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With the original key and how far to transpose

Karaoke songs for men

Songs originally recorded by male vocalists, each with its key, including the handful that are famously higher than anyone expects.

The honest version of this list comes with a warning attached. A song being sung by a man on the record tells you almost nothing about whether you can sing it. Plenty of male vocalists recorded in ranges most men cannot reach, and a few of the most attempted songs on this page are among the hardest on the whole site.

So every entry shows the key it was recorded in and, where it matters, how far to move it. Two or three semitones down turns several of these from a struggle into a comfortable sing, and nobody in the room will notice.

The pattern worth knowing is this. Rock songs from the seventies and eighties tend to sit brutally high, because the singers who made them were outliers. Country, soul and crooner material sits far lower and is far more forgiving. If you are unsure of your range, start in the second group.

Sort

# Song · Original key & how far to move it Range low → high Difficulty Length
  1. 1 Bohemian RhapsodyGroup Queen1975Rockkey Cm144 bpm Recorded in Cm. Sits well as written. 5:55
  2. 2 Don't Stop Believin'Group Journey1981Hard Rockkey E119 bpm Recorded in E. Recorded in E. The payoff line is the whole problem. Three semitones down makes it reachable without losing the drama. 4:11
  3. 3 Sweet CarolineGroupTalk-sing Neil Diamond1969Popkey B126 bpm Recorded in B. Sits well as written. 3:24
  4. 4 Livin' on a PrayerGroup Bon Jovi1986Rockkey C123 bpm Recorded in C. Recorded in C, and the final chorus jumps up a whole tone. That key change defeats more singers than anything else in the book, so start four semitones down. 4:09
  5. 5 I Want It That Way Backstreet Boys1999Popkey F#m99 bpm Recorded in F#m. Sits well as written. 3:33
  6. 6 WonderwallGroupTalk-sing Oasis1995Indiekey D87 bpm Recorded in D. Sits well as written. 4:19
  7. 7 Take Me Home, Country Roads John Denver1971Countrykey A82 bpm Recorded in A. Sits well as written. 3:18
  8. 8 CreepTalk-sing Radiohead1992Alternative Rockkey G92 bpm Recorded in G. Recorded in G. Comfortable for most men as written; women usually take it up three. 3:59
  9. 9 Mr. BrightsideGroupTalk-sing The Killers2004Indiekey C#148 bpm Recorded in C#. Sits well as written. 3:43
  10. 10 AfricaGroup Toto1982Classic Rockkey A93 bpm Recorded in A. Sits well as written. 4:56
  11. 11 Tennessee Whiskey Chris Stapleton2015BlueGrasskey A97 bpm Recorded in A. Recorded in A. The ending needs real power; two semitones down buys you most of it back. 4:53
  12. 12 My Way Frank Sinatra1969Swing Recorded in an unlisted key. Sits well as written. 4:36
  13. 13 Lean on MeTalk-sing Bill Withers1972Soulkey C75 bpm Recorded in C. Sits well as written. 4:19
  14. 14 Piano ManGroupTalk-sing Billy Joel1973Rockkey C89 bpm Recorded in C. Sits well as written. 5:39
  15. 15 Sweet Home AlabamaGroupTalk-sing Lynyrd Skynyrd1974Rockkey G98 bpm Recorded in G. Sits well as written. 4:44
  16. 16 Friends in Low PlacesGroupTalk-sing Garth Brooks1990Countrykey A108 bpm Recorded in A. Sits well as written. 4:20
  17. 17 Wagon WheelGroupTalk-sing Darius Rucker2013Countrykey A148 bpm Recorded in A. Sits well as written. 4:58
  18. 18 Ring of FireTalk-sing Johnny Cash1963Country105 bpm Recorded in an unlisted key. Sits well as written. 2:36
  19. 19 Folsom Prison BluesTalk-sing Johnny Cash1955Countrykey C110 bpm Recorded in C. Sits well as written. 2:51
