Though KTV gives me a hangover, no headaches anymore

I find it strangely refreshing that I am enjoying KTV. Not that I dislike singing. On the contrary, I was an avid fan of pop music as a teenager. Never shy of acting different, I would always belt out dance or rock songs at school singing competitions, in front of all the straight-faced teachers who were learning to refrain from labeling pop music "spiritual pollution".

But when karaoke arrived in my hometown in the late 1980s, even though I spent hours practicing singing and dance moves in front of mirrors, I found it distasteful.

It spread like a plague - every restaurant, even the small hotpot stall, had a karaoke machine blaring all day long. The singers were usually tuneless and their efforts sounded like screeching tires. Then, my parents' generation flocked to the microphone, yelling old songs.