I’m writing this on a Friday night and a raging karaoke party is bumping right outside my door and has been for the past couple hours. I foresee it going a couple more. I ventured out at the beginning of the party to get some stuff from the raan kai ka, or little store and closed my door when I came home as I did not have the energy to try and join the festivities this time. But I did try to analyze karaoke in an Asian context as opposed to a Western one.
I truly enjoy doing karaoke back home, but I think that’s because of the associations with karaoke I have: always in a bar, or somewhere alcohol is available; generally song choices are meant to be a silly performance, although there are some serious performances; it’s planned for ahead of time as a special outing, kind of like going to a movie.
Here in Thailand, karaoke can and will take place anywhere, including an open field after school finishes or a bus that the riders cannot get off. Alcohol is not a necessary component, though it often times is. I don’t think I’ve ever seen any Thai person really ham up their performances, it seems to be taken pretty seriously as a showcase of their talent. It’s planned for in the way that it will always happen, it is not a special occasion thing. Just assume that karaoke can and will happen at anytime.
It seems to me, that karaoke is one of the only times that Thais have the social permission to act and take a more individualist, as opposed to collectivist, approach to things. Even in the school competitions, where one student is competing, it’s made clear that it is on the whole school’s behalf and not for the individual student’s.
But karaoke, a person can punch in four or five of their favorite songs and stand up in front of all their friends belting them out, with no regard to key or hitting the right notes, and receive at least polite applause if not outright handed money by the audience. Someone already sang the song you wanted to sing? No worries, you can sing it, too, even if it’s back to back. It’s a time where it can be about them instead of the group, and they can take themselves and their own self estimation seriously.
To me, karaoke is about goofing off: pick a ridiculous song and get goofy up on stage. Or you can utterly kill a song that you think the audience would not enjoy, but you blow them away. But here, it is a necessary ingredient to any sort of get together. I don’t really like doing karaoke here, because the audience rarely knows the songs that I enjoy singing, so it’s not an enjoyable experience for them. Also, the words are often wrong and the track is in the wrong key or at the wrong tempo. I’m making it a goal of mine to learn a popular Thai song, so I can sing that and impress everyone, and get out of my karaoke duties early.
Maybe my analysis misses the mark. I’d love to hear some perspective from a Thai person who loves karaoke, or better yet, dislikes it. But that’s the way it seems to me.
Ronnie March 18, 2017
I have never seen Kareoke in Thailand, except for places that cater for other Asian tourists. Every other country in Asia seems to have almost nothing but Kareoke bars, but have not seen this in Thailand, even after having lived there for over a year. It is one of the advantages of Thailand, that it is possible to escape the dreaded Kareoke. I am rather surprised that you managed to find places in Thailand where it is common amoungst Thais.
Christine March 18, 2017
Karaoke bars aren’t that common, but Thai people love karaoke. Everyone knows someone with the program on their own computer that can hook it up to a speaker system at a moment’s notice. It’s also ubiquitous on buses. Sounds to me like you aren’t spending much time with Thai people if you’ve avoided karaoke for a year.
Ronnie March 18, 2017
I used to spend time with them every day. Speak both Thai and Isaan reasonably. Understand some of the rituals. Never even heard a Thai want to talk about Kareoke.
Christine March 18, 2017
Then I suggest you ask them about it. 🙂
Ronnie March 19, 2017
Baw Pen Yang.
Ronnie March 19, 2017
Have spoken about encountering it on Soi 33 Sukhumvite in Bangkok, the only place I have ever found it in Thailand, and the response given was that it was for the Japanese and Koreans. After receiving that response, there was no further information forthcoming upon the subject, so I gathered it was because there was little interest in Kareoke. The reason I tend not to talk about it often is that Thai people have never mentioned it to me in conversation, and the art of conversation is to concentrate on subjects of mutual interest, not those things of obviously no interest to the other party.
Christine March 20, 2017
As I said earlier, this is not about karaoke bars or rooms. Karaoke takes many forms and in Thailand, it most frequently takes place in people’s homes or off of people’s personal laptops. I organized and participated in dozens of trainings for adults and camps for children. At every one of them, there was an evening with scheduled karaoke. Learning the words and dance to “Koh Jai Tur Lek Bur Toh” to sing for karaoke is one the things that strengthened my relationships with Thai people more than just about anything else. I have hundreds of other people who can tell their own stories of karaoke in Thailand as well and how it is very much enjoyed by Thais across the country. I’m sorry that isn’t your experience. I encourage you to expand your experiences beyond just what you find enjoyable and to learn how to take pleasure in learning about other what other people enjoy, even it it’s not mutually shared.