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Before you hit the bar, you may need some practice on your at-home karaoke system first. After all, hitting that high note of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” might not work without training. Will you be able to pull off Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” or will it just sound ridiculous? There is only one way to find out; by practicing as many different songs, ranges and styles that will help you discover your inner vocalist. There are a number of ways to beef up your collection of karaoke songs. You can look online for karaoke downloads, you can buy karaoke DVDs, you can buy karaoke software that allows you to make your own songs, you can stream them on the web or you can buy a karaoke CD.

When regard to karaoke CDs, few compilations got people as excited about karaoke music as the DKKaraoke collection that came out in the nineties, featuring 25 discs of karaoke hits, spanning several decades of music. For instance, you could get Frank Sinatra’s “New York New York” and Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5″ on the same CD as Bon Jovi’s “Bad Medicine” and U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” From slow ballads and lounge tracks to crooning love songs and shout-it-out rock karaoke, there is something for everyone on these CDs. This is the ultimate collection for anyone who is serious about karaoke music and wants to have all the best karaoke songs at their disposal.

Entertainment Weekly recently published their list of “top karaoke songs” to help you make your own karaoke CD. Not surprisingly, the B52’s rowdy “Love Shack” made the list, as did Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On a Prayer,” which features the chorus that every drunk loves to shout out, whether they were born in the eighties or not. Other eighties classics like Madonna’s “Like a Virgin,” The Eurythmic’s “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of These),” Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time,” Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin,” Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” Bananarama’s “Venus,” Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock N Roll,” Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” Blondie’s “Call Me” and “Every Breath You Take” by the Police also made the list. Representing the seventies, The Pretender’s “Brass In Pocket” (1979), Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain” (1973) and Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” (1978) are some of the oldest surviving karaoke hits. The only newcomer is Kelly Clarkson, with “Since U Been Gone.”

If you are looking for a good karaoke CD, then there are a few popular brand names to look out for. Chart Buster has some of the largest compilation CDs in genres like Broadway, Pop, Pop and Country, Gospel, Kids, Disney, Christmas, Halloween, Patriotic Anthems or Hot Hits Monthly. By far, their most popular set is the “Essential 450,” which comes with thirty karaoke discs encompassing Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Roger Miller, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Alabama, Little Texas, Toby Keith, The Beach Boys, Elvis, Frank Sinatra, The 52’s, Queen, Eric Clapton, AC/DC, Billy Joel, Joan Jett, Kiss, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Kriss Kross, Meatloaf and Barry Manilow. Backstage and Pop Hits Monthly offer pop karaoke hits that encompass more modern artists like Cold Play, Lil’ Wayne, Katy Perry, Pink, Shontelle and Flobots. The Monster Hits series offers male pop hits, country hits, rock hits, classic rock hits, rock/pop hits and more.

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Karaoke has its roots in 1970s Japan. The Kobe City port was an international mecca, often referred to as “the gateway of fashion and trend.” In fact, instant noodles, automated ticket gates and saunas all stemmed from this region. Whenever a strolling guitarist canceled a gig, bar owners would bust out accompaniment tapes for their patrons to sing along to, which would up becoming a popular pastime not just in Japan, but around the world. Perhaps it was the suppression of individualism, the pent-up frustrations of working such long hours or the exportation of karaoke around the world that ensured the karaoke party never stopped.

So how did karaoke move from Japanese bars to become embedded into the American culture? In small Japanese enclaves such as San Jose, California’s “Japantown,” little traditional karaoke houses opened up playing Japanese songs on cassette tapes for Japanese patrons to sing along to. The club featured several private 12 ft x 12 ft rooms with pillow seating on the floors and busy hostesses to fills drink orders and runs the karaoke machines. These intimate parties attracted a very narrow audience but gradually the patrons began taking a greater interest in American music, particularly with the rise of pop icons in the 1980s. Simultaneously, Americans became fascinated with Japanese anime like Robotech, cartoons like Transformers and video games like Nintendo. So naturally, the karaoke party was poised for widespread acceptance in American culture too.

At the turn of the millennium, karaoke took on a more serious note in American culture. With the advent of shows like “American Idol,” aspiring talent saw the opportunity to sing karaoke as pop star or rock star practice. In the past, the best singers would occasionally receive a standing ovation, a free drink at the bar or a small pot of prize money. Today, however, singers can get recruited by agents hidden in the audience and awarded with lucrative multi-million-dollar contracts. Everyone enjoys a good sing-a-long these days and Numark was quick to revolutionize karaoke equipment with the KMX01, KMX02 and CDN25+G, which make performances even more professional-sounding.

Since many Americans still feel a bit timid about belting out in public without practice, websites like www.karaokeparty.com have popped up to revolutionize the industry. Friends can get together, create a play list, sing free online karaoke songs and upload the good ones to share. Songs can then be rated by other karaoke enthusiasts. Boasting a worldwide community, the site has partnered with Facebook to let users include their karaoke party widget to their profiles. Over the past forty years, karaoke has moved from the Japanese box to the American stage. Who saw it coming?

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