered to see each other perform. It is a great way to impress the boss and the boss will take a mental note of the employee who participates, who has good stage presence and enthusiasm. But, it is also a great way to have fun with fellow employees and to see that the boss or manager is a “real” person too.

Now, the karaoke boom has spread abroad, enjoyed not only in Korea and China but also in Southeast Asia, the U.S. and Europe. Since karaoke displays the words and scenes of a song on a monitor, it has also been attracting the attention of countries trying to improve their literacy rate, as a good educational tool.

In America, karaoke is often synonymous with drunkenness although it has found residence in places beyond bars and nightclubs. Singing to popular songs is something that Americans have really grabbed onto, even creating karaoke bars and home machines. In the past few years it is being used more at shopping malls, churches, family gatherings, retirement communities, nursing homes, day cares and schools. Many music therapists use it with senior citizens and children with special needs because they can use songs that are familiar to the client. It is a great way to keep older minds active, and karaoke does that by playing music the older person recognizes while the words are scrolling across the TV screen. Young children can now see the words of favourite nursery rhymes that they know.

Music stores often have a section of karaoke music, which can include many different genres, from country to heavy metal. As the available selection of music has increased, more and more people within the industry see it as a very profitable form of lounge and nightclub entertainment. A complete industry has sprung up supporting karaoke with technical products used to enhance performance. Home units, complete software libraries, custom microphones, and custom cases to carry them are all available to the individual karaoke singer. Complete sound systems for advanced engineers and companies are now easily found. Recording studios have opened their doors to record karaoke singers. Websites and fan clubs worldwide have linked up to keep the new age of karaoke groupies together. Karaoke contests are everywhere. And, you can now download a karaoke jukebox and practice at your computer!