“Karaoke” is a word of Japanese origin. Kara is from karappo, which means “empty. Oke is from okesutura, which means “orchestra”. So “karaoke” literally means “empty orchestra”. It consists of music from which the major melody - the lyrics - have been removed, allowing people to sing the lyrics along to the music.

(ˌkæriˈoʊki ; ˌ kɛriˈoʊki ) noun. a form of entertainment in which patrons, as in a bar, take turns singing popular songs into a microphone accompanied by prerecorded music played on a special device, with the lyrics displayed on a screen.