KaraokeFilter - Help a soprano find something worth singing?

November 8, 2016 1:28 PM

I am going to sing at a karaoke bar tomorrow night. Yay! I haven't done karaoke since I was 12, and I have a girlish soprano voice that sounds terrible with most pop and rock. Boo! Help me find something that is both fun and impressive?

Additional information:

I don't like extended musical interludes, because I have no idea what to do during them, and I can't really get a good poppy-growly alto sexiness when I sing. This is unfortunate because if I could manage this it would open up so many options, but I really just sound like I am belting out cheesy Broadway hits when I try anything with grit. I am also bisexual and genderqueer so I don't care about gender in the lyrics at all.

Current frontrunners include Goldfrapp's Strict Machine, Queen's Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy, The Darkness' I Believe in a Thing Called Love, and Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song. Is there anything else I am missing? Anything that is overdone in 2016 and should be avoided? I read over previous Asks but they tend a bit low for my range. HELP.

posted by daikaisho to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (10 answers total)

Paula Abdul and Janet Jackson. Paula Abdul is crazy fun at karaoke and she doesn't do any crazy pop growls or anything.
posted by zizzle at 2:04 PM on November 8, 2016

Current frontrunners include Goldfrapp's Strict Machine, Queen's Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy, The Darkness' I Believe in a Thing Called Love, and Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song.

This was going to be my first suggestion. Also, Sia's Chandelier?
posted by DrAstroZoom at 2:22 PM on November 8, 2016

Nothing compares to you
posted by Morpeth at 2:50 PM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]

or Spirit of Radio
posted by Morpeth at 2:51 PM on November 8, 2016

What kind of music do you like? I have a similar sound to what you describe. What's worked for me is just singing a lot of songs and making note of the ones that seem to work well for me. Also it's worthwhile to know if your karaoke place can transpose keys.

helpful links
posted by bunderful at 4:08 PM on November 8, 2016

I heard Katy Perry's Hot n Cold the other day and was thinking that the song was fun but too high for her range (she sounds breathy). It would probably sound great sung by an actual soprano.

Can you hit the falsetto notes that Jake Shears of the Scissor Sisters sings? I Don't Feel Like Dancin' is a fun song.
posted by radioamy at 4:52 PM on November 8, 2016

Response by poster: Musically, my decade was like... 1994 to 2004 though I have a healthy knowledge of music on either side of that. My knowledge is broader in the rock sphere, but that doesn't really work for my voice. I'm also worried about things that I like being available in the first place - for example I could totally pull off "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" but I'm going to (what I am told is) a major dive and I don't know how much selection I've got to work with or if they can transpose keys. Not very helpful, I know... but this is why I'm going in with a big ol' list!

Now that I've had some time to think about it I'd probably favor something quirky, dark, and/or uptempo over a ballad. (And yes I am already aware of the Presidents of the United States of America. They're on the list.)
posted by daikaisho at 5:18 PM on November 8, 2016

This is where having some Blondie in your back pocket sometimes comes in handy. (Though if I'm ever lucky enough for them to have Tattooed Love Boys I find it not too bad with my rather sweet light voice...)
posted by peagood at 5:37 PM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]

"Ring My Bell" by Anita Ward?
Prince's "Kiss"?
posted by Mister Moofoo at 10:12 PM on November 8, 2016 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I apparently had the worst timing in the world for asking this question. Anyway, for anyone coming after me, songs that I had success with were, in no particular order:

"Lovefool" - The Cardigans
"Naughty Girl" - Beyonce
"Roxanne" - The Police
"Fidelity" - Regina Spektor
"Fuck You" - Cee Lo Green
"Long Time Gone" - Dixie Chicks

Also "The Widow" by The Mars Volta would have been killer if the karaoke the bar I was at didn't have jacked up lyrics.
posted by daikaisho at 4:29 PM on December 9, 2016