Avoid These 10 Karaoke Songs

Track choice may be the most difficult aspect of karaoke night. To start, you must know what you can and can’t execute from a vocal perspective. The wonders of karaoke DJ equipment include the ability to adjust a track to the performer’s comfort zone and add fancy effects. VocoPro creates magic! Still, choosing a song in the constraints of your voice is the intelligent strategy.

And besides the question of what you can comfortably sing, you might consider how the track you pick fits with the audience’s taste and with the energy of the evening. Remember that lots of karaoke shows have a one time per night rule for songs, you need to be careful that you aren’t snatching another performer’s signature track or you aren’t putting a slip in for some song that has previously been sung.

So many hang ups about selecting the right song could make you wonder: Is there such a thing as karaoke song loser? Tracks that have redundant lyrics are usually horrible, since many singers struggle to make the identical words sound interesting over and over. Tracks with embarrassingly sexual lyrics make many audiences uncomfortable. Picking a tune with extended instrumental solos or long instrumental breaks is a excellent way to leave yourself zip to do but hold a microphone and look awkward on stage. Tongue turning, high speed lyrics often result in the singer peering at the monitor and trying to catch up – that’s no fun. Because of the intricate rhythms, rap is generally a show killer as rap tunes have very few tonal guideposts to keep you on (or off!) the beat.

Here follows a rundown of 10 songs – the karaoke show killers. Don’t (I’m begging you) request them. There are a couple cool tunes on the list. And there are a couple tunes on the list that are musical abortions. Regardless, many of them are too hard to perform. It is time to give these tunes a karaoke gravestone. Brace yourself for groans, wincing, and eye rolling from the karaoke crowd when you request one of these.

The 10 Karaoke Song Duds:
1. Queen – “Bohemian Rhapsody”
2. ”I Touch Myself” by the Divinyls
3. Bonnie Tyler’s ”Total Eclipse of the Heart”
4. Aqua’s “Barbie Girl”
5. Meatloaf – “Paradise by the Dashboard Light”
6. ”I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston
7. Sir Mix-A-Lot – “Baby Got Back”
8. Meatloaf – “Anything for Love”
9. ”I Got You Babe” by Sonny and Cher
10. Michael Jackson – “Beat It”

Expect that if you choose one of the songs we will politely golf clap your singing when it is (thankfully) ended. When we see the track title, we may be hoping you fall and bludgeon yourself into a coma before you get to the stage. And no need to enhance with booze your singing, since your state of inebriation won’t make the song less painful for the audience!

That’s my opinion and I’m holding to it. But truth be told, choosing one of these songs is likely to be unpleasant for you and for your audience. You can introduce something a little fresher to the machine karaoke limelight. If you can surprise the audience with a fresh track, you may have an easier time collecting real accolades. For karaoke regulars whom I’ve enraged by the naming of their signature song on my karaoke show killer countdown, take those lemons and make lemonade! There are many great karaoke songs to sing!