Karaoke is a Japanese abbreviated compound word: "kara" comes from "karappo" meaning empty, and "oke" is the abbreviation of "okesutura," or orchestra.
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 should not matter whether the person sings well or not. Even singing out of tune can spark friendly laughter and make a party more lively. The Japanese people are generous when they listen to other people sing, and can easily sing in front of others without feeling reluctance.
Holding a microphone and singing a song to the accompaniment of karaoke can make you (or someone) feel like a professional singer. If other customers clap or cheer, you (or they) feel even happier. For most people living in a stressful society, there is no other entertainment that can make them feel so special and refreshed.
Karaoke is a typical form of entertainment for business people internationally; they may drop into a bar with colleagues after work, have a drink, and enjoy listening to or singing popular songs. Karaoke has been entertaining people for decades and become firmly established in an intensely active society, going far beyond just a temporary boom.
Karaoke also plays a role as a place for family communications through singing. This is important at a time when generation gaps and family breakups are a nationwide concern. Since karaoke displays the words (and sometimes scenes) of a song on a monitor, it has been attracting the attention of countries trying to improve their literacy rate, as a good educational tool. |
