This page answers a question the best of lists dodge. Not which karaoke songs are great, but which ones make you sound great. Those are not the same set, and the gap between them is where most karaoke goes wrong.
A flattering song has a few things in common. The range is narrow, usually under an octave, so you are never straining at either end. The melody sits in the middle of your voice where the tone is strongest. There is rhythm and attitude to hide behind if the pitch drifts. And the chorus is either doubled on the recording or so familiar that the room joins in and covers you.
What is missing matters too. Nothing here has an exposed opening, a sustained high note, or a key change in the last minute. Those are the three things that turn a decent performance into the one people remember for the wrong reason.
- 1 Sweet CarolineGroupTalk-sing Eleven semitones, all of them in the comfortable middle of a voice, and the room covers the only exposed moment. 3:24
- 2 WonderwallGroupTalk-sing The melody moves less than almost anything else here, sits low, and is famous enough that the crowd carries the chorus for you. 4:19
- 3 Lean on MeTalk-sing Low, slow and repetitive in the best sense. You get three verses to find the melody before anyone is really listening. 4:19
- 4 Ring of FireTalk-sing The lowest and narrowest song on the whole site. Cash was not a technical singer and the song does not ask you to be one either. 2:36
- 5 Folsom Prison BluesTalk-sing Ten semitones at the very bottom of a voice, delivered deadpan. Effort would spoil it. 2:51
- 6 VogueTalk-sing The most talk-sung song on the site. There is barely a melody to get wrong. 4:51
- 7 Free Fallin'GroupTalk-sing One of the narrowest ranges here, delivered flat and low. If you are nervous, start with this. 4:16
- 8 I'm Too SexyTalk-sing The narrowest range on the site. It is a deadpan monologue with a beat under it. 2:44
- 9 Take Me Home, Country Roads A comfortable middle range, no held notes, and phrasing that follows how you would say the words anyway. 3:18
- 10 Mr. BrightsideGroupTalk-sing The range is narrow and the delivery is meant to be flat and urgent. Pitch genuinely isn't what this song is asking you for. 3:43
- 11 Sweet Home AlabamaGroupTalk-sing The melody sits in a narrow band and the delivery is meant to be loose. Precision would actually sound wrong. 4:44
- 12 Friends in Low PlacesGroupTalk-sing Low, conversational and slow enough to breathe, with a chorus the room takes over entirely. 4:20
- 13 Wagon WheelGroupTalk-sing A narrow range, a steady tempo and a chorus that repeats until the room has learned it. 4:58
- 14 Jolene The melody barely leaves a five-note span, and the repetition means you are never guessing what comes next. 2:42
- 15 That Don't Impress Me Much The verses are essentially spoken with attitude, and the chorus stays in a comfortable middle range. 4:27
- 16 Neon Moon A low, wide-open tempo with long gaps between phrases, so breath is never a problem. 4:21
- 17 Islands in the StreamDuet Both halves sit comfortably low and the chorus is sung together, so neither singer is ever exposed alone. 4:09
- 18 PictureDuet Both parts sit low and the delivery is deliberately rough, so a plain voice suits it better than a trained one. 4:59
- 19 Torn The range is narrow and the phrasing is close to speech, so it flatters a plain, honest voice. 4:05
- 20 WannabeGroup There's barely a melody in the verses. It's a rhythm piece, and the chorus is chanted rather than sung. 3:58
- 21 Complicated The melody sits in a narrow middle range and the delivery is meant to be deadpan. Sounding effortless is the style. 4:05
- 22 Sk8er Boi Shouted rather than sung, in a narrow range, at a tempo that carries you along whether you are ready or not. 3:24
- 23 Dreams The melody floats within a narrow band and never demands power. A soft voice suits it better than a strong one. 4:18
- 24 Love Story The verses tell a story at a comfortable speaking pitch, and the chorus stays well inside a normal range. 3:56
- 25 You Belong with Me A narrow range, and phrasing that follows how you'd say the words. One of the friendliest pop songs here. 3:51
- 26 Shake It OffGroupTalk-sing The verses are rhythmic talking and the chorus repeats four words. Pitch is barely involved. 3:39
- 27 Time After Time Slow enough to breathe, narrow enough to stay comfortable, and famous enough that nobody is judging the details. 4:01
- 28 Material Girl A narrow range and a knowing delivery. This is a performance song rather than a singing one. 4:01
- 29 Summer of '69GroupTalk-sing The delivery is deliberately rough, the range is narrow, and a clean voice actually suits it less well than a ragged one. 3:36
- 30 FaithTalk-sing A narrow range at a bouncing tempo. It rewards timing rather than tone. 3:16
- 31 Your Song The phrasing follows ordinary speech, the range is narrow, and the tempo gives you room to breathe. 4:02
- 32 Hey JudeGroupTalk-sing The verses sit comfortably mid-range and the entire back half is a crowd chant you can simply conduct. 3:59
- 33 Let It Be Slow, narrow and endlessly familiar. There's nothing in it to trip over. 4:03
- 34 Wish You Were HereTalk-sing Low, slow and deliberately world weary. A plain voice is exactly what it wants. 5:35
- 35 Take It EasyGroupTalk-sing The delivery is relaxed by design and the range is narrow, so a casual voice fits it better than a careful one. 3:32
- 36 American GirlTalk-sing A narrow mid range and a loose delivery. Precision would sound wrong. 3:35
- 37 Y.M.C.A.GroupTalk-sing The chorus is spelled rather than sung, and the room does it with you. Vocal quality is genuinely irrelevant here. 4:48
- 38 I Love Rock 'N RollGroupTalk-sing Low, narrow and delivered as a snarl. A trained voice would actually suit it less. 2:55
- 39 Baby Got BackGroupTalk-sing There is no melody to sing. This is a rhythm and delivery piece from beginning to end. 4:23
- 40 Ice Ice BabyGroupTalk-sing There's no sung melody at all. The entire difficulty is remembering the words fast enough. 4:31
- 41 Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of...)GroupTalk-sing Spoken rhythmically rather than sung, in a very narrow band. The only challenge is keeping up. 3:40
- 42 All StarGroupTalk-sing Shouted more than sung, narrow range, and the crowd takes the opening line off your hands entirely. 3:20
- 43 Chasing Cars The melody repeats within a very narrow band and the tempo is slow enough to think between lines. 4:28
- 44 Careless Whisper The verses sit low and move slowly, and the most famous part of the record is not sung at all. 5:00
- 45 Twist and ShoutGroupTalk-sing It is meant to sound like your voice is giving out. A rough delivery is the correct one. 2:35
- 46 RehabTalk-sing It sits low and the delivery is meant to be offhand. A smoky, imperfect voice is the right one for it. 3:35
- 47 Smells Like Teen SpiritGroupTalk-sing The verses are famously unintelligible and the chorus is screamed. Tone is not what this song is measuring. 5:02
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Good karaoke songs that flatter you: your questions answered
What should I sing at karaoke if I can't sing?
Something rhythmic with a narrow range and a crowd chorus. Our karaoke songs for bad singers page goes further and lists the ones you can mostly talk.
Does the key of a karaoke song matter?
A lot. If a song sits too high, drop it two or three semitones on the machine before you start rather than fighting it.
Keep looking
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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