Swept up in the karaoke craze: We've created a monster

Prodita Sabarini ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sun, 03/16/2008 3:42 PM  |  On the Town

I almost didn't (want to) recognize my friend. Within minutes, he had morphed into a disco dancin' Justin Timberlake wannabe, trying to bring "sexy back" with him.

In a squeaky voice, Ahmad Zaki Zulkarnain, 26 -- a health and lifestyle journalist by day -- sang Timberlake's single, complete with the "yeah yeahs", in a dimly lit karaoke room in Inul Vista Family Karaoke.

I was there watching him and three other girls singing their hearts out to the blaring music.

The only thing that can make Zaki lose his inhibitions is karaoke. The power of singing along to the recorded music of a popular song into a microphone is so strong that it is not only Zaki who is affected. Thousands of Jakartans are karaoke struck as well.

According to Inul Vista spokesperson Mirza Amrullah Muthi, Inul Vista had 13,000 members as of the end of 2007; a huge jump from a mere 2,000 members in late 2006.

"It's not just a sideline activity anymore. People are intentionally allocating time for karaoke these days," he said.

What is so great about singing karaoke?

Zaki, who goes to karaoke once a month, said it was a way of unwinding after work.

"A simpler reason is that I love to sing. I love to sing along with other people, and not have to worry about whether my voice sounds good or bad," he said.

"I sing as loudly as I can. In normal circumstances, I could never do that as people would complain."

It had been a long time since I had sung into a karaoke microphone. I felt self-concious at first, but started to enjoy myself during Alannis Morrisete's "Ironic". I understood what Zaki and other karaoke addicts were feeling.

In karaoke, the voices of the original singers are downplayed, giving way for regular folk to take the place of the artist.

A big monitor displays the lyrics, helping the singer keep up with the music.

Karaoke singing pats the ego and creates a false sense of reality for one or two hours.

"I always felt recharged after singing karaoke," Zaki said.

Due to its potential as an ice breaker, some companies in Jakarta regularly arrange karaoke sessions for their staff.

Dave Ardian Seta, 28, said he often did karaoke with his colleagues at Mistere at Ritz Carlton. "Usually after a project or a meeting we go there to sing," he said.

For people interested in singing badly without being judged, Jakarta has plenty of karaoke places.

Early this year Lifestyle Unlimited -- the company that manages clubs such as X2, Vertigo and X Lounge -- also opened a karaoke place, X KTV, after observing the rising popularity of karaoke among Jakartans.

X KTV's lobby in Senayan City has a futuristic ambience, with black tiles and blue neon lights.

Two flat screen monitors -- one to control the song list and the other to show the lyrics and clips -- adorn the karaoke room. Two wireless microphones and a bulky remote control are also on each of the tables.

"We don't use keyboards but remote controls," said Eki Tanjung, the marketing manager of X KTV.

X KTV charges hourly for their smaller rooms from Rp 80,000 to 120,000, while their bigger rooms have minimum charges of Rp 1 million to Rp 5 million, which includes food and beverages.

Eki said that X KTV is planning to get cable TV and WIFI connection so customers can watch TV and connect to the internet.

"We're not competing with family karaoke lounges, we're targeting 30-something executives who have time out from clubbing and are looking for a more relaxing place to party," he said.

Other popular karaoke places are Inul Vista, NAV and Happy Puppy.

Inul Vista, which opened in 2005, already has 12 branches in Jakarta and Bekasi. Inul Vista's fees range from Rp 60,000 per room per hour to 290,000 per room per hour, depending on the size of the room.

Each room has a wide screen LCD and a monitor to choose songs. The rooms are equipped with wireless microphones and keyboards, and there are thousands of songs to choose from. Mirza said customers could also watch movies or record their singing performance.

For Zaki, the most important criterion for a karaoke place is the song collection. "I get disappointed if I don't find the song that I want to sing," he said.

In Inul Vista he picked a cheerful Betawi song by Benyamin S. and Ida Royani titled "Abang Pulang" and sang it happily. "It reminds me of college days," he said.

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