Vietnamese youngsters sing karaoke in Ho Chi Minh City. The type of entertainment has become a popular feature of Vietnam’s social scene.

Invented in Japan, Karaoke has taken the world – and Vietnam – by storm.

“I often go to karaoke lounges with my friends for entertainment. There, everyone can become singers,” information technology engineer Anh said, before singing the lyrics of a Vietnamese revolutionary classic La do (Red leaves), following the words on a big screen.

The 25-year-old man and his five friends had to wait for an hour to be served at the crowded bar, after calling in at nearly a dozen of the city’s karaoke parlors.

Since the late 1990s, karaoke has captured the hearts of Vietnamese, with some 10,000 establishments licensed to operate in the country.

Many consider karaoke a path to becoming a professional singer.

From luxurious bars with flashing strobe lights, plasma TV sets and hi-fi stereo system to small lounges with simple audio set-ups, all are crowded with customers, especially at weekends or on holidays.

“We always go for singing karaoke whenever we meet,” said 20-year-old student Nguyen Thu Phuong. “My friends and I often sing at a bar near my school. The price is low, only some VND120,000 (US$7.30) per hour.”

Many homes also have karaoke machines, with mini-cinemas with modern karaoke machines a feature of many well-off households.

“Every weekend, we sing karaoke after small parties at home,” said 45-year-old architect Nguyen Van Hung. “Parents and children sing and even dance together. We feel happy and love each other more.”

Karaoke – and drinking – has also become a part of doing business.

“Here (in karaoke bar), everything can be dealt with more easily,” said Nguyen Van Nam, 34, a director of a private garment company in Hanoi. “Every one can understand each other better and talk at ease. I often invite my business partners to karaoke.”

Karaoke has become so important in Vietnam that some people have been disciplined for not singing at work events.

The Oil and Gas Finance Company, under the state-owned Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation (Petrovietnam), ordered 21 corporate officials to make self-criticism reports for not singing karaoke at a contract-signing ceremony near Hanoi.

The other side

However, a number of people, especially youths, don’t go to karaoke bars just for the singing. Some karaoke establishments in major cities facilitate drug usage or feature strippers and prostitutes.

Last month, local police arrested 13 people in a karaoke bar in central Nghe An Province for possession of ecstasy pills. Three weeks earlier, 64 people were arrested on similar charges in northern Bac Ninh Town.

The government has set stricter requirements for karaoke lounges and discotheques. It has regulated that karaoke service providers are not allowed to sell alcohol or allow customers to drink liquor onsite. Every karaoke room must be at least 20 square meters, have transparent glass windows, only one waiter or waitress aged over 18 and rooms are not allowed to be locked.

“The regulations only help reduce evils, they have not affected our business activities. The number of our customers remain unchanged,” said Trinh Ngoc Thuy, an owner of a karaoke bar in downtown Hanoi.

Reported by Bao Anh