The karaoke mania is taking the world by storm! Have you gone on stage yet to sing your favorite song to the ones you know and love? If not, you’ll soon find yourself at the singing end of your nearest karaoke system! So what is this karaoke, anyway? What’s the buzz about the newest karaoke player? What do you need to know to be “aware” of this latest trend? Here are some facts, figures, karaoke lingo, and trivia you might want to know.

Karaoke is a Japanese word, made up of abbreviations of two other Japanese words. “Kara” comes from the word “karappo”, which means void. “Oke” comes from the word “okesutura”, which means orchestra. So “Karaoke” literally means empty orchestra. Karaoke players play the music of the songs, without the lead vocal. So the empty orchestra means you get the music without the vocals.

The first karaoke system was invented in the 1970s in Kobe, Japan, by Daisuk Inoue, a musician. He rented his karaoke player for 100 yen, and karaoke soon became fun.

Unfortunately, he did not obtain a patent for his invention, and someone else went on to patent it under a different name, “Minus-One.” As you can see, their Minus-One system was not as popular as the catchy “Karaoke”, which is why Daisuk still achieved his fame. Word of Daisuk’s new machine spread, and from Japan it has now become wildly popular throughout Asia, Europe and the United States.

Karaoke players are perhaps the most popular in Finland. Finland holds several world records for karaoke. They have more karaoke bars per capita than anywhere else in the world. They hold the world record for the most people singing the same karaoke song at the same time – 80,000 people! What song were they singing? Hard Rock Hallelujah! Finland also holds the world record for the longest round of non-stop karaoke singing – 240 hours!

Imagine that! Now you can use your karaoke system to create new world records!

Karaoke Lingo:

What’s a new fad without its own specialized vocabulary to go with it? Here are some karaoke words you should know:

Karaoke Player – This is the karaoke machine itself. Play karaoke songs or music without words. The lyrics are displayed on a monitor so that people can sing the song even if they don’t know the lyrics.

Spinning Karaoke – This is riding a bike on stationary bikes while singing karaoke. What exercise!

KJ: this is the Karaoke DJ. He runs the karaoke system and gets everyone involved. Adjust the karaoke player to alter the key or pitch to better match the singer’s voice range and add some echo, to make everyone sound more professional.

Kamikaze Karaoke: In Kamikaze Karaoke, the KJ will choose a key number for you, and you should try to sing the song in that key.

Hitokara: means that you should sing the song alone.

Karamovie – movie clips where voices are left out

Karaoke Health Benefits:

And here’s great news: singing karaoke releases endorphins! Those are the “happy hormones” that make us feel good!

In addition, singing karaoke releases stress and tension and helps exercise the lungs. So next time you want to go to your local karaoke bar, you can feel good!

New types of karaoke player:

Now you can get karaoke iPods, karaoke cell phones, and DVD player / karaoke system combinations. China has a Karaoke car. Japan, and now it is spreading to other countries, has Karaoke Boxes: karaoke system / soundproof rooms.

Latest karaoke news:

Jackie Chan will sing the opening song of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics – KARAOKE STYLE!

Go figure. Maybe there is something to this karaoke after all. You should try it!