MANILA: Videos of Filipinos singing their hearts out at karaoke machines and belting out showstopping numbers from stars like Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey have been raking in millions of views on social media.
One such clip posted on YouTube in 2012, with Zendee Tenerefe singing “I Will Always Love You,” attracted over 26 million viewers, winning the young girl an invite on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” in the US.
While it shot her to international fame, performances like that of Tenerefe are not a unique sight in the Philippines, where people croon at singing machines at shopping malls, public transport terminals, roadside eateries, restaurants, designated karaoke bars, and in the privacy of their homes.
In public areas, Filipinos can belt their favorite hits for as little as five pesos ($0.80) a song, with the accessibility contributing to karaoke becoming a favorite pastime for everyone, regardless of social status and age.
The love for singing is so widespread that cities have been issuing ordinances regulating the time and day Filipinos can engage in public signing as the hours-long sessions usually run until the early morning.
“Karaoke culture is popular in the Philippines, as it is part of a communal activity in every celebration, whether with a family or a circle of friends,” Patricia Dizon, communication lecturer at the University of the Philippines, told Arab News, observing that its origins date centuries before the Japanese musician Daisuke Inoue invented the Juke-8 — the first karaoke machine — in 1971.
European explorers who arrived on the shores of the Philippine archipelago regularly took note of the natives’ keen musical abilities. The 16th-century Venetian scholar Antonio Pigafetta, for example, observed the Filipinos he met “played so harmoniously that one would believe they possessed good musical sense.”
Meanwhile, Antonio de Morga, a Spanish colonial official who in the late 16th and early 17th century served in the Philippines, referred to the Filipinos as a “singing nation,” as they sang during every activity.
Spanning ages, geographical locations, and social strata, the love for singing is an iconic feature of the culture, and people in the Philippines now have wide repertoire of songs to choose from in today’s ubiquitous karaoke culture.
“While karaoke has long been associated with our titos (uncles) belting the songs of Tom Jones, as well as our ates (elder sisters) singing the infamous ‘Kitchie Nadal Medley,’ there are even newer songs available at the present, including those by the likes of (P-Pop or Pinoy pop groups) SB19 and BINI,” Dizon said.
Although the first karaoke machine was created by a Japanese, it is the Filipino entrepreneur Roberto del Rosario who holds its patent and developed the Karaoke Sing-Along System in 1975.
The system, which features the prerecorded music of popular songs and lyrics on a video screen, has turned karaoke into a central part of pop culture in the Philippines
In cities, Filipinos are treated to a wide range of options to get their fill of the entertainment. Establishments called KTV (karaoke television) rooms are popular for night outs, where groups can rent a private room to sing and order food and drinks. There are also karaoke bars for more courageous people to sing in public.
Law student Crystal Arcega, 26, and her friends frequent such bars to blow off steam in the middle of a grueling academic semester.
“I usually go for karaoke during midterms or after finals season. It’s a great way to hang out with my friends, especially after a long day,” she said.
“When I was younger, we would go to a karaoke booth in the mall every Sunday to sing after going to Mass. It was very wholesome.”
Both in her childhood and now, the love for singing has always had an important social or family dimension to it.
“Karaoke is a way for us to bond,” Arcega said. “Whether it’s to unwind or make memories with our loved ones, I think karaoke as an activity makes us come together and focus on a single thing that we can do together.”
Some, like Emmelle Petalder, 25, also do it alone, at home, with voiceless tunes that are widely available on YouTube.
“This happens two to three times a week,” she said. “Whenever I feel like it, or when there’s a song stuck in my head.”
She usually goes to KTV bars with friends to celebrate special moments as the social nature of karaoke draws everyone in.
“When Filipinos do karaoke, everyone sings along, even those who are not holding the mic,” she said.
“Karaoke gives us the opportunity to let those feelings out by singing our hearts out.”
