Public speaking is Americans’ No. 1 fear. Singing in public, though, is a whole different story. Maybe having the words right in front of them provides a safety net for wannabe singers. Fact is, talented vocalists or drunken fools do it with the same amount of enthusiasm, so you shouldn’t be embarrassed to give it a try. In some ways, it’s a very liberating experience.

Bars are known to have karaoke, but restaurants such as Encore Café offer karaoke options as well. Denny Wong, manager of Encore Café, 1007 Massachusetts Street, says the karaoke experience at Encore is different from others around town.

Encore has five private rooms with karaoke set-ups. Some rooms can hold 12 people, and others can hold up to 20. In China, karaoke is a private experience in an enclosed environment with friends, Wong says.

Americanized karaoke, though, is exhibitionist in nature. Participants get on stage and perform to a crowd of people, many of whom they do not know. Karaoke works like this on Saturday nights at Set ‘Em Up Jacks, 1800 East 23rd Street. Karaoke takes place in the main room of the restaurant.

Neither restaurant is lacking for participants, either. “It’s gotten so popular that sometimes people don’t get to sing more than once,” says Set ‘Em Up Jacks owner Danny Koehn.

Wong says Fridays and Saturdays are the busiest nights for Encore’s karaoke rooms. Both restaurants also have a group of regulars who come in. “Mostly they come here for karaoke, not for eating,” Wong says. At Set ‘Em Up Jacks, the regulars are a little crazier. “Some people have their own choreographed routines,” Koehn says.

You don’t have to go out, though, to have a good time doing karaoke. You can always rent a machine. Shinichi Takenouchi owns Karaoke Entertainment, a rental company in Kansas City, Missouri. Takenouchi says the best part about karaoke is that it’s fun for any occasion. Some people may be more willing to burst into song in a private setting. Takenouchi says the machines are easy to use as well. “It’s like a jukebox. You just punch this number and that number,” Takenouchi says.

Logan Walker, Holcomb senior, tries to go out to a karaoke night every other week and says people shouldn’t be discouraged from trying it. “You don’t have to be a good singer to be good at karaoke,” Walker says. Besides, karaoke opens up the opportunity for some wild times. Walker recalls one specific night doing karaoke with some friends.

“All the girls decided to sign up all of the guys for singing without telling us. They called all of our names to go up there at the same time and it ended up being an *NSYNC song. They (the girls) started screaming and being like crazy fans, and it was a good time,” Walker says.

Koehn sees this behavior often from the singers at Set ‘Em Up Jacks and understands why they can cut loose. “It lets them pretend like they’re a rock star,” Koehn says.

Karaoke can provide people with the opportunity to get wild and put their nerves behind them. Koehn has seen some mediocre performers on stage, so you shouldn’t be afraid to do your thing.

Takenouchi passes on some words of wisdom for anyone who still has doubts as well. “Take a drink and what the heck,” he says. A drop of liquid courage may be just what you need to party like a rock star.