The word karaoke derived from Japanese subculture. The Japanese word stems from the words kara (空) which is short for karano, meaning “empty”, and oke which is short for ōkesutora, meaning “orchestra”. The words together make a contraction literally meaning “empty orchestra”.

Karaoke has been a popular form of entertainment beginning first in Japan, then the rest of East Asia, since at least the 1980s, and has since spread to other parts of the world. Karaoke engenders quite a bit of culture specific to its enthusiasts, and this culture, unsurprisingly, varies from country to country.

Karaoke mainly consists of dramatic love songs performed by pop artists of different genres, but may now be found performed in other styles such as RnB, HipHop and Rap

A few months back, I was asked to perform a song for my cousin’s wedding. I needed to choose a song as soon as I returned from Melbourne, and practice it well enough to be performed in front of hundreds of people. So, I went shopping for a karaoke CD set, and found this.

Karaoke Love Songs, celebrating love in one set. That’s just awesome. Therefore, for love’s sake, I will reveal the ultimate step-by-step guide in learning love, through the ABCs of love itself!

D – Discover new things together

Letter F kind of blew me away for a second. I grew up learning that flirting was something that you do when you try to arouse a person’s interest in you. But then, I gave it the benefit of the doubt and told myself that even love-doves can flirt with each other for love’s sake.

G – Gaze into each others eyes
H – Have private parties for two

Then I came across one of those sad chinese-malaysian typing mistakes you get in almost everything you buy. Message away the day’s tensions? Luckily I was smart enough to correct them.

Letter N was just plain weird. Nibble each other’s earlobes. I guess they couldn’t think of anything more ‘lovey-dovey’ that they had to incorporate nibbling. Let’s see what could actually replace that. Nurture one another. Now wouldn’t that sound a whole lot better?

This one was stupid. Pretend we’re long last lovers? Either the producers did not go to school, or they had a seriously ill-hearted relationship when they were ‘in love’.

T – Take time for tenderness
U – Uncover our deepest feelings

X-plore? I was right, the producer did not complete primary school. I know it’s a hard word, but this is ridiculous.

Last but not least, Z-zzzz in each other’s arms. What the hell is ‘zzzzz’? If you’re trying to say sleep, you’ve put it in the wrong letter my friend. Sleep in each other’s arms goes into the letter S.

Here’s a better idea.

Z – Zip one another up

Get it?