The trouble with a top 100 list is that it answers a question nobody asks. You're not looking for the hundred most popular karaoke songs. You're looking for one song, tonight, that fits your voice and the room you're standing in.
So this works the other way round. Every karaoke song here carries the things that actually decide it. How hard it is to sing. How much range it wants before the key change catches you out. Whether it's a duet. How long you'll be holding the microphone. Whether the crowd will carry the chorus if you falter. Set the filters to your situation and the list stops being a list and starts being an answer.
The rankings come from where people really sing, which means public karaoke charts and the long running threads where singers argue about what works in a room. Chart performance barely comes into it. Plenty of huge hits are miserable karaoke, and a few modest ones are unbeatable.
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Song · Why it lands
Range low → high
Difficulty
Length
- 1 ShallowDuet The verses are gentle and sit low. Then the last chorus goes somewhere most people cannot follow, which is exactly why the room watches. 3:36
- 2 Bohemian RhapsodyGroup Nobody sings this well and nobody has ever minded. The room takes the opera section off your hands and the guitar solo gives you somewhere to stand still. 5:55
- 3 Dancing QueenGroup The chorus sits high enough to be a real sing, but the room joins in so completely that a wobble in the middle of it disappears. 3:50
- 4 Don't Stop Believin'Group The verses are low and conversational and lull you completely. Then the title line arrives at the very top of the song, in the last thirty seconds, when you have stopped concentrating. 4:11
- 5 Sweet CarolineGroupTalk-sing The melody barely moves and the key sits low. The only part anyone is waiting for is the bit where they shout, not the bit where you sing. 3:24
- 6 Livin' on a PrayerGroup A perfect karaoke song for four minutes and an ambush in the last one. Everyone knows the chorus; almost nobody survives where it goes at the end. 4:09
- 7 I Want It That Way Built for several voices, which means nobody is ever alone for long. The chorus is the most reliably known line of the entire decade. 3:33
- 8 WonderwallGroupTalk-sing Five notes, a shouted chorus, and a room that will sing it whether you do or not. The nearest thing to a guaranteed result. 4:19
- 9 Take Me Home, Country Roads Everybody knows it, nobody has strong feelings about it, and it sits in the middle of almost any voice. The safest song in the country section. 3:18
- 10 CreepTalk-sing The verses are almost spoken and the chorus is a shout rather than a sing. Attitude does most of the work, which is why it survives voices that should not attempt it. 3:59
- 11 Mr. BrightsideGroupTalk-sing Barely a melody, entirely a shout, and the whole room does it with you. The words come fast but they never go high. 3:43
- 12 AfricaGroup The chorus is layered on the record, so the backing does half the work. The verses are lower and easier than the song's reputation suggests. 4:56
- 13 I Will SurviveGroup A song about walking through a door, which gives you something to act rather than something to sing. The room arrives at the chorus regardless. 4:56
- 14 Total Eclipse of the HeartGroup Enormous, absurd and much harder than anyone expects. Its saving grace is that the whole room wants it to be ridiculous, so going too far is the correct approach. 4:27
- 15 Tennessee Whiskey A slow burn that lives or dies on tone rather than accuracy, which is unusually forgiving right up until the last chorus, where it stops being forgiving at all. 4:53
- 16 Zombie The verses are almost monotone and the chorus is a wail you can throw yourself into. Precision is not the point and never was. 5:06
- 17 Valerie Fast, warm and rhythmic, with a chorus the room knows cold. The speed is the only real obstacle. 3:54
- 18 Rolling in the Deep The verses are low and stalking, which flatters most voices, and then the chorus asks for genuine power. The drums carry you even if the notes do not. 3:48
