Karaoklichés

March 31, 2005 5:58 PM

What are the worst karaoke clichés?

Karaoke DJs must get sick of hearing "Baby Got Back," "Landslide," "Sweet Caroline," any top 40 song from last year, and any Sisqo/Nelly song. Are there other songs I should stay away from if I want to be a karaoke original?

posted by grrarrgh00 to society & culture (41 comments total)

Avoid anything having to do with "Grease," frequently sung by wavering groups of sorority types.
posted by inksyndicate at 6:03 PM on March 31, 2005

Oh, and definitely avoid John Meyer.
posted by inksyndicate at 6:03 PM on March 31, 2005

Drunken talk-singing through the "dirty" version of "Friends in Low Places."
posted by Dreama at 6:04 PM on March 31, 2005

How often do you hear that crusty Phoebe Snow screech "Loving You"?
posted by mischief at 6:07 PM on March 31, 2005

"Killing Me Softly". I have heard this song frequently several times in one night. And it's not a short song. It's kind of easy to get tired of before it ends the fist time. The next few times, well, that's where the bar makes it's money on alcohol.
posted by dagnyscott at 6:09 PM on March 31, 2005

er, that's Minnie Riperton doing 'Loving You', not Pheobe Snow.
You might be thinking of 'Poetry Man'.
posted by nj_subgenius at 6:11 PM on March 31, 2005

"My way." I don't know if it's because Sid Vicious proved that you can actually get noticed for doing it badly or what.

Once while on vacation in Finland and Estonia, I spent about a total of 8 hours in karaoke bars and heard "My Way" four times.
posted by Mayor Curley at 6:16 PM on March 31, 2005

Total Eclipse of the Heart
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 6:28 PM on March 31, 2005

I'll add "Love Shack," "Jessie's Girl," "Margaritaville," and "Piano Man" right now. Thanks for these, and please keep 'em coming. I'm trying to compile a definitive list for my friends new to the discipline.
posted by grrarrgh00 at 6:32 PM on March 31, 2005

The kid who, thanks to liquor, believe he can nail Bohemian rhapsody (he can't) is a standard cliche.

Also, people who try to perform the original versions of a song in the manner of the latest crappy cover version (a la singing George Michael's Faith like Limp Bizkit).

As dagnyscott indicated, tackling a crowd pleaser without realizing how long the song actually is, or, how long the guitar solo is. Other culprits in this vein include Total Eclipse of the Heart and Sweet Child O' Mine.
posted by samh23 at 6:35 PM on March 31, 2005

New York New York.
posted by gaspode at 6:48 PM on March 31, 2005

Anything by Meat Loaf.
posted by biscotti at 7:05 PM on March 31, 2005

Dear God, people. "I Will Survive."
posted by honeydew at 7:08 PM on March 31, 2005

I Got You, Babe (duet)
I Will Survive
Takin' Care of Business
posted by sdrawkcab at 7:22 PM on March 31, 2005

Me & Bobby McGee
posted by Miko at 7:36 PM on March 31, 2005

I used to do a mean "Let's Get it On" until Jack Black ruined it in High Fidelity.
posted by britain at 7:41 PM on March 31, 2005

Oh, also "Respect."
posted by honeydew at 7:43 PM on March 31, 2005

I think a common mistake is the "I think I know this popular song. Oh wait, it has verses? I don't know those."

One of the best karaoke performances I've ever seen, and not cliche in my experience, was of the Crash Test Dummies' Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm.
posted by jewishbuddha at 7:53 PM on March 31, 2005

I think a common mistake is the "I think I know this popular song. Oh wait, it has verses? I don't know those."

That's exactly what happened when a group of us did Baby Got Back at my best friend's bachlorette party. I was the only one who knew words other than "Baby Got Back!".
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:04 PM on March 31, 2005 [1 favorite has favorites]

Q: What are the worst karaoke clichés?

A: Japanese people.

Because I’m so un-PC I’m Mac-ing!

...I am so very sorry. This is why people who have really bad dizzy headed feverish headaches should not be allowed near keyboards. Especially people who have really bad dizzy headed feverish headaches and have exposed themselves to the pilot episode of She-Ra within the past 24 hours.)

To redeem myself I shall add to this list of clichés the following:

“Boys Don’t Cry”

“Cars”

“Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?” (and anything else by Culture Club)

“Baby Got Back”

“I Want Candy”

*Anything that sucked hard with rusty dentures the first time around*

* by the Spice Girls... (that shit would make a Buddhist monk sport a tire iron with malicious intent!)

“Purple Rain”

“Blitzkrieg Bop” (If you ain’t Joey’s reanimated corpse, you’re not allowed!)

And above all... NEVER SING the Red Nex cover of “Cotton Eye Joe”

It’s simply unforgivable!

Peace.
posted by Neosamurai85 at 8:15 PM on March 31, 2005

On a side note: "Cars" is cliché but still ok if done well.