  20. 20 Neon Moon Brooks & Dunn1991Countrykey A103 bpm Recorded in A. Sits well as written. 4:21
  21. 21 Chicken FriedTalk-sing Zac Brown Band2008Countrykey F#86 bpm Recorded in F#. Sits well as written. 3:40
  22. 22 Under PressureDuet Queen1981Rockkey D114 bpm Recorded in D. Sits well as written. 4:08
  23. 23 Go Your Own Way Fleetwood Mac1977Rockkey F136 bpm Recorded in F. Sits well as written. 3:39
  24. 24 Sweet Child O' Mine Guns N' Roses1987Hard Rockkey F#125 bpm Recorded in F#. Recorded in D flat. Rose sang in a range almost nobody has, so four or five semitones down isn't cheating. It's arithmetic. 5:55
  25. 25 Wanted Dead or Alive Bon Jovi1986Rockkey G150 bpm Recorded in G. Sits well as written. 5:09
  26. 26 Summer of '69GroupTalk-sing Bryan Adams1984Rockkey D139 bpm Recorded in D. Sits well as written. 3:36
  27. 27 Every Breath You Take The Police1983New Wavekey C#117 bpm Recorded in C#. Sits well as written. 4:14
  28. 28 Roxanne The Police1978New Wavekey C134 bpm Recorded in C. Recorded in G minor. That first sustained note decides the song; three down makes it survivable. 3:12
  29. 29 Purple Rain Prince1984Funkkey A#113 bpm Recorded in A#. Recorded in B flat. Sing the lower octave in the final section. Almost everybody does. 8:41
  30. 30 Kiss Prince1986Funk Recorded in an unlisted key. Recorded in A. There's no comfortable transposition. Either you have the falsetto or you pick a different Prince song. 3:46
  31. 31 Billie Jean Michael Jackson1982Popkey F#m116 bpm Recorded in F#m. Recorded in F sharp minor. Three semitones down brings it into an ordinary male range. 4:53
  32. 32 Beat It Michael Jackson1982Popkey D#m136 bpm Recorded in D#m. Recorded in E flat minor. Take it down three or four and it becomes a very good time. 4:18
  33. 33 Man in the Mirror Michael Jackson1987Popkey G#100 bpm Recorded in G#. Sits well as written. 5:19
  34. 34 Careless Whisper George Michael1984Pop Recorded in an unlisted key. Sits well as written. 5:00
  35. 35 FaithTalk-sing George Michael1987Popkey B96 bpm Recorded in B. Sits well as written. 3:16
  36. 36 Let's Get It On Marvin Gaye1973Soulkey G#84 bpm Recorded in G#. Sits well as written. 4:51
  37. 37 Superstition Stevie Wonder1972R&Bkey C#101 bpm Recorded in C#. Recorded in E flat minor. Two down helps, but the real difficulty is the timing, not the pitch. 4:28
  38. 38 Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours Stevie Wonder1970Soul Recorded in an unlisted key. Sits well as written. 2:32
  39. 39 Isn't She Lovely Stevie Wonder1976R&B Recorded in an unlisted key. Sits well as written. 3:20
  40. 40 Uptown Girl Billy Joel1983Rockkey E129 bpm Recorded in E. Recorded in E. Three down turns a sprint into a song. 3:18
  41. 41 Rocket Man Elton John1972Popkey A#137 bpm Recorded in A#. Sits well as written. 4:42
  42. 42 Tiny Dancer Elton John1971Popkey C145 bpm Recorded in C. Sits well as written. 6:17
  43. 43 Your Song Elton John1970Popkey D#128 bpm Recorded in D#. Sits well as written. 4:02
  44. 44 Hey JudeGroupTalk-sing The Beatles1968Rock & Rollkey F74 bpm Recorded in F. Sits well as written. 3:59
  45. 45 Let It Be The Beatles1970Rock & Rollkey C143 bpm Recorded in C. Sits well as written. 4:03
  46. 46 Twist and ShoutGroupTalk-sing The Beatles1963Rock & Rollkey D125 bpm Recorded in D. Sits well as written. 2:35
  47. 47 Imagine John Lennon1971Classic Rockkey C76 bpm Recorded in C. Sits well as written. 3:08
  48. 48 Wish You Were HereTalk-sing Pink Floyd1975Progressive Rockkey G123 bpm Recorded in G. Sits well as written. 5:35
