Karaoke is an add-on available to any party! Be sure you have plenty of uninhibited guests to make it a success.
Karaoke songs are all remakes, most of them in my collection are from a company called Sound Choice. Overall I believe they make the best renditions available.
When you add karaoke to your party it includes:
A 13" TV on a stand for reading lyrics
Two microphones for singing
Fifteen songbooks listing all available music
Sign-up sheets
A special CD+G player and a karaoke music library of over 2500 songs
LCD Projector and screen are available (at additional cost) for all guests to be able to sing along with the singer.
Famous Last Words: "...Sure, my friends will sing!"
Chances are that at some point of your life you have gone to a party that featured Karaoke as part of the entertainment. If not, you don't get out much. Karaoke can be an exciting part of the party if you plan to use it wisely.
Things to consider when planning to use Karaoke at your party include knowing your audience enough to determine whether there are enough singers to make it possible. The law of averages says 1 in 15 people will sing in front of other people. Do you have enough people coming to the party to make it worthwhile?
Another important factor is at what point during the party will people be allowed to sing. If the party is huge (500+ people), Karaoke can be done full-time. In these cases, such as a corporate holiday party, I suggest a room for dancing with a DJ and a separate room for doing Karaoke with a dedicated KJ (Karaoke Jockey).
For the rest of us who aren't inviting 500 of our closest friends to our party, Karaoke is an add-on to my Disc Jockey system. You must plan on a time for Karaoke to be available. A typical scenario for Karaoke success includes repeated announcements during cocktails/dinner that Karaoke will be available at a scheduled time. Music books will be located on all dinner tables for guests to browse. Guests will be invited to bring up their requests and they will be put in line to sing. Then at a given time (maybe 15 minutes of each hour), we will bring them up to perform. In this way, guests who don't wish to participate in singing can enjoy dancing for the majority of the hour, then take a break as they normally would to cheer for the singers. To "break the ice", I sing a few silly songs to show people you don't have to be Frank Sinatra to have fun. I also suggest for people to come up as groups--there is safety in numbers!
One more note to successful Karaoke parties... I've seen it all. I've seen shy people who sounded like pop stars and drunk people who have ruined the mood. I've seen people fight over microphones. I've seen people cry because they didn't get to sing a dozen times in a row. The worst thing I've ever seen tends to happen all the time--some joker or co-worker signs up a friend (or enemy) to sing. It never works, trust me! Nothing kills a party faster than ill-will. Karaoke must be done on a voluntary basis. I refuse to bring people up against their will.
If you need further ideas on Karaoke or help in planning, please let me know.