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The Best Karaoke Songs for Every Crowd

Nine lists of songs that work when you're holding the mic, sorted by genre and decade, each with one tip for picking and running them. Choose for the room, not for your playlist.

Crowd-Pleasers

Songs nearly everyone in the room knows, so the audience carries the singer.

  1. 1Don't Stop Believin' — Journey
  2. 2Sweet Caroline — Neil Diamond
  3. 3Bohemian Rhapsody — Queen
  4. 4Don't Stop Me Now — Queen
  5. 5Dancing Queen — ABBA
  6. 6I Will Survive — Gloria Gaynor
  7. 7Friends in Low Places — Garth Brooks
  8. 8September — Earth, Wind & Fire
  9. 9Piano Man — Billy Joel
  10. 10Uptown Funk — Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars
  11. 11Twist and Shout — The Beatles
  12. 12Come On Eileen — Dexys Midnight Runners
  13. 13Y.M.C.A. — Village People
  14. 14Respect — Aretha Franklin

Tip

A crowd-pleaser works because the room joins in, so don't save these for the end of the night. One early gets the shy half of the room used to making noise.

Duets

Two singers, two mics, and a built-in excuse for people who won't go solo.

  1. 1Islands in the Stream — Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton
  2. 2Summer Nights — John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John
  3. 3You're the One That I Want — John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John
  4. 4I Got You Babe — Sonny & Cher
  5. 5Don't Go Breaking My Heart — Elton John & Kiki Dee
  6. 6(I've Had) The Time of My Life — Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes
  7. 7Under Pressure — Queen & David Bowie
  8. 8Endless Love — Diana Ross & Lionel Richie
  9. 9Shallow — Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
  10. 10Picture — Kid Rock feat. Sheryl Crow
  11. 11Ain't No Mountain High Enough — Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
  12. 12Something Stupid — Frank Sinatra & Nancy Sinatra
  13. 13Don't You Want Me — The Human League

Tip

Agree who sings which part before you walk up, and check that your venue has two mics. Duets are also the easiest way to coax a nervous friend onto the stage.

Easy Songs for Beginners

Comfortable ranges, steady tempos and melodies people already hum.

  1. 1Stand by Me — Ben E. King
  2. 2Hey Jude — The Beatles
  3. 3Let It Be — The Beatles
  4. 4Take Me Home, Country Roads — John Denver
  5. 5Brown Eyed Girl — Van Morrison
  6. 6Build Me Up Buttercup — The Foundations
  7. 7Lean on Me — Bill Withers
  8. 8Ain't No Sunshine — Bill Withers
  9. 9My Girl — The Temptations
  10. 10Ring of Fire — Johnny Cash
  11. 11I Walk the Line — Johnny Cash
  12. 12Can't Help Falling in Love — Elvis Presley
  13. 13Margaritaville — Jimmy Buffett
  14. 14Sweet Home Alabama — Lynyrd Skynyrd

Tip

Pick a song you could sing along to in the car, not one you wish you could sing. A familiar tune at a medium pace is far easier than a hard one you love.

80s Karaoke Songs

Big choruses, big synths and big hair. The decade karaoke was made for.

  1. 1Take On Me — a-ha
  2. 2Livin' on a Prayer — Bon Jovi
  3. 3Girls Just Want to Have Fun — Cyndi Lauper
  4. 4Total Eclipse of the Heart — Bonnie Tyler
  5. 5I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) — Whitney Houston
  6. 6Billie Jean — Michael Jackson
  7. 7Sweet Child o' Mine — Guns N' Roses
  8. 8Africa — Toto
  9. 9Tainted Love — Soft Cell
  10. 10Don't You (Forget About Me) — Simple Minds
  11. 11Eye of the Tiger — Survivor
  12. 12Never Gonna Give You Up — Rick Astley
  13. 13Footloose — Kenny Loggins
  14. 14Pour Some Sugar on Me — Def Leppard

Tip

80s tracks often open with a long instrumental intro. Tell the singer to wait for the vocal cue instead of coming in early, and give group choruses to a group.

90s Karaoke Songs

Boy bands, girl groups, grunge and the songs everyone knew in high school.

  1. 1Wonderwall — Oasis
  2. 2...Baby One More Time — Britney Spears
  3. 3Wannabe — Spice Girls
  4. 4I Want It That Way — Backstreet Boys
  5. 5No Scrubs — TLC
  6. 6Waterfalls — TLC
  7. 7Closing Time — Semisonic
  8. 8Torn — Natalie Imbruglia
  9. 9Livin' la Vida Loca — Ricky Martin
  10. 10Smells Like Teen Spirit — Nirvana
  11. 11Iris — Goo Goo Dolls
  12. 12My Heart Will Go On — Celine Dion
  13. 13Genie in a Bottle — Christina Aguilera
  14. 14Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of...) — Lou Bega

Tip

90s pop is group-song territory. Wannabe and I Want It That Way are best with a whole table of friends sharing the mic.