I mean... it's "Cars" for crying out load!

Peace.
posted by Neosamurai85 at 8:18 PM on March 31, 2005

I'll add two:

A friend once did "Hello Mudda, Hello Fadder, here I am at, Camp Granada..." and only midway discovered that it's like twice as long as "American Pie". Wow that was excruciating.

The other is dykes singing "What's going on" by 4 Non Blondes.
When someone starts screaming "and I said HAY UH HAY UH HAY UH HAY UH..." It's clearly time to go outside for a cigarette.

Oh, and anything by Andrew Lloyd Weber. Or does that go without saying?

(disclaimer: hope no one's offended by "dyke". I live in SF and count at least a dozen as good friends, and I'm sure they'd give me permission)
posted by asavage at 8:39 PM on March 31, 2005

My local sports bar which I used to frequent almost every night, had karaoke at least 3 times a week. Never once, in two years of going there, did I make it through the night without having to hear "I Will Always Love You" sometimes 3 or 4 times a night. It's just a terrible karaoke song because it totally brings down the mood, and NO ONE can ever sing it as good as Whitney Houston. You can NOT improve upon her version so please stop trying.

Another popular one was David Allan Cole's "You Don't Even Know My Name" but people seems to enjoy it because everyone knows the words and it's a lot of fun for the drunkards.
posted by Ugh at 8:44 PM on March 31, 2005

Couple doing that effin' Meatloaf tune... " blah blah blah dashboard lights" er sumthin'.
posted by Witty at 8:49 PM on March 31, 2005

Brown Eyed Girl always seems to get played a lot.
posted by helvetica at 8:54 PM on March 31, 2005

Dirty Dancing's "I... had... the time of my life... and never felt like this before... Yes I swear... it's the truth... and I owe it all to you"
posted by holloway at 9:37 PM on March 31, 2005

Arguing mid-song with your better half about whose part is whose in that "you're the one that I want, woo oo oo" Grease duet which no guy knows the verses to, but every girl does. Although I don't know anything about that one.
If it's not a cliché, it should be.

Or, by definition, anything from here.
posted by hellbient at 9:55 PM on March 31, 2005

Songs to sing: "Mack the Knife" is nice because you don't actually have to sing, or "Stand by Your Man."

Couple doing that effin' Meatloaf tune... " blah blah blah dashboard lights" er sumthin'.

Funnily enough, I once had an entire relationship based on this exact concept.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:59 PM on March 31, 2005

www.karaokeinfo.co.uk has a list of the Top 10 Best and Worst tunes, as voted for monthly by UK karaoke hosts who have to listen to them night in and night out...
posted by benzo8 at 11:01 PM on March 31, 2005

Awesome link, benzo8. Although I can't believe these hosts aren't sick of Summer Nights by now, which has to be the biggest cliche I can think of.
posted by grouse at 12:20 AM on April 1, 2005

"Your Song", "Piece of my Heart" and "What I Like About You".
posted by 23skidoo at 12:45 AM on April 1, 2005

benzo8: It's amusing how Angels and I Will Survive makes it onto both the Best *and* Worst tunes lists :)
posted by adrianhon at 2:15 AM on April 1, 2005

I've never been to a Kareoke where some idiot didn't try singing Angels.
I sit and wait
Does an angel contemplate my fate ?
And do they know
The places where we go
When we're grey and old ?
Arghhhh - shut up, shut up, shut up!!!!
posted by seanyboy at 3:52 AM on April 1, 2005

Oh, and before Angels, everyone loved ...
Pearl's a singer. and
Stand by your man.
This comment and the last bought to you from across the pond. Cheesy oversung songs may differ according to country of residence.
Your statuatary rights are not affected
posted by seanyboy at 3:56 AM on April 1, 2005

Road to Amarillo
posted by the cuban at 4:02 AM on April 1, 2005

You can take my "Love Shack," "Baby Got Back" and "Mack the Knife" when you pry them from my cold, dead microphone. My nomination for true karaoke hell, however, is "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina." It's, like, three hours long, and you don't know how it goes!
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:03 AM on April 1, 2005

I have a friend who does terrific versions of 'Ring of Fire' and 'Burnin' Down the House.' But I've only been to karaoke about four times...
posted by Slothrop at 5:40 AM on April 1, 2005

So I have to ask: are there any *good* songs to karaoke to?
posted by isotope at 12:28 PM on April 1, 2005

Anything by Pat Benatar. Bah!
posted by TheGoldenOne at 12:29 PM on April 1, 2005

Anything by the Fifth Dimension.

Also, I know Star Search has banned forever the singing of the song "At Last" by Etta James. Not because it's a bad song. It's a great one. It's just been done to death.
posted by wsg at 1:19 PM on April 1, 2005

From my experience, it's drunken girls singing "You Outta Know" by Alanis Morrisette and boys singing "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and thinking they're being funny.
posted by Gucky at 2:34 PM on April 1, 2005