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As one of the most beloved innovations of all time, karaoke has come a long way since its invention in Japan. Karaoke can easily be enjoyed in any space and culture, from capricious youths to retired grandparents.
But did you know that karaoke championships are real? Or that singing a particular karaoke song could spark killings in the Philippines?
If you didn’t, have a look at our list of 25 karaoke statistics and facts:
- Karaoke began in Kobe, Japan, around 1971 when musician Daisuke Inoue invented his own karaoke machine.
- As of 2021, Japan has approximately 8.19 thousand karaoke facilities.
- The word “karaoke” means empty orchestra in Japanese.
- There are some karaoke machines in Japan that not only rates the singer’s performance but also counts the number of calories they burn while singing.
- The global karaoke market is estimated to be worth around 10 billion and has always been the most profitable in Asia.
- Karaoke is quite popular in China, apparently, as it has over 100,000 karaoke bars.
- The Guiness World Record for the longest karaoke marathon by multiple participants is 895 hours and 2 minutes on December 22, 2019. This was accomplished through an event organized by Virag Madhumalati at Little World Mall in Navi Mumbai, India.
- Leonard Polverelli holds the longest karaoke marathon. The event was held from September 19-23, 2011 at the Astra Cafe in Pesaro, Italy. The marathon lasted 101 hours, 59 minutes, and 15 seconds, with Polverelli singing a total of 1,925 songs.
- The top five highly requested karaoke songs of all time reportedly are “Summer Nights” (Grease), “Sweet Caroline” (Neil Diamond), “Bohemian Rhapsody” (Queen), “Billie Jean” (Michael Jackson), and “Let It Go” (Idina Menzel).
- There exists a Karaoke World Championship event. It originated in Finland in 2003 and is held yearly in different countries.
- The Filipinos of the Philippines love karaoke so much that there are reportedly karaoke machines in every home, even those in the countryside.
- Sinatra’s 1969 hit “My Way” is banned in many karaoke bars in the Philippines due to the killings incited by singing it during karaoke sessions.
- In 1975, Filipino entrepreneur Roberto del Rosario patented the first karaoke machine called the Sing Along System.
- In the US, the fourth week of April is officially known as National Karaoke Week.
- Karaoke is reputably a well-liked pastime. But in 2009, a survey commissioned by the British government over a sample of 2,500 adults revealed that karaoke devices were the most hated gadgets.
- In Chinese-speaking regions and Southeast Asian countries, like Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand, a karaoke box is called a KTV (Karaoke Television).
- A karaoke video game does exist! Bandai’s Karaoke Studio was released in 1987, the first karaoke video game ever. It was produced in the form of a subsystem that could be plugged into Nintendo’s Famicom’s cartridge slot.
- Singstar is the first free karaoke app that launched on the Playstation in October 2012. Players could play tracks from game discs or purchase track from Singstore, which had a selection of more than 3000 songs.
- Believe it or not, the best-selling karaoke video game is High School Musical: Sing It! with 3.63 million copies sold worldwide.
- The largest karaoke session took place took place at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennesse, USA, on 22 August 2009. 160,000 people simultaneously sang Garth Brooks’s “Friends in Low Places” before the start of the Nascar Sharpie 500 race.
- Konami’s Karaoke Revolution holds the title for the longest-running series of karaoke games, with releases spanning over eight years from 2003 to 2011.
- A survey conducted in Japan in October 2021 found that the highest age group who participated in karaoke were people aged between 20 to 24 years old (44%).
- Smule is by far the most successful and most popular karaoke app with over 100 million downloads on Playstore.
- Over 6,000 karaoke songs have been banned in China due to copyright infringement.
- Cleveland, Ohio, has the highest number of karaoke bars in the US, at nearly 31 for every 100,000 persons.
