What should I sing? How to pick the perfect karaoke song

You’re out with friends at karaoke. Your turn is next. But dang, you still don’t know what song to sing, and you’re not a great singer. What’s more, someone just nailed “You Oughta Know” by Alanis Morissette! How can you top that?

If this scenario sounds familiar to you, karaoke enthusiasts have some advice. Karaoke isn’t about being perfect. In fact, when people “awkwardly miss the lyrics, that makes other people feel comfortable to get up there and do it,” says Jenny Lee, a member of a small karaoke club in Detroit who has been active in the hobby for more than two decades.

Still, if you have that burning desire to give it your all, here’s how to pick a banger that’ll bring down the house.

Choose the song that makes you say, ‘that’s my jam!’ Think about the songs you were obsessed with in middle school, automatically turn up when you hear them on the radio, or always belt out in the car. When you pick a song you love and know well, the audience can feel that energy. The “conviction is there,” says Diana Nucera, an artist and musician who is part of Lee’s karaoke group in Detroit.

Sing the bop that’s been stuck in your head. You’ve probably hummed or sung the song enough to perform it with confidence and know it’s within your singing abilities. You also may be feeling an emotional connection, which may make you wonder: “What would it be like to sing that?” Lee says. Performing it could be cathartic.

Opt for a crowd pleaser. “Try to find a mainstream song everyone knows,” says Boris Nolens, who hosts a karaoke night at Coco’s Outback, a bar in Amsterdam. That way, “other people will sing along and you’re not standing in front of a crowd that’s quiet and listening.”

Know how (most of) the song goes. If there’s a song you like but don’t know all the lyrics and is even out of your vocal range, that’s OK. As long as you know the melody, you’ll be alright. “You need to know how the words you’re reading on the screen fit into the song so it can flow,” Lee says. “Once you mess up the words, then you stumble — and it can crumble from there.”

Use body language to emphasize emotions. Embody your love of the song in your performance. Clench your fist and pump it. Shake your hips. Close your eyes. Let the music literally move you. A singer should be “feeling or figuring something out when they sing,” Nucera says. “To me, that makes a beautiful performance.”

Fun karaoke songs to sing

Reporter Zak Rosen shares go-to karaoke songs.

• “You Get What You Give” by New Radicals
• “Rocket Man” by Elton John
• “At the End of the Day” from the Les Misérables soundtrack
• “You Can Call me Al” by Paul Simon
• “Army” by Ben Folds Five
• “Anywhere Is” by Enya
• “The Great Beyond” by R.E.M.
• “Welcome to Paradise” by Green Day
• “Semi-Charmed Life” by Third Eye Blind

Zak Rosen is the creator and host of The Best Advice Show and co-host of Slate’s parenting and advice podcast, Care and Feeding.

The podcast episode was produced by Margaret Cirino. The digital story was edited by Meghan Keane. The visual editor is Beck Harlan. We’d love to hear from you. Leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823, or email us at LifeKit@npr.org.

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