Monique is Panama’s representative in the Karaoke World Championships, one of 40 amateur warblers selected from 30,000 entrants for the competition, which is being held this year for the first time in its spiritual home: Japan. The annual Karaoke World Championships were first held in Finland in 2003, the brainchild of a Finnish company. The final contestants were selected from about 30,000 applicants across the globe, said Daiichikosho, a Japanese karaoke company backing the event. “This time the championships are taking place in Japan, which is exciting as a Japanese person. I myself thought the world championships was a far-fetched dream, but here it is happening in Tokyo, Japan,” Ogata said.

Source: Taipei Times November 29, 2019 16:39 UTC