Though many Americans maintain they're too cool to sing to a canned background track, home karaoke machines are actually one of the hottest things in the music business and one of it's stars is a local company.

The Singing Machine, a Coconut Creek-based business, says its fiscal 2002 revenue was up 80% to $62 million. Overall, these machines were the fastest-growing category in music-equipment sales last year, gaining 79%, according to the International Music Products Association.

The sing-your-own movement has grown, retailers say, in part because of falling prices, with starter home machines now going for less than $130. The business may also be benefiting from the recent nesting mentality, not to mention a theatrical streak that's apparently far more widespread than anyone guessed. The selection of music, too, has gone well beyond The Righteous Brothers and 60s one-hit-wonders.

Congratulations to The Singing Machine!