Karaoke

The other night, on what used to be called “the tube,” I saw a commercial featuring a guy doing a wretched version of the 1969 hit, “Build Me Up Buttercup,” in a tiny nightclub.

It was, of course, karaoke.

But the commercial didn’t just take an easy shot at bad sing-along singers. The message, from an insurance company, was one of uplift: “Singing can reduce stress and add 15 years to your life.”

So, I’ve heard, can laughter. Which means that if you get up on stage and do “I Will Survive,” and then sit down and laugh at a friend wrestling with a Four Seasons falsetto number, you get 30 bonus years.

Thing is, not all that long ago, everybody was laughing at the very idea of karaoke, of singing hit songs, over background music, in front of strangers as well as friends. A comic strip defined karaoke as “the combining of people who shouldn’t be drinking with people who shouldn’t be drinking.”

Now? Karaoke, which first became popular in Japan and, in Japanese, means “empty orchestra,” is as American as an X-Box.

In fact, two of the most popular TV shows this summer were based on karaoke: Singing Bee and Don’t Forget the Lyrics. The shows were pretty much twins, except for the hosts (N’ Sync’s Joey Fatone for Bee and Wayne Brady for Lyrics, and the jackpots ($50,000 on Bee, a cool million on Lyrics). They’re throwbacks to that Fifties game show, Name That Tune, in which contestants had to identify a song based on the first few notes of the melody. Here, contestants know the titles; they have to know the lyrics—and sing them.

And, as Fatone tells the people he plucks out of the audience to compete, “You don’t have to sing it well, you just gotta sing it right.”

Oftentimes, they do neither. Just as it is at a karaoke bar or club, you have to weather some pretty wretched singing before you get a jewel. But the shows do say a few things about contemporary pop culture.

Number one: Yesterday’s music is today’s music, too. American Idol’s producers know this; that’s why they’re always forcing their wannabes to tackle Motown songs, or devoting entire competitions to the songs of Elvis, Stevie Wonder, or Rod Stewart. This way, they can draw young and older.

These two shows have learned that lesson well. Although most of the contestants are young, they’re given songs that range from recent hits to (on Singing Bee) “Born to Be Wild” (1968) and “Superstition” (1973) or (on Lyrics) “I Can See for Miles” (1967) and “Heartbreaker” (1980). And they nail them, word for word. Enough of them, anyway, to climb those tote boards, ratchet up the excitement and maintain the audience. Both shows got high enough ratings to get into their respective networks’ fall schedules. Talk about “Higher Ground.”

Number two: Americans are no longer shy. Were we ever? But, if you’ve never ventured into a karaoke establishment, you’ll see, from these shows, just what you’ve been missing (besides shattered eardrums). You can blame it on Idol and America’s Got Talent. You can say that people got tired of ponying up $100-plus for concert tickets and decided to go the DIY route. Whatever. As Annie Lennox might say, singers are doing it for themselves.

And why not? Unless you’re serving a life sentence somewhere, wouldn’t you like to add another 15 years?