Dancing Queen. Respect. Brandy (You're a Fine Girl). There are some songs so infectious that you can't help but belt out the lyrics along with the singer. Karaoke--meaning "empty orchestra" in Japanese--gets rid of the singer and leaves you in the spotlight alone. It is the social manifestation of our desire to sing, in tune or out, and in three short decades, it has exploded into a worldwide craze. In this unprecedented study, Zhou Xun and Francesca Tarocco engagingly examine karaoke and all its associated kitsch, crime, and weirdness.

Usually thought of as the pastime of desperately...