Karaoke
In Chinese-speaking countries and regions such as mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, a karaoke box is called a KTV.
[2] Karaoke's global popularity has been fueled by technological advancements, making it a staple of social gatherings and entertainment venues all over the world.
Over time, karaoke has evolved with digital music, video games, smartphone apps, and online platforms, allowing users to sing anytime and anywhere.
Beyond leisure, karaoke is used for professional training in music and public speaking, highlighting its broad appeal and impact on popular culture.
Even before the invention of the first machines, the word "karaoke" had long been used in Japan's entertainment industry to refer to the use of instrumental recordings as backing tracks in situations when a live band could not be arranged for a singer.
[4] Japanese engineer Shigeichi Negishi, who ran a consumer electronics assembly business, made the first prototype in 1967;[5][6][7] He subsequently began mass producing coin-operated versions under the brand name "Sparko Box", making it the first commercially available karaoke machine.
For these reasons, he is often considered to be the inventor of the modern business model for karaoke, even though he was not the first to create a machine and, like Negishi or Yamashita, did not file a patent.
[14] Music has long been part of Japan's nightlife, and particularly so in the postwar era, when a variety of establishments such as cabarets and hostess clubs emerged to serve the needs of salarymen unwinding and entertaining clients.
[15] Inoue, a bandleader, drummer, and Electone keyboardist, specialized in leading sing-alongs at nightclubs in Sannomiya, the entertainment district of the city of Kobe.
In 2004, Daisuke Inoue was awarded the tongue-in-cheek Ig Nobel Peace Prize for inventing karaoke, "thereby providing an entirely new way for people to learn to tolerate each other.
It is not uncommon for some bars to have karaoke performances seven nights a week, [25] commonly with high-end sound equipment superior to the small, stand-alone consumer versions.
Most common machines are CD+G, Laser Disc, VCD or DVD players with microphone inputs and an audio mixer built in, though VHS VCRs are sometimes used.
Most karaoke machines have technology[27] that electronically changes the pitch of the music so that amateur singers can choose a key that is appropriate for their vocal range, while maintaining the original tempo of the song.
[28] Many low-end entertainment systems have a karaoke mode that attempts to remove the vocal track from regular audio CDs, using an Out Of Phase Stereo (OOPS) technique.
The earliest karaoke-based music video game, called Karaoke Studio, was released for the Nintendo Famicom in 1985, but its limited computing ability made for a short catalog of songs and therefore reduced replay value.
[citation needed] Karaoke Revolution, created for the PlayStation 2 by Harmonix and released by Konami in North America in 2003, is a console game in which a single player sings along with on-screen guidance and receives a score based on pitch, timing, and rhythm.
[citation needed] A similar series, SingStar, published by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, is particularly popular in the European and Australasian markets.
Instead of having to carry around hundreds of CD-Gs or LaserDiscs, karaoke jockeys can rip their entire libraries onto their hard drives and play the songs and lyrics from the computer.
The music system also uses a hand-held Wii style point and click controller with built-in microphone allowing users to select and sing along to thousands of songs from its catalogue.
Commercial players have come down in price, though, and some unexpected devices (including the Sega Saturn video game console and XBMC Media Center on the first Xbox) can decode the graphics; in fact, karaoke machines, including video and sometimes recording capability, are often popular electronics items for sale in toy stores and electronics stores.
Additionally, there is software for Windows, Pocket PC, Linux, and Macintosh PCs that can decode and display karaoke song tracks, though usually these must be ripped from the CD first, and possibly compressed.
[52] After the COVID-19 outbreak, karaoke bars in Japan reopened with rules such as mask wearing, mic covers, and singer must face same direction as onlookers.
The prevalence of B-side backing tracks was further commercialised as cassette tape compilations, a format that was exploited by a "Karaoke Sing-Along System" appliance patented by the Filipino businessman Roberto del Rosario — which drew controversy.
In later years, audio karaoke was digitally replaced by "videoke", replete with running lyrics and pitch adjustment[58] that became a popular domestic recreational pastime among Filipinos, locally that spread overseas.
[62] Often the last stop after a night of alcohol-lined entertainment for youths and businesspeople alike,[63][64] noraebangs are also a favorite family pastime, and many are surprisingly dry venues.
Such establishments commonly invest more in both equipment and song discs, and are often extremely popular, with an hour or more wait between a singer's opportunities to take the stage (called the rotation).
Hemmings, of Adelaide, South Australia, offered systems manufactured by Pioneer which used 12in (30 cm) double-sided laser discs containing a maximum of 24 songs with accompanying video track and subtitled lyrics.
Despite some initial resistance, Adelaide hoteliers The Booze Brothers offered limited access to their hotels and the karaoke phenomenon was born.
[73] Hungary holds the record for the longest Karaoke marathon with multiple participants for an event organized in the Honey Grill Restaurant by Gabor Dániel Szabó (REVVOX Music).
[74] The record for the longest Karaoke solo marathon is held by the Italian Leonardo Polverelli, who sang 1,295 songs in 101 hours, 59 minutes, and 15 seconds.
