What are the greatest karaoke songs ever?
We want your opinions Karaoke Lovers! Whether it be classic songs that you love to sing along to or even a Disney classic song that get you belting out those numbers, we want to know!
What is the best karaoke songs of all time?
“For me it has to be Spice Girls, it takes me back to my younger days singing in my bedroom in front of the mirror with my hairbrush. We sang them on a hen party in May with Hire Karaoke in Bristol, the favourites were Wannabe and Stop, by then end of it the bride had lost her voice! What a night it was! Fun was had by all, young and old” – Claire West
“At my 60th birthday party in Derby we loved ‘White wedding’ by Billy Idol. We sang it so many times that many of us lost our voice, we are planning a Hire Karaoke party again in the near future as we all had so much fun!” – Paul Irving
“For my birthday we hired a karaoke machine in Chelmsford, Essex. Rolling Stones, Satisfaction was the highlight of our night as my brother did an excellent Mick Jagger impression, it took us all by surprise but we had so many giggles, it was a great night!” – Joan Wright
“We hired karaoke equipment for our wedding in Twickenham, London. We wanted something memorable for our guests and entertainment that would suit all age groups. We had so many comments from the guests saying how they loved the karaoke. The highlight of the night has to be when the best man belted out Summer of 69 by Bryan Adams!” – Chloe and Michael Garner
Top 10 Karaoke Songs/Tracks of 2022
1. ‘Purple Rain’ by Prince
Now that our patron saint of frilly-bloused, pan-erotic, disco-rock-sex-funk has sadly shuffled off this mortal coil, his signature slow jam can serve as much as tribute as a “let’s-slow-things-down” showpiece in your karaoke rep. If it’s not too lofty to put that pressure on what is—let’s face it—a mostly frivolous activity, a karaoke run at ‘Purple Rain’ might even lift some spirits. Sung in a gracious middle key (Eb, as the preview screen helpfully reminds you) rather than Prince’s frequent falsetto squeal, it should allow you to bare your soul without any embarrassing high-register mishaps.
2. ‘Be My Baby’ by the Ronettes
Nearly every list of the best songs ever recorded has ‘Be My Baby’ somewhere near the top, and deservedly so. Ronnie Spector was rock & roll’s first bad girl, so pay your respects by putting this gem in the karaoke song queue. Phil Spector’s studio magic made the song a pop touchstone, but Ronnie’s spunky charm makes it a karaoke classic.
3. ‘I Want It That Way’ by the Backstreet Boys
Lurking behind the shimmery Nordic production of this megahit is a great soul ballad. The lyrics are famously nonsensical, owing to Swedish producer and songwriter Max Martin’s tenuous grasp of English, but poetry’s beside the point when you’ve got one of pop music’s catchiest choruses. Kevin Richardson—BSB’s ‘The Old One’ —perceptively nailed the song’s appeal with his assessment: “There are a lot of songs out there that don’t make sense, but make you feel good when you sing along to them, and that’s one of them.” Couldn’t think of a better karaoke endorsement than that.
4. ‘Born to Run’ by Bruce Springsteen
There’s something about an Americana ode to blue-collar youth that makes for a sure-fire karaoke classic, and no one knows this better than the Boss. Released in 1975, this song was his first charting single, the one that laid the foundation for decades of battered blue jeans and working-class anthems. And all these years later, a well delivered ‘Tramps like us / Baby we were born to run’ will still slay a crowd.
5. ’I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ by Whitney Houston
Whitney’s 1987 smash remains an invigorating blast of lovelorn pop glory, her powerful, agile voice soaring effortlessly over spritely synths and funk-syncopated guitar. The whole thing makes the achingly lonely search for a dance floor soulmate sound like the best Friday night ever. Of course, nobody’s alone at karaoke. Especially if you nail that third-act key change.
6. ‘Love Shack’ by the B-52s
The B-52s’ 1989 signature hit – sorry, ‘Rock Lobster’ – works fabulously at karaoke because it’s kind of an audience participation number. After you deliver Cindy Wilson’s classic ‘your what?’ line, the entire room can yell back: ‘Tin roof… rusted!’ But really, ‘Love Shack’ is so much fun to sing and listen to that the whole shack will be shimmying long before then.
7. ‘Since U Been Gone’ by Kelly Clarkson
The simple chord progression and the restrained vocals in the beginning of Clarkson’s 2004 hit make for one of the greatest build-ups to a powerhouse chorus is pop music. Sing this in front of a room full of strangers and the whole lot will be scream-belting, ‘But since you’ve been gone, I can breathe for the first time!’ Don’t worry though—you’ll likely get your chance to shine solo again come the verses.
8. ‘Don’t Stop Believin’’ by Journey
At this point, saying that this fist-pumping, heart-swelling arena rock anthem is a good karaoke jam is like pointing out that ‘Happy Birthday’ is an ideal song to sing on someone’s birthday. It’s so obvious – and overdone – it’s probably not even worth including on a list like this, lest it inspire yet another full-bar singalong for the 9,425,567th time. But that’s the whole point: karaoke is a communal experience, and no matter how hard your eyes may roll whenever you hear that melodramatic keyboard intro, by the time your faux Steve Perry reaches the part about ‘strangers waitin’ up and down the boulevard’, you’ll have fully given in, along with everyone else in the pub. Really, it’s the song karaoke was made for. Believe that.
9. ‘Stand by Me’ by Ben E. King
No karaoke outing is complete without a teary moment, and here’s yours, courtesy of the 1961 classic ‘Stand by Me’ which has been covered more than 400 times (no, we’re not including your karaoke version in that count). Written by Ben E. King with song gods Leiber and Stoller, the song has its roots in a gospel standard called ‘Lord Stand by Me’ and certainly its reach goes beyond regular pop romance—as evidenced by its inclusion in the 1986 right of passage movie Stand by Me. Watch, listen, sing, cry—oh, and enjoy.
10. ‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)’ by Eurythmics
Who are we to disagree with the power of one of Annie Lennox’s most prominent new wave anthems, written with musical partner Dave Stewart in the wake of the demise of their former band, The Tourists. There’s a decent chance that you already know the repetitive lyrics to this ’80s bop built around a pair of intersecting synthesizer riffs, so hold your head up and sing this karaoke song loud.
Needless to say, your top karaoke song may not be listed so let us know what you love the most and it may be featured on a future blog.
