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This is contact usYou Won't Regret It, a new weekly column featuring recommendations, tips, and unsolicited advice from the Mashable culture team.

When was the last time you stepped up to a microphone, abandoned all fear of embarrassment, and passionately belted the lyrics to one of your favorite throwback jams?

If your answer falls within the past two weeks, I'd like to congratulate you on knowing how to live. But if it's been a while since you've read lyrics from a monitor and bared your soul into a mic, I'm here to inform you that you're in desperate need of a karaoke night.

SEE ALSO: HitClips: Remembering the most absurd way we listened to music

Anyone who's ever performed a mini concert in the comfort of their shower or pretended to be a guest on Carpool Karaokeknows that singing out loud, without restraint, feels amazing. Now imagine that satisfying sensation, intensified — with some good food, drinks, lighting, and friends surrounding you — and you've got a karaoke night. Sounds great, right? That's because it is!

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Most people know that listening to music does wonders for your psyche, but the act of singing has some benefits, too. A 2017 study that examined 1,779 choir members internationally for four months found "confirmatory evidence to support choral singing as a means of improving wellbeing." And earlier this year, the Chicago Tribunereported that singing can lower cortisol levels (i.e.: stress hormones,) help improve mental functions, and more.

Beyond potential health benefits, those who haven't spent a night at a karaoke bar are missing out on a magically cathartic experience. Sing-screaming the scathing lyrics to your favorite emo songs or belting the words to a classic hit you'll never do justice to is one of more underrated forms of stress relief. It's an innocent way to release bottled up emotions that's both fun and humbling.

And we'd be remiss not to mention that a karaoke adventure provides an opportunity to post what I believe is one of the best types of Instagram photos out there: The Karaoke Lyrics Sub-Gram. Posting karaoke lyrics to Instagram is kind of like a sub-tweet, but you let the screen do all the talking. It's pretty much the closest thing we have to AIM away message song lyrics. Truly powerful stuff.

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Karaoke often comes easily to confident singers, but for the many introverts of the world like myself, the thought of publicly singing into a microphone in front of strangers can feel terrifying.

While it might seem intimidating at first, as someone who's sat out her fair share of karaoke opportunities before making it to the mic, I promise you it's worth trying.

But if you'd rather gently ease yourself into the karaoke life, you can start by practicing alone in the comfort of your own home, like Cameron Diaz in The Holiday, or hosting a karaoke party to sing in front of people you already know.

If you don't have a karaoke machine, there are tons of options on Amazon like BONAOK's Wireless Bluetooth mic, a fun and flashy Singing Machine, or the Singtrix Party Bundle home karaoke system that includes a mic stand, "live vocal effects technology," and a speaker if you want to go all out.

You can also search the app store for singing apps, or improvise by searching instrumental karaoke versions of songs on YouTube. And if you do decide to go to a karaoke bar, don't forget that you always have the option to opt for a classic duet or group number if you'd like some company at the mic.

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You can can never go wrong with any song by ABBA, or anything that's been featured on Lip Sync Battle or Glee. And Lorelai from Gilmore Girls showed us that Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" is the perfect song for karaoke-related grand romantic gestures.

Still unsure where to start? That's fine. We made you this playlist of suggestions. Good luck up there.

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Serenade the world with this portable karaoke microphone

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Topics Music