Two words: speech karaoke

Two words: speech karaoke. A group of Finnish artists is beginning a European tour—first stop, Estonia—where they’re setting up karaoke in barrooms: so revelers can read speeches, loud and proud.

“Many hold the same speech, but each performance is different,” Speech Karaoke Action Group artist Frank Brümmel told Helsingin Sanomat. “Even in regular singing karaoke there are magnificent singers, and others with a more personal approach. But they are all part of the same group. It’s part of the attraction of the genre.”

Speech karaoke co-originator Tellervo Kochta-Kallinen sees the activity as a potential salve for social ills. “We all live more or less in our own bubbles,” he says. “If we choose a speech from a person with whom we not accustomed to identify with, we might unexpectedly find some common ground in the speech, something that cracks the bubble open. Or it can be just as interesting an experience if someone has managed to verbalize magnificently one’s own feelings.”

Speech karaoke: How long until it reaches our shores?