- 19 My Way Slow enough to think about, which is a gift and a trap. It builds to a real ending, but the phrasing is conversational the whole way there. 4:36
- 20 Lean on MeTalk-sing A song built to be sung by a room rather than a person. It sits low, moves slowly and repeats until everyone has caught up. 4:19
- 21 Piano ManGroupTalk-sing Six minutes of storytelling with a chorus that is essentially a group hum. Long, but almost none of it is difficult. 5:39
- 22 Sweet Home AlabamaGroupTalk-sing Three chords, a drawl and a chorus everyone shouts. The verses are close to spoken. 4:44
- 23 Friends in Low PlacesGroupTalk-sing The best group song in country music. The verses are conversational and the chorus is designed for a bar to shout back at you. 4:20
- 24 Wagon WheelGroupTalk-sing Relentlessly cheerful and impossible to get wrong. The chorus repeats often enough that people who have never heard it join in by the second one. 4:58
- 25 Jolene Almost hypnotic. The melody circles the same few notes, and the name does most of the emotional work for you. 2:42
- 26 9 to 5 Bright, fast and relentlessly upbeat, with a chorus that everyone in the room over thirty knows by reflex. 2:42
- 27 Ring of FireTalk-sing Ten semitones, sung low and flat by design. If you can talk, you can do this one. 2:36
- 28 Folsom Prison BluesTalk-sing Spoken more than sung, in a range that suits people who insist they cannot sing at all. 2:51
- 29 Before He Cheats The verses are almost spat and the chorus is a genuine belt. Great fun, and harder than it sounds on the radio. 3:20
- 30 Man! I Feel Like a Woman! Opens with a spoken line, which is the friendliest possible way into a song, and the chorus is pure celebration. 3:54
- 31 That Don't Impress Me Much Half of it is delivered as an eye-roll rather than a melody, and the joke does the work. 4:27
- 32 Neon Moon Slow, low and unhurried. The closest country gets to a song you can sing while thinking about something else. 4:21
- 33 Chicken FriedTalk-sing Warm, mid-tempo and built entirely around a list, which makes the words easy to hold on to. 3:40
- 34 Islands in the StreamDuet The most reliably successful duet in the book. Both parts sit low, and the chorus puts you in unison, which hides everything. 4:09
- 35 Summer NightsDuet A duet that is really a conversation, with a room shouting the responses between the lines. Almost impossible to ruin. 3:36
- 36 You're the One That I WantDuet Fast, silly and entirely built on call and response. Neither singer holds anything for long. 2:49
- 37 Don't Go Breaking My HeartDuet A back-and-forth that never leaves the middle of either voice, and a chorus that is more chant than melody. 4:35
- 38 Ain't No Mountain High EnoughDuet Joyful and forgiving. The two parts trade lines constantly, so neither of you is out on your own for more than a phrase. 2:29
- 39 Endless LoveDuet Slow and exposed, which makes it the least forgiving duet here, but the parts weave closely so you're rarely alone. 4:27
- 40 Under PressureDuet Two very different voices doing very different things, which means you genuinely need to decide who is doing what before the track starts. 4:08
- 41 PictureDuet A conversational country duet in a low, easy range for both parts, and the phrasing is close to speech. 4:59
- 42 A Whole New WorldDuet Familiar to everyone under fifty, and the two parts hand off cleanly rather than overlapping. 4:06
- 43 (I've Had) The Time of My LifeDuet A big finish and a room that expects the lift, which is either a gift or a problem depending on your nerve. 4:18
- 44 I Will Always Love You The most attempted and least survived song at karaoke. The a cappella opening is exposed, and the last chorus is a genuine feat. 4:27
- 45 I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) Far more forgiving than her ballads. It's fast, bright, and the crowd sings the hook with you. 4:53
- 46 Respect Rhythm and command rather than range. You have to sell it, but you do not have to soar. 2:27
