Take this personalized quiz to find 8 good songs to sing for karaoke
By Madeleine Amos10 mins read
Image Credit: the Los Angeles Times
Nervous about what to sing for karaoke? This quiz gives you a top karaoke songs list, matching your singing voice range, so you can make the perfect choice!
What songs should a beginner sing at karaoke? Or, how about options for good karaoke songs to sing that are perfect for a professional singer who wants to let loose?
A fun quiz made by the Pandora Music Genome Project and the Los Angeles Times reveals the perfect karaoke songs for altos, tenors and all voice ranges. Use the quiz to find a good karaoke song matching your singing voice range and mood, even if you feel like you can’t sing.
Choices are ranked by difficulty, genre, year of release, with indicators if they’re suitable for a duet or to get some crowd participation going:
To quote the quiz: “Not everyone can sing. But everyone can do karaoke.” Grab that confidence and step up to the mic.
You can choose between the “album version” of the quiz or “radio edit.” Radio edit gives you the quiz alone, whilst Album version gives you in depth advice and stories from the experts. And if you still don’t trust the choices you end up with, read on for karaoke tips.
Tips for karaoke
- Try a duet
- Ask the crowd for help
- Avoid long songs
- Feel the passion, not the vocals
- Go for the unexpected
- Sing what you like
- Relax
- Embrace the cheesiness
What’s the best era to choose for a karaoke song?
The time period your song choice is from depends on the crowd, and how nostalgic you’re feeling.
How about a song from your youth, before you cared about people judging your music taste? You could pick a new song that’s fresh in people’s minds – or, an old song people will be nostalgic for.
It’s a performance, and you want the crowd with you. So take the median age of the people in the room into account, too.
Think about what karaoke mood you’re feeling
Consider the vibe of the room – and how you’re feeling, too. Do you want to blow off some steam, just for you, or make the crowd dance?
If you’re feeling anxious, pick a song with sing-along appeal to get the crowd’s support. Or, on the opposite end of the spectrum, you might want to burst into the spotlight and put on a show.
Singing voice range
Do you have a vague sense of how high or low you can sing before your voice strains and you lose pitch? Without training, singers generally have around an octave and a half of range.
In the LA Times and Pandora’s karaoke quiz you can pick from lowest, Bass, to highest, Soprano. Pandora Genome provides song examples to help you decide which best fits your singing voice.
Do you fancy trying the easiest or hardest karaoke songs?
Sad or slow songs are considered harder than upbeat songs or power ballads. If you want an easy ride, you’ll find examples of what songs to avoid when you take the quiz.
Looking for a challenge? Choose a fast-paced song with lots of rapid-fire rhythms.
Check out the Pandora playlist of all 516 karaoke songs gathered by the LA Times and Pandora, and Spotify playlists for beginner raps and vocals too, so you can get practicing before your big debut.
