Comments on: Karaoke help.

Question: Karaoke help.

birgitte — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 18:58:35 -0800

I have an awful, awful voice. Any suggestions for a go to karaoke song that is short, more like talking than singing and not too intimidating for someone who has never done karaoke before?

I've checked the karaoke cliche thread so I know what I should be staying away from. It would be great to have at least one song - so I don't always have to be the one who doesn't sing while everyone else tries to get me up there to sing. Many thanks.

By: magikker

magikker — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 19:07:58 -0800

Ice Ice Baby, or any other old slow rap. No singing needed

By: amyms

amyms — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 19:08:53 -0800

How about Alanis Morrisette's "You Oughta Know"... It's almost like a spoken-word performance, and you can sing it low and angry (which works well for someone with a non-melodic voice).

By: parmanparman

parmanparman — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 19:09:52 -0800

how about "Another Saturday night" by Cat Stephens?

By: justonegirl

justonegirl — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 19:19:07 -0800

"I Know What Boys Like" by Bow Wow Wow?

By: kittyprecious

kittyprecious — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 19:20:04 -0800

Through years of experience, I have learned that having almost no range is not an impediment to loving karaoke. Great options that don't require much actual singing:

Cake
Talking Heads
Pink
"New Sensation" by INXS (it's almost all shouting, not singing)

...and while it's almost definitely a cliche, if you choose Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline," no one will hear you because they'll all be singing along.

By: k8t

k8t — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 19:20:08 -0800

Any '90s rap should work... I've done well with "Do Me" or "Poison" by Bell Biv DeVoe.

By: tigerbelly

tigerbelly — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 19:20:43 -0800

That would be, "I Know What Boys Like" by The Waitresses. :) I'm assuming you'd have to search through the book by artist.

By: tigerbelly

tigerbelly — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 19:21:50 -0800

if you choose Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline," no one will hear you because they'll all be singing along

My lord, I cannot emphasize enough how true this is. I have never seen Sweet Caroline performed without a bar-wide singalong.

By: champthom

champthom — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 19:22:25 -0800

"Rocket Man" and do it Shatner style.

Practically little singing involved and people get a huge kick out of it.

By: Ambrosia Voyeur

Ambrosia Voyeur — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 19:28:58 -0800

These Boots Were Made For Walkin' by Nancy Sinatra
We Will Rock You by Queen
Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash
Walk Like An Egyptian by The Bangles

If you're not much of a singer, go for novelty or group participation! It's more fun than being "impressive" anyhow. I really like to go with a group so game that we all pick for one another. If all else fails, sabotage everyone around you!

By: eli_d

eli_d — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 19:31:25 -0800

"I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor accompanied by overly animated movement. Maybe not the easiest, but it'll help you keep things in perspective while you're up there. ;-)

By: dydecker

dydecker — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 19:38:08 -0800

Prince - When Doves Cry

By: nintendo

nintendo — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 19:40:14 -0800

I promise you, Grasshopper, you can never go wrong with Hey Jude! (Beatles) The key is, is to just keep it low key, quiet and don't let anyone notice you until the "Heeey jude jedy juey jued JUEYDD!" part and just belt it out, "HEEEYY JEEEUDY JUDE!"

Just make sure to give the song a good listen right before going out, I always have it on my iPod on my way to the bar.

After the song is over keep singing the "Hey Judy jude" refrain and I give you the Benzle Guarantee that applause will follow!!

Oh yeah, and be drunk, very very drunk.

By: LoriFLA

LoriFLA — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 19:49:41 -0800

New York, New York

By: ch1x0r

ch1x0r — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 19:50:49 -0800

Don't do a rap unless you know all the words (and the timing!) before you go up there. You will look WAY worse than someone who just sings badly but clearly knows the song. I've made this mistake myself a few times, but a bad rap is really a room killer.
"Faith" by George Michael is a very easy song for a woman with not much range. But you're probably best off doing a group piece or something like the aforementioned "Sweet Caroline" (or "Piano Man") that everyone knows and will be singing along to.

By: Dizzy

Dizzy — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 20:22:31 -0800

If you're gonna consume some liquor to take the edge off (sound advice from nintendo, as noted above) be sure to have a LARGE glass of water at your side during your actual performance.
Holding on to something can lessen the jitters, you can use it as an effective prop to underscore the words, and you don't want to risk "dry mouth" when singing-- it'll be that much harder to produce a pleasant sound.

By: junkbox

junkbox — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 20:29:01 -0800

Seconding ch1x0r -- most rap is a bad idea unless you really know all the words.

