Fun fact: the word Karaoke comes from “Carry Orchestra”
Update: about two years later, I have learned through into to Linguistics that “karaoke” does not come from “carry orchestra”, it comes from “kara” + “oke”, or “open” + “orchestra” since it’s “open” to new singers.
Last night/this morning, I karaoke’d for a marathon 6.5 hours with Kyle and two of the staff from the children’s home. Karaoke in Japan is a big freaking deal. We went to a pretty cool karaoke place; we got our own booth, endless drinks (delivered!), and of course, plenty of offkey singing in. There was a hearty selection of American pop songs and our Japanese friends actually knew a bunch too.
I think some of our group’s better songs included:
- Don’t Stop Believin’ (Journey)
- Wonderwall (Oasis)
- I Want It That Way (Backstreet Boys)
- I Want You Back (Jackson 5)
- Scientist (Coldplay)
There were plenty more great songs. Definitely a highlight of my trip so far, even if it meant I got like three hours of sleep.