- 47 (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman Beautiful and genuinely difficult. The build is the whole song, and there is nowhere to hide in it. 2:45
- 48 Believe The vocal effect on the record does something no human does, which paradoxically frees you: nobody expects you to match it. 4:00
- 49 If I Could Turn Back Time Low, growling verses and a chorus that opens up. The contrast does most of the work for you. 2:27
- 50 Torn Conversational verses, a chorus that never climbs far, and a melody nearly everyone can already hum. 4:05
- 51 Don't Speak The verses are soft and controlled and the chorus is a plea you can throw yourself into. 4:24
- 52 WannabeGroup Mostly rhythm, half of it spoken, and every person in the room over thirty knows every word. 3:58
- 53 Say My Name The harmonies are the song, and without them the melody is trickier than it sounds. Fast and rhythmically unforgiving. 4:31
- 54 Genie in a Bottle The runs are the point on the record and the trap for everyone else. Sing the straight melody underneath them instead. 3:39
- 55 ...Baby One More Time The vocal sits low and breathy, which is much easier than the song's reputation, and the chorus is universally known. 3:31
- 56 Toxic The verses whisper and the chorus leaps. That jump is the whole difficulty, and it arrives quickly. 3:20
- 57 Since U Been Gone Built to be shouted rather than sung, with a chorus that gathers the whole room in. 3:09
- 58 Complicated Flat, slightly bored delivery is the correct interpretation, which suits an untrained voice perfectly. 4:05
- 59 Sk8er Boi Almost entirely shouted, fast, and funnier now than it was at the time. 3:24
- 60 Landslide Quiet and very exposed. Lovely if the room is listening, difficult if it is not. 3:20
- 61 Dreams Two chords and a melody that drifts. Almost nothing in it is hard, and the mood carries it. 4:18
- 62 Go Your Own Way Rough around the edges by design, with a chorus built for several voices at once. 3:39
- 63 Someone Like You Deceptively plain on the page and genuinely hard in the room. It's slow, quiet and completely exposed. 4:45
- 64 Hello Enormous, and it climbs steadily for four minutes to a place most voices cannot follow. 4:56
- 65 Halo Soars from the first chorus and never really comes back down. Beautiful, and unrelenting. 5:33
- 66 Crazy in Love The horn hook does the heavy lifting and the crowd shouts the intro, but the verses move fast. 6:55
- 67 Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) More chant than melody, and the choreography is what the room is watching anyway. 5:41
- 68 Firework Builds to a genuine belt and stays there. The room will help, but the top of it is real work. 3:48
- 69 Teenage Dream Bright and relentless, with a chorus that everyone knows and nobody has to think about. 3:47
- 70 Poker Face More hook than melody, and the nonsense syllables in the chorus are the part the room is waiting for. 3:59
- 71 Bad Romance Theatrical and demanding, but the chant that opens it buys you enormous goodwill before you sing a note. 4:55
- 72 Love Story Narrative, mid-tempo and forgiving, with a final key change that is gentle rather than punishing. 3:56
- 73 You Belong with Me Conversational verses and a chorus you can shout. Nothing in it reaches for anything. 3:51
- 74 Shake It OffGroupTalk-sing Half of it is spoken and the rest is a chant. Almost impossible to sing badly enough to matter. 3:39
- 75 Girls Just Want to Have FunGroup Pure celebration with a chorus the entire room sings. Higher than it feels, but nobody is listening that closely. 3:58
- 76 Time After Time Gentle, slow and comfortably in the middle of most voices. One of the kinder ballads in the book. 4:01
- 77 Like a Prayer The gospel choir on the record does half the work, and the chorus is built for a crowd to join. 5:41
- 78 Material Girl Light, bright and slightly arch, and the delivery matters far more than the notes. 4:01
- 79 VogueTalk-sing Almost entirely spoken. The famous section is a list of names, delivered deadpan. 4:51
- 80 Piece of My Heart Rasp and commitment rather than accuracy, but it needs real volume, and that catches people out. 4:13
