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It doesn’t matter whether you are in the city or in a province – karaoke sound systems can always be heard blasting in just about any subdivision you go to in the Philippines. In general, the Filipino people just love to sing – no matter how bad a few of them are at it. For this reason, they need to have their karaoke sound systems at hand anytime! The traditional ones are those that look like arcade games. You would often find these in bars, hence, don’t be surprised to see one sitting in the living room of your friend’s house. Though this does show how much the Filipino people love to sing, there are, thankfully, new portable karaoke sound systems that are now available in the Philippine and these can fit any home; even though it’s a cramped condominium.
With such products being so popular in the Philippine market, you have to wonder why singing is such a past time here. It may even be this love for singing that created great talents like Charice Pempengco, Lea Salonga, Arnel Pineda, Banig Roberto, and Jessica Sanchez. It won’t be a surprise if they started just by singing with their family on their home karaoke sound system. Not only does using one hone anyone’s singing skills, but it’s just such a fun way for the Filipino family to bond. Why? Here’s why:
Through the years, a lot of proud Filipino couples love to show off their talented kids to their relatives – most especially on family reunions and gatherings. The moment one family member finds out that a relative can sing, all he has to do is start chanting “sampol, sampol, sampol (sample, sample, sample)” until that person sings for everyone. Of course, another family member will say something like “Galing! Yung anak ko kumakanta din! (Great! My daughter/son sings, too!)” and all of a sudden, the reunion has a talent show. It won’t be long until the karaoke sound system is whipped out.
Most kids would definitely be shy to do this, especially when they have a stage fright. This is why grandparents always offer a cash prize for the best singer – to get the kids showcase their singing talent automatically! This is actually a great win-win situation; the adults will get entertainment and pride, the kids get the cash prize, and the whole family will have a good time!
When we say belters, we mean those awesome female vocal powerhouses that every Filipina, and even Filipino, love to be like. The staple ones are those like Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, and Queen Bee herself, Beyoncé. You will never go through a karaoke session without hearing “Love On Top” sung… at least five times and sung even by the manliest man. Of course, this will end up really hilarious but really memorable.
So, if you’ve never been to a karaoke party with some Filipinos, then don’t be surprised when you see them pick the hardest songs. It’s not about hitting the notes – though you’ll be surprised to hear and see how many of them can – it’s really all about having a good time.
Even when some Filipinos cannot sing, they just love to watch someone good do it. It could be in a family reunion with a karaoke sound system (like the example up there) or on the wide screen with the best LED TV on the market and watch the most epic singing competitions.
Often, Filipinos would rush home from either school or work to catch the latest episode of the X-Factor, The Voice, American Idol, etc. In fact, we love it so much that we make our own versions of these shows as well our own original ones, such as Tawag ng Tanghalan, The Singing Bee, I Can See Your Voice, All-Star K: The 1 Million Peso Videoke Challenge, etc.
Some of these shows even use their own karaoke sound system with a twist. The Singing Bee is not really a singing competition, but more of a lyrics-remembering game. The lyrics of the song will be projected on a screen and while the contestant is singing, lyrics will drop out, and they have to sing the right word(s) to pass the round. With such simple games like this, it’s so evident that Filipinos love to sing and are used to using a karaoke sound system.
Not only are Filipinos really entertained by singing competitions, but they are great at it as well! Take for example Rose Fostanes, the champion in the 2014 X-Factor in Israel. Even though she was living as a simple caregiver there, her victory got her featured in all the news outlets and even trending on Facebook and other social media websites. We, the Filipino people, obviously take pride in being a talented people.
Since you can find karaoke sound systems everywhere, there’s always a way for people to practice their vocals. While not everyone will become a great singer, the chances of improving their singing voice are higher with the Filipino people. Again, simply enter any Filipino home and it’s bound to have some form of karaoke. If they don’t, then a bar or karinderya nearby would have one where they could belt without judgment. We have a very encouraging culture when it comes to performing and many great performers are born because of it.