  49. 49 Hotel California Eagles1976Rockkey D147 bpm Recorded in D. Sits well as written. 6:31
  50. 50 Take It EasyGroupTalk-sing Eagles1972Rockkey G139 bpm Recorded in G. Sits well as written. 3:32
  51. 51 Free Fallin'GroupTalk-sing Tom Petty1989Psychedelic Rockkey F84 bpm Recorded in F. Sits well as written. 4:16
  52. 52 American GirlTalk-sing Tom Petty1976Rockkey D115 bpm Recorded in D. Sits well as written. 3:35
  53. 53 Dancing in the Dark Bruce Springsteen1984Rockkey C#m149 bpm Recorded in C#m. Sits well as written. 4:01
  54. 54 Come On EileenGroup Dexys Midnight Runners1982Popkey D107 bpm Recorded in D. Sits well as written. 4:47
  55. 55 We Are the ChampionsGroup Queen1977Rockkey F92 bpm Recorded in F. Recorded in F. The final line is genuinely high, but two or three down and the crowd won't notice. 3:02
  56. 56 Don't Stop Me NowGroup Queen1978Rockkey F156 bpm Recorded in F. Recorded in F. Three down makes the pace survivable. 3:29
  57. 57 Y.M.C.A.GroupTalk-sing Village People1978Popkey F#126 bpm Recorded in F#. Sits well as written. 4:48
  58. 58 Take On MeGroup a-ha1985Synthpopkey F#m84 bpm Recorded in F#m. Recorded in A. The famous note is two octaves above the verse. Sing it an octave down and keep your dignity. 3:45
  59. 59 Baby Got BackGroupTalk-sing Sir Mix-a-Lot1992Hip-Hop Recorded in an unlisted key. Sits well as written. 4:23
  60. 60 Ice Ice BabyGroupTalk-sing Vanilla Ice1990Hip-Hopkey Gm117 bpm Recorded in Gm. Sits well as written. 4:31
  61. 61 I'm Too SexyTalk-sing Right Said Fred1991Pop128 bpm Recorded in an unlisted key. Sits well as written. 2:44
  62. 62 Never Gonna Give You Up Rick Astley1987Popkey G#113 bpm Recorded in G#. Sits well as written. 3:34
  63. 63 Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of...)GroupTalk-sing Lou Bega1999Latin Popkey Fm87 bpm Recorded in Fm. Sits well as written. 3:40
  64. 64 Bye Bye ByeGroup *NSYNC2000Pop86 bpm Recorded in an unlisted key. Sits well as written. 3:20
  65. 65 All StarGroupTalk-sing Smash Mouth1999Rockkey B104 bpm Recorded in B. Sits well as written. 3:20
  66. 66 Semi-Charmed LifeTalk-sing Third Eye Blind1997Alternative Rockkey G102 bpm Recorded in G. Sits well as written. 4:28
  67. 67 Under the BridgeTalk-sing Red Hot Chili Peppers1991Alternative Rockkey E85 bpm Recorded in E. Sits well as written. 4:24
  68. 68 Hey Ya!Talk-sing OutKast2003Hip-Hop Recorded in an unlisted key. Sits well as written. 3:55
  69. 69 Chasing Cars Snow Patrol2006Alternative Rockkey A104 bpm Recorded in A. Sits well as written. 4:28
  70. 70 Smells Like Teen SpiritGroupTalk-sing Nirvana1991Alternative Rockkey C#117 bpm Recorded in C#. Sits well as written. 5:02
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Karaoke songs for men: your questions answered

What are good karaoke songs for guys who can't sing?

Talk sing material. The songs on our karaoke songs for bad singers page are chosen for exactly this, and most of them were recorded by men.

Which karaoke songs are secretly too high?

Rock anthems, mostly. The transpose note against each song here flags the ones that catch people out.

Keep looking

Karaoke songs, filtered the way you actually pick oneFree · No sign-up · Filter by voice, not by vibe Karaoke songs for womenWith the original key and how far to transpose Karaoke songs for bad singersRhythm over pitch Country karaoke songsThe most forgiving genre at karaoke 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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