- 81 Proud MaryGroup Starts slow and spoken, then turns into a party. The transition is the whole performance. 5:27
- 82 What's Love Got to Do with It Rough, low verses and a chorus that opens up without ever going out of reach. 3:47
- 83 Sweet Child O' Mine The guitar is what everyone came for, which is fortunate, because the vocal is one of the hardest here. 5:55
- 84 Wanted Dead or Alive Slower and much lower than the rest of the Bon Jovi catalogue, which makes it the safe choice of the two. 5:09
- 85 Summer of '69GroupTalk-sing Rasped rather than sung, at a pitch that suits ordinary voices, with a chorus the whole room shouts. 3:36
- 86 Every Breath You Take Quiet, controlled and very steady. It never reaches, but it also never lets you hide. 4:14
- 87 Roxanne The name itself is the hard part. It's held, high and completely exposed, and it arrives immediately. 3:12
- 88 Purple Rain Slow and enormous, with a long instrumental stretch to recover in. The falsetto at the end is optional and most people should treat it that way. 8:41
- 89 Kiss Almost the entire song is in falsetto. Extraordinary to listen to and close to impossible to copy. 3:46
- 90 Billie Jean The groove is unmistakable and the room is with you from the first bar, but the vocal sits high and stays there. 4:53
- 91 Beat It Urgent and fast, and pitched for a voice that was genuinely exceptional. 4:18
- 92 Man in the Mirror Starts gently and finishes enormous, with a choir behind you for the last two minutes. 5:19
- 93 Careless Whisper The saxophone gets the applause and you get a slow, low, comfortable melody. An unusually good deal. 5:00
- 94 FaithTalk-sing Rhythmic, light and mostly delivered on the beat rather than on the note. 3:16
- 95 Let's Get It On Effortless on the record and anything but in practice. The ad libs are improvisation rather than melody, so leave them alone. 4:51
- 96 Superstition The riff carries the room. The vocal is rhythmically tricky and sits higher than it seems. 4:28
- 97 Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours Joyful, brisk and built on a hook the room shouts back at you. 2:32
- 98 Isn't She Lovely Sunny and deceptive. The melody climbs steadily, and the phrasing is full of little runs. 3:20
- 99 Uptown Girl Relentlessly fast and much higher than anyone remembers. Enormous fun if you can keep up. 3:18
- 100 Rocket Man Long, slow and steady, with a chorus that repeats until the room joins in. 4:42
- 101 Tiny Dancer Six minutes with a very long build. The payoff chorus is worth it and the room waits for it with you. 6:17
- 102 Your Song Conversational, gentle and unhurried. The lyric is written the way someone actually speaks. 4:02
- 103 Hey JudeGroupTalk-sing Four minutes of song and three minutes of the room singing na-na-na without you. The best value in the book. 3:59
- 104 Let It Be Hymn-like and steady, with a melody almost everyone already knows without ever having learned it. 4:03
- 105 Twist and ShoutGroupTalk-sing Shouted from beginning to end. Lennon recorded it with a ruined voice, which tells you everything about how polished yours needs to be. 2:35
- 106 Imagine Slow, low and simple, but very exposed. The simplicity is the challenge rather than the relief. 3:08
- 107 Wish You Were HereTalk-sing Half-spoken, low and unhurried, and everyone in the room knows the guitar part well enough to fill the gaps. 5:35
- 108 Hotel California Long, atmospheric and helped enormously by the fact that the last two minutes are a guitar solo. 6:31
- 109 Take It EasyGroupTalk-sing Loose, warm and mid-tempo, with harmonies on the record that cover the chorus for you. 3:32
- 110 Free Fallin'GroupTalk-sing Three chords, ten semitones and a chorus the room sings. Petty barely sang it himself. 4:16
- 111 American GirlTalk-sing Rough, bright and simple, and the band does most of the driving. 3:35
- 112 Dancing in the Dark Driving and repetitive in the best way, with a chorus that arrives often enough to learn as you go. 4:01
- 113 Come On EileenGroup Chaotic, joyful and impossible to perform seriously. The tempo change at the end is the whole point. 4:47
