Karaoke
Karaoke (often misspelt Kareoke or Karaeoke) is taken from the Japanese words kara and okesutora meaning ‘empty orchestra’. It is a type of entertainment in which singers sing along with music created from backing tracks often with the words printed on the screen.
The music is usually a well known song with the voice either stripped out using software or re-recorded in a studio by professional singers to create a version of the original minus the vocals.
Lyrics to the songs are usually displayed on the screen synchronised to the music which is often depicted by either a colour change or a moving symbol.
A common and popular game using karaoke is to type in a random number and call up a song, the participants then take it in turns to try and sing as much as they can. This is called Karaoke Roulette or Kamikaze Karaoke.
Karaoke Hardware
A simple karaoke machine consists of a music player with inputs for microphones and an audio output. More complex machines exist which allow a variety of formats to be played.
Karaoke Formats
Common Karaoke formats are CD+G, DVD / VCD and occasionally Laser Disc (an old form of DVD the size of a Vinyl Record).
Modern times of Karaoke
Recently Karaoke has been making a comeback with companies such as Sing To The World and Custom burn offering custom karaoke tracks on CD’s delivered to your door.
The console market has recently released Sing Star which is a karaoke type game in which players sing along in a karaoke style against an opponent.
Recent advances in technology have created opportunities for customers to have more on-demand access to karaoke tracks. Sites such as Yoosing allow people to record their own karaoke and perform duets with other users.