"Love Shack" by the B-52's is fun and energetic, has verses that can be spoken instead of sung, and you can probably get help from your friends and the rest of the audience on the choruses. Holler out "TIN ROOF! RUSTED..." with enough gusto and the love of the crowd will be yours.

By: mmascolino

mmascolino — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 20:49:01 -0800

I've always gotten good results with Jimmy Buffet songs and not due to my singing. Bar crowds usually react positively to the drinking and drug references.

By: lisa g

lisa g — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 20:52:31 -0800

"It Was a Very Good Year" (probably listed in the book under Sinatra, though many have done it) can be mostly talked in a cheesily dramatic way. See if you can find Shatner's version to listen to first.

By: lisa g

lisa g — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 20:56:20 -0800

Ha, I found Shatner for you here (youtubage).

It's almost too much to bear.

By: paulsc

paulsc — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 21:18:18 -0800

King of the Road, by Roger Miller.

By: Ambrosia Voyeur

Ambrosia Voyeur — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 21:43:12 -0800

Oh, lots of Sinatra, but for bad singing, My Way is tops, baby.

By: kirkaracha

kirkaracha — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 21:48:06 -0800

"Mac the Knife"

By: Pallas Athena

Pallas Athena — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 22:50:33 -0800

seconding junkbox on the B-52s' "Love Shack." It's on pretty much every karaoke list, and the karaokeist's part is almost all spoken. Do, however, listen to it in the car before you go so you can get the rhythms right.

By: muddylemon

muddylemon — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 00:04:58 -0800

I always do "The Devil Went Down to Georgia." There's no singing required, and if you have a good southern baptist preacher voice you can rock it out.

By: wsg

wsg — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 01:30:13 -0800

"Take a Walk on the Wild Side" Lou Reed.

By: AV

AV — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 05:20:53 -0800

How about some late 80s/early 90s raps? "Bust a Move" by Young MC or "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-Lot? You get irony/nostalgia points, too.

Or, you could just go with something that's so overplayed no one really cares if you butcher it -- "You Shook Me All Night Long" by ACDC comes to mind (and it's another not-really-singing number).

By: plinth

plinth — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 05:26:23 -0800

"Pasties and a G-String" by Tom Waits

By: konolia

konolia — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 06:04:31 -0800

"Big John" by Johnny Cash.

By: nelleish

nelleish — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 06:57:08 -0800

Here I Am by Lyle Lovett is almost entirely spoken, only the chorus is sung (maybe it won't be in the karaoke offerings then? I have no idea). You could have a lot of fun with that one, playing with spoken emphasis and so on.

By: amro

amro — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 07:29:10 -0800

When "Stay" by Lisa Loeb became popular in the mid-90s, my girlfriends and I used to say that you couldn't sound bad singing that song.

By: Sterling Hoyt

Sterling Hoyt — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 07:59:40 -0800

I"m like you; my girlfriend loves karaoke, but it makes me unusually self-conscious. I've had success with Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" -- just do the "WHOA-OH-OH...OH!" part with gusto, and the rest comes easily. (Do a search for "Viking Kittens" ... it's still online!)

By: ludwig_van

ludwig_van — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 08:53:44 -0800

REM - It's the End of the World as We Know It

By: ludwig_van

ludwig_van — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 08:55:28 -0800

(Which, by the way, was sung in Greenwich village by our own armoured-ant about a week ago, shortly before I did Hey Jude, so I'm speaking from recent experience)

By: Quarter Pincher

Quarter Pincher — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 09:42:25 -0800

Cake - Going The Distance

By: rhizome

rhizome — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 09:44:11 -0800

Whatever song you choose, you can practice it in private here for free

By: stenseng

stenseng — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 16:15:05 -0800

I'm really surprised no one's mentioned any David Lee Roth era Van Halen... Jamies Cryin', Where Have All The Good Times Gone, Panama, Jump? Just get loud, get drunk, and practice going "Skiddley bop! Wow!!!"

The more Jack Daniels you've downed, or Camels you've smoked, the closer to the DLR experience you'll be.

By: twistofrhyme

twistofrhyme — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 01:17:20 -0800

definitely cake- maybe i will survive? a bonus is that every karaoke machine has this song, the gloria gaynor version, but the cake cover matches perfectly.

By: birgitte

birgitte — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 20:36:08 -0800

Thanks so much for all the comments. I will go forth and sing.

By: rhizome

rhizome — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 00:41:47 -0800

"desperate but not serious"