Sorry to sound contraversial here but I don't think the K word needs redeeming. Whatever medium you find to express yourself is fine by me. We have to remember and realise that not everyone likes or understands Traditional Folk music but let's not get snobbish about it; personally I can't bear to listen to classical Opera but love Gilbert & Sullivan; i'm sure somewhere along the way, Gilbert & Sullivan were slagged off as being modern & contemporary but we don't think of it that way now! I see the pop music of today (well some of it) being the Folk Music of tomorrow and don't understand why a really good ballad with moving and meaningful lyrics can't be accepted along with the old songs. It is important we encourage people to sing whether on Karaoke, Live Amplified or acoustic, there is no better way to express yourself, so what if is amplified, so what if it is commercial, I wish some of the traditional songs were on Karaoke, I would love to hear my voice sing with a really good Folk band and that is what Karaoke is about!