STANTON : Karaoke Studio Gets Planning Unit’s OK

A 23-room karaoke recording studio, believed to be the first of its size in Orange County, is coming to Stanton.

Individuals or groups will be able to record their own voices over recorded songs, according to a proposal approved unanimously Wednesday by the Planning Commission. The studio is designed to have separate rooms for hourly rental. The rooms will range from 80 square feet to 300 square feet.

“I think it’s really interesting to go in and have your voice recorded with a professional music background,” said Planning Commissioner Bill Estrada.

The studio is scheduled to open in the middle of March, according to the project’s architect, Myungsoo Ko. Ko said he has designed five similar studios in Los Angeles.

Karaoke, imported from Japan, is spreading in America, and the karaoke studio is catching on as well, according to a retailer of karaoke machines in Santa Ana.

“It’s another way of doing karaoke without having to go to the nightclubs,” said Ron Carleton of Karaoke of California.

Karaoke machines, which typically cost thousands of dollars, use laser video discs to play a song and also project the lyrics onto a video screen for customers to sing along. The machines are now popular in bars and nightclubs around the county.

Carleton said businesses have built small recording booths before, where the public could tape themselves singing along.

“They all went broke,” he said. “It became kind of a fad, and then it dwindled.”

The karaoke studio in Stanton, to be located at 12860 Beach Blvd., will have comfortable rooms with couches and chairs, where people can come in groups, relax and record themselves. However, no alcohol or food will be served.

Carleton said the private rooms for karaoke have become very popular in Japan recently, but have not yet opened in Orange County.

The Planning Commission will review the studio in six months. As part of the permit, dancing is forbidden in the building.