While Karaoke had fairly recently become popular here in the USA, it is nothing new. Karaoke is Japanese and it basically means "without a band or orchestra". That is not verbatum but basically the meaning. In Japanese "Karaoke" is pronounced Kahh-dee-okey. We pronounce it Carry-okey. I do not have a history as to when it originated in Japan but I do remember when I used to work in a Japanese resturant, every once in awhile, a group would book the back room and have a party and there would be Karaoke as the people sang traditional japanese songs. The boss here was the one who told me about Karaoke's japanese beginnings.
        Now the concept of Karaoke goes way back. Singing to pre-recorded music is Karaoke, artists sometimes would make an appearance at a club or a mall and would sing a song or two. Rather than bring a band, they would simply sing to their music from a tape. The latino sensation Menudo did this in the 80's. It was in the 80's where mini-studios started appearing in malls and amusement parks. Here one could go and sing and have themselves recorded. They simply selected a song they wanted to do and the operator would provide a lyric sheet and the backing music, recording the singer singing to it.
        Now, me and Karaoke go a long way back. Back in the late 80's, I used to hit these mini studios from time to time. I would sometimes write my own lyrics and sing them in place of the song's lyrics. Later, a few bars began to have Karaoke. Again, the participant would sing from a lyric sheet, there were no on-screen lyrics back then. This whole thing was not at all new to me. I have been to a real recording studio where I would sing my own lyrics to instrumental versions back when I was in High School, before the mini-studios began popping up. Then there was the times when I went in and built my own songs from scratch like Bobby McFerrin did with his hit Don't Worry, Be Happy I would sing all the music parts such as the guitars, piano, bass etc. Back when I had my big crush on Tom Howell, I went into a studio and recorded a few songs I had made about him. These were my earliest experiences with doing Karaoke.
        Karaoke machines with on screen lyrics came later and it was in Denver in the early 90's when I first sang with lyrics on the screen. There was the FOX radio station that hosts Karaoke at the Taste Of Colorado, an annual festival much like a "Farmers Market" featuring a carnival, live music and tents set up by various participating businesses anywhere from Food to clothing, to arts and even services; there was a small night club called Metro where there had Karaoke every Tuesday back in 1994. I recently discovered that Charlies, a local gay bar has been hosting Karaoke for sometime. In early 2003, I spent an entire week going to Charlies having some drinks(I don't drink on a regular basis so this was a break from my routine) and dancing when I discovered that they had not only one night, but two featuring Karaoke; Monday and Tuesday.
        I call myself The Mad Barista since I am a Barista (one who works the Espresso Bar). I sing anything from Britney Spears to Nsync but also some Classic rock and R&B hits. Here I am, this time at BJs singin' my Clay Aiken favorites....and also a Britney Spears song too.