2000s Karaoke Songs

Pop-punk, big pop hooks and the club hits of the 2000s.

  1. 1Mr. Brightside — The Killers
  2. 2Hey Ya! — OutKast
  3. 3Crazy in Love — Beyoncé feat. Jay-Z
  4. 4Since U Been Gone — Kelly Clarkson
  5. 5Toxic — Britney Spears
  6. 6Umbrella — Rihanna feat. Jay-Z
  7. 7Complicated — Avril Lavigne
  8. 8Yeah! — Usher feat. Lil Jon & Ludacris
  9. 9Hips Don't Lie — Shakira feat. Wyclef Jean
  10. 10Seven Nation Army — The White Stripes
  11. 11Fix You — Coldplay
  12. 12Stacy's Mom — Fountains of Wayne
  13. 13I Gotta Feeling — Black Eyed Peas
  14. 14Poker Face — Lady Gaga

Tip

Rap verses in songs like Yeah! and Crazy in Love go by fast. If a singer is nervous, steer them to songs that are sung start to finish, like Since U Been Gone or Fix You.

Country Karaoke Songs

Story songs and sing-alongs that work even when the singer is nowhere near the key.

  1. 1Jolene — Dolly Parton
  2. 29 to 5 — Dolly Parton
  3. 3Man! I Feel Like a Woman! — Shania Twain
  4. 4Achy Breaky Heart — Billy Ray Cyrus
  5. 5Chattahoochee — Alan Jackson
  6. 6Before He Cheats — Carrie Underwood
  7. 7Need You Now — Lady A (Lady Antebellum)
  8. 8Tennessee Whiskey — Chris Stapleton
  9. 9Boot Scootin' Boogie — Brooks & Dunn
  10. 10Cruise — Florida Georgia Line
  11. 11Crazy — Patsy Cline
  12. 12Amarillo by Morning — George Strait
  13. 13Rhinestone Cowboy — Glen Campbell
  14. 14Elvira — Oak Ridge Boys

Tip

Country is forgiving. A clear story and a loud chorus matter more than perfect pitch, which makes it the easiest genre for a room of non-singers.

R&B and Hip-Hop

Smooth soul classics and rap songs the whole room can shout back.

  1. 1Ain't Nobody — Rufus & Chaka Khan
  2. 2Let's Stay Together — Al Green
  3. 3Superstition — Stevie Wonder
  4. 4Let's Get It On — Marvin Gaye
  5. 5Say My Name — Destiny's Child
  6. 6End of the Road — Boyz II Men
  7. 7Ice Ice Baby — Vanilla Ice
  8. 8U Can't Touch This — MC Hammer
  9. 9Jump Around — House of Pain
  10. 10Whoomp! (There It Is) — Tag Team
  11. 11Empire State of Mind — Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys
  12. 12Super Bass — Nicki Minaj
  13. 13Gettin' Jiggy wit It — Will Smith

Tip

Check the karaoke version before you commit. Rap tracks vary in how fast the on-screen words scroll, and some are edited while others are not, which matters in a mixed crowd.

Power Ballads

Slow start, huge finish. The songs people save for the moment the room is warmed up.

  1. 1Alone — Heart
  2. 2I Don't Want to Miss a Thing — Aerosmith
  3. 3Dream On — Aerosmith
  4. 4Every Rose Has Its Thorn — Poison
  5. 5Faithfully — Journey
  6. 6Open Arms — Journey
  7. 7Here I Go Again — Whitesnake
  8. 8Wind of Change — Scorpions
  9. 9Heaven — Bryan Adams
  10. 10(Everything I Do) I Do It for You — Bryan Adams
  11. 11November Rain — Guns N' Roses
  12. 12Nothing Else Matters — Metallica
  13. 13I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That) — Meat Loaf
  14. 14Making Love Out of Nothing at All — Air Supply

Tip

Save one for the last hour and warm up on a mid-tempo song first. Big final choruses are where a voice runs out, and a ballad that is too high clears a room fast.

Turn a Shortlist Into a Queue

A list only helps if guests can act on it. With Queueoke they don't have to remember a title and wait for a paper sheet to come back around.

Search any song

Guests look up a song or artist from their phone and add it to the queue. Every title above is a normal search.

Find the backing track

Open a YouTube karaoke version straight from the queue when it's that singer's turn.

Everyone sees the order

The live queue and TV display show who's up and who's next, so the shy singer knows when to get ready.

How to run a karaoke night →Printable sign-up sheet →

Picked Your Songs? Start the Queue

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