"In their serious but not ponderous study of a worldwide phenomenon, Xun and Tarocco indicate that karaoke can mean different things to different people and within different cultures. It also serves different purposes: to encourage egalitarianism (before karaoke, after all, few people sang in public), to learn foreign languages and improve literacy, for propaganda, and for self-expression. They devote a chapter to karaoke’s origins--the common belief is that it originated in Japan, though Filipino inventor Roberto del Rosario holds the sole patent for the karaoke system, and even the Welsh have staked a claim--then look at karaoke fever in Japan and Korea, Southeast Asia, China, North America, Britain, and Europe. The concluding chapter chronicles the increasing sophistication of karaoke technology, including karaoke on the Web, karaoke video games, and karaoke on mobile phones. A cultural study that is simultaneously surprisingly erudite, entertaining, and a lot of fun."

June Sawyers | Booklist

"For a hint of mania in question, consider Karaoke. . . . The sheer extent of the craze is a revelation to those of us who are K-virgins and likely to remain so, no matter how much drink is poured."

Nina C. Ayoub | Chronicle of Higher Education

"Karaoke, just like disease or tourism, is a lens through which broader global trends can be explored. And indeed, with a robust bibliography of sociocultural studies, this book has the air of rigorous academic inquiry. But the writers are also paid-up members of fan club--in China, they tell us, while ’a few pretentious middle-class urban professionals go to Starbucks, real people go to karaoke.’"

New Statesman

"We may happily follow the authors on their glossily illustrated anthropological tour of karaoke. . . . There are many affirmative moments, such as a delightfully moving picture of two portly men in towels serenading one another in a Russian sauna."

Steven Poole | The Guardian

"The strength of Karaoke is in the diversity and breadth of its material. Xun and Tarocco offer a perceptive outline of this captivating medium, raising nearly as many questions as  they answer and supplying scholars and karaoke fans with provocative fodder for further inquiry."–International Journal of Communication

 

Meghan Drury Askins | International Journal of Communication