Take a look at Pilita Corrales, “Asia’s Queen of Songs”. She deserves that name because she won “Best Performer” in the 1st Tokyo Musical Festival back in 1972. Other international Filipino singing competition winners include:
Even before all these televised competitions, we Filipinos held our own singing contest in our barrios. In fact, we have a rich history of music and we’ve been holding these kinds of events for centuries – literally. It’s probably because we have been exposed to so many cultures; Spanish, Japanese, American, etc. As a result, we have a wide taste in music and melodies – whether in creating it or just listening to it. Our own National Anthem is even praised as the most beautiful anthem in the world because of how good it feels to belt out the lyrics of pride that resonate well with the perfectly made melody.
Take a look at the kundiman. This is a Filipino folk style of music that was born from the western influence of the 1500s. It’s the ability of Filipinos to adapt a style of music into our own that makes our songs very listenable. One notable example of this is Freddie Aguilar’s “Anak”. Even though the song is in our language, the whole world took notice of it and even translated it into many languages. Our music is very consumable and that makes for an abundant culture of music and singing.
The music runs so much in our blood that…
This was called the Juke-8. It was invented by Daisuke Inoue in 1971. He was a Japanese musician and it just goes to show how in love Japanese people are as well with singing. However, it’s Roberto del Rosario that holds the patent to this. With it, he created the Karaoke Sing-Along System in 1975. Since then, Filipinos all over the world could enjoy singing along to their favorite tunes with the machine.
Choosing classic songs is a great way to get everyone singing at any party and Filipinos know it. Again, it doesn’t matter if you can’t sing along. You can just watch or dance along to the great upbeat classics like “Viva La Vida Loca”. Even the older Filipinos will be belting and swaying the night away. The younger ones will also know the songs because… they’re the classics! So, truly, a night with a karaoke sound system is more than enough to bring the Filipino family closer together.
If you’ve ever been in Metro Manila, then you know how bad the traffic can get. Often times, it’s what OFWs don’t miss about their motherland. Hours and hours are wasted just to travel a few kilometers.
However, with a great company, this can feel like a breeze. Still, there’s only so much you can talk about after a while. So what do Filipinos do when they can’t talk about anything in traffic? They sing!
When their favorite songs are playing in the car, a two-hour ride can feel like a party. It’s kind of like karaoke without the actual karaoke sound system!
Take a look at Arnel Pineda. Journey chose him as their new singer because he sounds exactly like Steve Perry. However, what some people don’t know is that Arnel Pineda was a part of a Journey cover band. He’s made a pretty big career of trying to copy his idol’s singing voice and he has been doing a great job! This just goes to show that Filipinos love to feel like their favorite artist. This is also probably why a lot of people still try to sing Beyoncé’s “Love on Top”, even though the last part with modulation after modulation is just vocal death. Who wouldn’t want to feel as fierce as the Queen B herself?
It is indeed true that the Filipino people are good at the English language. With this being said, we can understand, relate to, and sing many western songs! Since these are the most popular kinds of songs, we can enjoy singing them more – maybe just as much as the western people do. This makes a great list of songs to sing at any karaoke place. So whether you like the traditional folk music or the newest chart topper, there will be a number of minus ones for you to sing to with any karaoke machine in the Philippines. So don’t be surprised to hear the latest Chainsmokers hit being sung even in the rural areas of the Philippines!
Music can truly be a great escape – especially with a beer in hand or a heavy heart; or even both combined. No matter what kind of hardship Filipinos go through, singing is their go-to means of letting it all out; not to mention, it’s cheap! Just input a few coins in the karaoke machine and you can sing to your heart’s content – whether it’s just searching for some fun lyrics to sing or those that speak of their heartaches.
We’ve got you! We here at Fukuda sell nothing but the best home appliances in the Philippines and karaoke machines are not an exception. Our karaoke units are packed with 99,000 songs – ranging from the most traditional Pinoy classics to the latest hits. The best part is it’s extremely portable! Just like your DVD player, our karaoke units can easily fit in a bag. That makes it perfect to bring it to your family reunion when you know.
that the venue doesn’t have one. All you’ll need is the host’s TV and sound system and your karaoke unit will be good to go after a few plugs. There will be no microphones needed since they come with the unit and these act as the remote so you can easily pick songs without dropping the mic.
To order your Fukuda karaoke player today, visit our online shop! Hurry now while it’s still on sale!
