To have a perfect karaoke performance, you need to choose a good song. The song should be suitable to your voice tone as well as pleasing to everyone. So, how to pick a good karaoke song?
Here is what you need to do to choose the perfect song for a karaoke session.
- List all the songs that you like.
- Pay attention to the tempo
- Consider your singing ability
- Avoid lengthy songs
- Know the music preference of your audiences
We will get into the details of each point in this article, then you can decide which karaoke songs are for you.
Let’s explore together!
How To Pick A Good Karaoke Song?
It’s rather hard to find a good karaoke song, especially when you don’t sing very well. You can follow the guide below to pick the right songs.
List your favorite songs
When you enjoy a song, you will have more fun when performing it. Your favorite songs will be the best songs you can sing.
Therefore, what you need to do first is list the songs that you like. You may not remember all the songs, but just write down as many as you can. You can check your most listened-to playlist for more songs.
Know the audience’s preference
A good karaoke song is a song that everyone enjoys. You will perform much better if others are in tune with you. Therefore, it’s necessary to think about your audience.
Depending on the age of your audience, you can choose suitable songs. If you do karaoke with your friends, you can sing some current trending songs. For middle-aged audiences, 70s classics will delight them. If the audience’s age range is diverse, the best options are hits around the 80s.
Besides, you should select a popular song so that most people know and can sing along. If your favorite song is obscure, even though it sounds great, others won’t love it.
However, it’s better to avoid the common songs that appear in every karaoke session. These songs may make your audiences get bored because they have heard them too many times.
Another thing to keep in mind is where your karaoke session takes place. The preferred songs in your home karaoke party will be different from those in a bar or club. It will be weird if you sing a sad song about breakups in a lively bar.
Consider your singing ability
To pick a good karaoke song, you should also consider your singing ability.
You need to know your vocal range so that your chosen songs will fit your voice. Here is the step-by-step instruction to determine your vocal range.
Step 1. Warm-up your voice
To define your vocal range more exactly, you need to warm up your voice first. Some methods to warm-up are humming, sirening, and pronouncing vowel sounds.
Step 2. Define your lowest note
Find Middle C on piano, play the note and sing along while playing.
If you haven’t got a piano, you can follow the instructions in this video below. Also, you can install an online piano app and do as you do with the normal piano.
After that, go down to the lower notes, play, and sing along note by note until you find your lowest note. You must not croak or breathe when singing the lowest note. After finding your lowest note, write it down.
Step 3. Define your highest note
The process to find your highest note is similar to finding your lowest one. You should start with the Middle C and go up until reaching the highest note. Then, record the found note on the paper.
Step 4. Compare the notes and find the vocal range
In this step, check the notes you have found and see which vocal range you have as follows.
- C4 – C6: Soprano
- A3 – A5: Mezzo Soprano
- F3 – F5: Alto
- C3 – C5: Tenor
- G2 – G4: Baritone
- E2 – E5: Bass
After determining your vocal range, check your list of favorite songs and see which ones fit your voice.
When singing within your vocal range, you can handle the song easier and produce better sounds.
Pay attention to the tempo
In addition to the vocal range, the tempo of the song should also match your singing ability. It’s better to go for a song that has suitable timing.
Generally, songs with a slow tempo will be more struggling to sing than fast songs. If you sing slow songs, others will pay attention to you more than the backing music.
Moreover, you will have to hold the notes for longer. If your voice is weak, you will fail with slow songs. Too fast songs are also hard to handle. Therefore, you should sing and find which songs have the right tempo for you.
Avoid lengthy songs
The final thing you should pay attention to when choosing a karaoke song is the length of the song. Good karaoke songs will last about 4 minutes. Longer tracks may make the audiences feel bored.
Additionally, don’t pick songs with long instrumental breaks. Also, upbeat songs will make everybody more fun.
Some Good Karaoke Songs That You Could Give A Try
If you still find it difficult to pick a karaoke song, here are some suggestions for you. You can consult this list for singing solo or with your friends. Remember to prepare more than one song for a karaoke session.
Good karaoke songs for solo performances
You can pick some from the following songs if you want to sing by yourself.
- “Save Tonight” by Eagle -Eye Cherry: This 90s hit will be pleasing to everybody in your karaoke room. With the catchy lyrics and upbeat tune, this song will make your audiences get all behind you.
- “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri: This is a cute love song without many high notes. So, if you don’t sing very well, this song is a perfect choice. Besides, it is gender-neutral, so both men and women can sing it.
- “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga: This hit from Lady Gaga can be suitable for singers of any level. All the notes in the song are under the mid-range. If you feel the tempo is too fast, there is a version with a slower
- “Emotions” by Mariah Carey: If you have a good vocal range, you can try this song. It has some impressively high notes that can show off your singing talent. But don’t worry if you can’t reach them as Mariah Carey did because only a few people can hit her vocal range.
- “Single Lady” by Beyoncé: This song is one of the easy-to-sing songs from Queen B. If you are still a single woman, it never hurts to belt out this tune.
- “Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus: Just sing this song at the top of your lungs and leave the world behind. This hit from Miley Cyrus is good to go if you are in a karaoke bar.
- “Never Gonna Give Up” by Rick Asley: This song was once famous as it attached the Rickrolling joke in the past. But “Never Gonna Give Up” is still a favorite song of many people and it is easy to sing.
- “Folsom Prison Blues” by Johnny Cash: You can sing this anthem even if you are just a beginner. As Johnny Cash has a baritone voice, this song is quite easy to sing.
Good karaoke songs for group performances
Here are some tunes that you can perform with your friends.
- “Bootylicious” by Destiny’s Child: You and your friends will have so much fun with this song. Apart from the jazz part, “Bootylicious” is easy to sing.
- “Love Shack” by B-52’s: Gather two of your mates and belt out “Love Shack” together. Don’t forget to do your best at the “Tiiiiiin roof… Rusted” part. All the audiences will be waiting for it.
- “Where is the Love?” by The Black Eyed Peas: Being a bit drunk when performing this song will make your performance more energetic. Make your audiences join in by saying “Everybody claps at the end!”
- “California Dreamin'” by Mamas & The Papas: Cool harmonies of this song will delight everybody. You can ask someone in your group to play the air flute to have some fun.
Final Words
Above is our guide for how to pick a good karaoke song. Choosing a suitable song for karaoke is not a simple job to do. The most important thing is that the song can make everyone enjoy it. We hope that you have known which song you will sing for the next karaoke session.
Thank you for reading!
