A karaoke-box that occupies a high-rise building in Shinjuku, Tokyo, this location was featured in the movie Lost In Translation.

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Karaoke (カラオケ, Karaoke^? from Japanese kara, "empty" or "void", and ōkesutora, "orchestra") (pronounced IPA: /ˌkæriˈoʊki/ or /kəˈroʊki/; in Japanese IPA: ; listen (help·info)) is a form of entertainment in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and a PA system. The music is typically a well-known pop song in which the voice of the original singer is removed or reduced in volume. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol or changing color, to guide the singer. In some countries, karaoke with video lyrics display capabilities is called KTV. It is often misspelled 'kareoke' (ka-ree-oh-kee) due to the English pronunciation.

History

Karaoke today was popularized by the Japanese musician Daisuke Inoue in Kobe, Japan in the early 1970s . After becoming popular in Japan, karaoke spread to East and Southeast Asia during the 1980s and subsequently to other parts of the world in its modern state.

In Japan it has long been common to provide musical entertainment at a dinner or a party. Japanese drummer Daisuke Inoue was asked by frequent guests in the Utagoe Kissa, where he performed, to provide a recording of his performance so that they could sing along on a company-sponsored vacation. Realizing the potential for the market, Inoue made a tape recorder that played a song for a 100-yen coin.

Instead of selling his karaoke machines, he leased them out, so that stores did not have to buy new songs on their own. Originally it was considered a fad which was lacking the "live atmosphere" of a real performance. It was also regarded as somewhat expensive since 100 yen in the 1970s was the price of two typical lunches. However, it caught on as a popular entertainment. Karaoke machines were initially placed in restaurants or hotel rooms; soon, new businesses called karaoke boxes, with compartmented rooms, became popular. 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."