- 114 We Are the ChampionsGroup A slow, deliberate build to an ending the entire room sings with you at full volume. 3:02
- 115 Don't Stop Me NowGroup Fast, joyful and much harder than its reputation. The words come quickly and the melody keeps climbing. 3:29
- 116 Y.M.C.A.GroupTalk-sing Nobody is listening to your voice. They are watching four letters being spelled with arms. 4:48
- 117 I Love Rock 'N RollGroupTalk-sing Growled rather than sung, low and slow, with a chorus built for a room to shout. 2:55
- 118 Take On MeGroup Everyone attempts the falsetto. Almost nobody reaches it. The attempt is, at this point, part of the tradition. 3:45
- 119 Baby Got BackGroupTalk-sing Entirely spoken, and the room delivers the opening dialogue for you. Requires no singing whatsoever. 4:23
- 120 Ice Ice BabyGroupTalk-sing Spoken start to finish over a bassline everyone recognises in two notes. 4:31
- 121 I'm Too SexyTalk-sing Seven semitones, mostly spoken, and utterly ridiculous. It only fails if you look embarrassed. 2:44
- 122 Barbie GirlDuet A novelty duet where both parts are deliberately silly voices, which removes any question of singing well. 3:20
- 123 Never Gonna Give You Up A famously incongruous voice and a chorus the entire internet knows. The joke is doing most of the work. 3:34
- 124 Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of...)GroupTalk-sing A list of names over a horn riff. Barely sung, extremely fast, and the room shouts the names with you. 3:40
- 125 Bye Bye ByeGroup The choreography is the performance and everyone in the room can do the arm movement. 3:20
- 126 All StarGroupTalk-sing Every single person knows the first line, which means the room is with you before you have really begun. 3:20
- 127 Semi-Charmed LifeTalk-sing Very fast talking over a bright riff. The words are the difficulty, not the notes. 4:28
- 128 Under the BridgeTalk-sing Half-spoken verses and a chorus with a choir behind it. The gentle opening is the exposed part. 4:24
- 129 Hey Ya!Talk-sing Rapped, sung and shouted in roughly equal parts, at a tempo that never lets up. 3:55
- 130 Chasing Cars Almost nothing happens for four minutes, which is exactly why it works. The melody circles the same few notes. 4:28
- 131 Umbrella The hook is a single word repeated, and the room supplies it every time. 4:36
- 132 RehabTalk-sing Low, brassy and conversational, with a chorus that is more of a retort than a melody. 3:35
- 133 Smells Like Teen SpiritGroupTalk-sing Mumbled verses that nobody knows the words to anyway, and a chorus that is pure shouting. 5:02
- Nothing matches those filters. Try clearing one.
Karaoke songs, filtered the way you actually pick one: your questions answered
What makes a good karaoke song?
A narrow vocal range, a chorus the room already knows, and a running time under about four minutes. Chart success has very little to do with it. Some of the biggest hits ever made are punishing to sing.
How do you rate karaoke song difficulty?
On a 1 to 5 scale covering vocal range, how exposed the melody is, breath demands and tempo. It's our own judgement, not a number scraped from somewhere else.
Can I sing a karaoke song written for a different voice?
Yes. Most karaoke machines transpose. Where a song usually needs it, we say by how many semitones.
Keep looking
The best karaoke songsRanked by what people really sing
Easy karaoke songsRated 1 or 2 out of 5
Karaoke songs for bad singersRhythm over pitch
Duet karaoke songsWith the parts split out
Turn a song into a lyric videoFree, in your browser
plays a 30 second preview from Apple, and the video button opens a karaoke version with the words on screen. Range shows where the melody sits across roughly two octaves and how far it travels. It's an estimate, and the quickest way to tell whether a karaoke song suits your voice. Difficulty is our own 1 to 5 rating.
Key, tempo and release data come from MusicBrainz and TheAudioDB. Difficulty, vocal range and the note against each song are ours. We don't reproduce lyrics.
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