How To Pick Your Go-To Karaoke Song

I originally wrote this for my blog a couple years ago. I figured it could be a good share through this forum.

Karaoke is an art form. Those who were in their high school choir or acapella group will be the first to tell you how much they love karaoke. They live for it. Your grandfather has done it. Harry Potter does it. You don't have to be good at singing to sing along for karaoke. That's the beauty of it. The key to finding a good karaoke song to perform is you want to pick a song that the crowd will enjoy. YOU are providing the entertainment at this gathering for the next 2-5 minutes. Not many people will ever have the opportunity to perform in front of an audience, so making your choice may be difficult. For the most part, you need to choose a song that the crowd will know. Don't be the first to go up to the mic. Think about your choice. Like I said, you only have a few minutes to shine. Pick a song you know, you should know at least 60% of the lyrics to a song, and most definitely the chorus. You can't be up there reading off the monitor. The crowd will lose interest in you real fast if you don't know the lyrics. So choosing a song may be challenging, but I'm here to help.

There are 2 different forms of Karaoke:

The karaoke where you and 5 buddies rent out a room for a few hours on a Saturday night, sneak in some nips and bond to your favorite hits
The standard Saturday night at a dive bar, the drunkest people there belting out Madonna.

The Rap Song
Lose Yourself. No Diggity. Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

You learned every word to the song 10 years ago, so you might as well make use of that knowledge now. One of my roommates knows every word to "Stan" by Eminem. One of my roommates knows every word to REM's "The End of the World." I know all the words to Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start The Fire." Use this skill or else the effort was worthless.

IF I WERE TO CHOOSE ONE: Just a Friend by Biz Markie

The Cliches
Don't Stop Believing. Sweet Caroline. Build Me Up Buttercup, Livin' On a Prayer

The thing that bothers me most about these songs is that the people who pick them generally go up as a group and only know the chorus. Don't be one of those people.

IF I WERE TO CHOOSE ONE: Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen

Oldies but Goodies
Beat It, Rich Girl, Beast of Burden

These are classics that people want to hear because they aren't overdone. Africa and Piano Man ride a thin line between Cliches and this category, but I think most people who choose these songs know the lyrics.

IF I WERE TO CHOOSE ONE: September by Earth, Wind, and Fire

The Current Top 40 Hit
Uptown Funk, Insert Ed Sheeran or Taylor Swift song here

We hear it enough already, don't be that guy.

IF I WERE TO CHOOSE ONE: Shut Up and Dance by Walk the Moon

Past Top 40 Hits (and future 1 Hit Wonders)
Firework, Party in the USA, Call Me Maybe

If the song is over 1 year old, I think it's reasonable to bring it back. These songs will soon become throwbacks and get the crowd going for years to come.

IF I WERE TO CHOOSE ONE: Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus

The Throwbacks
I Want It That Way. All The Small Things. Hey Ya, Santeria

One of the better groups of songs to choose from. Bring us back to the 90s. Belt out Christina Aguilera's "Genie In The Bottle" or Britney Spears' "Hit Me Baby One More Time." Everyone remembers these throwbacks, and appreciate you for choosing them. We'll sing along with more heart than the Cliches.

IF I WERE TO CHOOSE ONE: 1985 by Bowling For Soup

A Duet or with a Group
Kiss from a Rose. Longest Time, Africa, Endless Love, TLC/Destiny's Child

You're with your best bros. You all want to do a song together for that one guy whose birthday it is. OR you're with your friend who doesn't want to go up there alone. OR you've been practicing your harmonization with a buddy for the past few weeks just for this moment.

IF I WERE TO CHOOSE ONE: (I've Had) The Time of My Life (from Dirty Dancing)

That Random Song
I can tell you from experience that the songs that have been most memorable for me in my time going to karaoke are the ones you didn't expect to hear.
The first time I heard karaoke was in college. A member of the maintenance team came up and sang "I Won't Back Down" by Tom Petty. I heard the song before I know it was karaoke. I literally thought it being played off the radio.
A more recent experience involved 2 notable performances. The first was a guy who came up to the mic with a beard and man bun. When he started belting out the chorus of "Apeman" by The Kinks in a crazed fashion, people started turning heads. Not too many people were familiar with the song, but after his performance everyone started to look it up. You kind of had to be there. The second was a guy-guy duo in which one of the guys runs his own karaoke night at another bar, and the second guy was a 40+ guy in a Jamie Collins Pats jersey, so your generic Boston dive bar duo. Their song was "Love The Way You Lie" by Eminem featuring Rihanna. The karaoke guy did a spot-on Rihanna impression for the chorus, while Jamie Collins absolutely killed the Eminem verses. My heart was pounding so hard after that performance that I thought someone slipped a line of blow under my nose (not that I would know that feeling).

IF I WERE TO CHOOSE ONE: All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey (this was the first karaoke song I ever sang)

My Other Approved Karaoke Go-To's:

Last Kiss by Pearl Jam
Dancing in the Dark by Bruce Springsteen (for the shoulder shimmy)
We Didn't Start the Fire by Billy Joel
Truly Madly Deeply by Savage Garden
I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston