Karaoke Around the World: Global Technology, Local Singing (Routledge Research in Cultural and Media Studies)

The karaoke machine is much more than an instrument which allows us to be a star for three minutes. The contributors to this lively collection address the importance of karaoke within Japanese culture and its spread to other parts of the world, exploring the influence of karaoke in such different societies as the United Kingdom, North America, Italy, Sweden, Korea and Brazil. They also consider the nature of the karaoke experience, which involves people as singers, co-singers and listeners. The Genesis, Definition, And Historical Overview / Toru Mitsui -- The Effects Of Karaoke On Music Life In Japan / Hiroshi Ogawa -- Middle-aged And Older Women And Karaoke / Shinobu Oku -- The Adaptability Of Karaoke In The United Kingdom / William Kelly -- From Tv To Holidays : Karaoke In Italy / Paolo Prato -- Filling Voids Along The Byway : Identification And Interpretation In The Swedish Forms Of Karaoke / Johan Fornas -- Singing In A Cultural Enclave : Karaoke In Japanese-brazilian Community / Shuhei Hosokawa -- The Karaoke Dilemna : On The Interaction Between Collectivism And Individualism / Casy Man Kong Lum -- Karaoke In East Asia / Akiko Otake And Shuehei Hosokawa. Edited By Tōru Mitsui And Shūhei Hosokawa. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. The genesis of karaoke : how the combination of technology and music evolved / Tōru Mitsui The effects of karaoke on music in Japan / Hiroshi Ogawa Karaoke and middle-aged and older women / Shinobu Oku The adaptability of karaoke in the United Kingdom / William H. Kelly From TV to holidays : karaoke in Italy / Paolo Prato Filling voids along the byway : identification and interpretation in the Swedish forms of karaoke / Johan Fornäs Singing in a cultural enclave : karaoke in a Japanese-Brazilian community / Shūhei Hosokawa The karaoke dilemma : on the interaction between collectivism and individualism in the karaoke space / Casy Man Kong Lum Karaoke in East Asia : modernization, Japanization, or Asianization? / Akiko Ōtake and Shūehei Hosokawa Content: The genesis, definition, and historical overview / Toru Mitsui -- The effects of karaoke on music life in Japan / Hiroshi Ogawa -- Middle-aged and older women and karaoke / Shinobu Oku -- The adaptability of karaoke in the United Kingdom / William Kelly -- From TV to holidays : karaoke in Italy / Paolo Prato -- Filling voids along the byway : identification and interpretation in the Swedish forms of karaoke / Johan Fornas -- Singing in a cultural enclave : karaoke in Japanese-Brazilian community / Shuhei Hosokawa -- The karaoke dilemna : on the interaction between collectivism and individualism / Casy Man Kong Lum -- Karaoke in East Asia / Akiko Otake and Shuehei Hosokawa. Using the theoretical framework of thinkers from Erving Goffman to Foucault, the contributors to this volume consider the technological, spatial, communicative, ethnic, national, political, musical and gender aspects of karaoke in specific places and times across the globe. This study explores the influence of karaoke in such different societies as the United Kingdom, North America, Australia, Italy, Sweden, Brazil, Korea and Japan. The essays not only answer a variety of questions about this phenomenon, but also open up possible ways of theorising contemporary music practice in the future In the middle of the room two Japanese men in business suits are singing 'Mrs Robinson' in English into a microphone, a phenomenon which puzzles Persse for several reasons, one of which he cannot instantly identify.