Music is the gateway to the soul, and singing is perhaps the cab that gets people across. People lose a lot of inhibition when they sing out loud, and very often, this opens the barriers between hearts and minds. Even if the voice has no professional technique, singing is still a great experience.

Public singing requires some courage. However, it is something that audiences and performers enjoy. After live performances, one of the best ways for people to enjoy other people singing is karaoke. Karaoke is a relatively new art form, with a history of only about 35 years. The trend originated in Japan as a form of entertainment on vacations. The credit for the creation of the first karaoke machine goes to Japanese singer and entrepreneur Inoue Daisuke. He never sold the machines, but instead preferred to lease them. Although initially scoffed at as a temporary fad, within a short period of time karaoke machine become a popular feature of nightclubs and entertainment bars worldwide. Despite the heavy pricing, people were open to the idea of singing to the voiceless tunes of famous stars. It became a way for strangers to interact with each other and embarrass themselves in the process. It also became a substitute for live performances and soon people were rushing to karaoke bars instead of places where bands played. Karaoke machines were also responsible for promoting vocalists who had talent but no band to back them up.

It did not take long for the karaoke trend to reach the West. By the 1980s, many nightclubs and comedy clubs in the United States and Canada were equipped with karaoke machines. Original these machines had to be imported from Japan, but very soon local manufactures entered the karaoke machine scene and the prices of karaoke bars fell drastically. Nowadays, many people opt for karaoke machines at home to entertain party guests and with this rise in popularity, karaoke machine sales have gone up and their prices have shot down.