Karaoke Songs That Strangle Your Show
Posted By Jasper Longfellow on August 28, 2010
Song selection can be the most difficult aspect of karaoke night. Obviously, you want to pick a song within your voice that appeals to you personally. The KJ can use karaoke DJ equipment to bring a tune into your range and to enhance your voice with effects. Amazing what VocoPro mixers can accomplish! But KJ equipment can’t create a four octave voice so don’t lose your head. And besides the question of what you can comfortably sing, you might give thought to how the tune you choose fits with the crowd and with the energy of the show. You’ve also got to watch repeating tunes, since you want to avoid a diva fight with another singer over which of you is able to request a given track.
Yet what qualifies a specific song a karaoke kiss of death? Monotonous lyrics are irritating to perform and to listen to as well. Tunes that are openly sexual make most audiences uncomfortable and most performers laughingstocks. Selecting a song with extended instrumental solos or lengthy instrumental tracks is a excellent way to leave yourself nothing to do but clutch a microphone and look foolish on stage. A track with super speedy lyrics that are like to yodeling a Peter Piper Picked – expect to end up peering at the screen and mumbling over the words while the audience cringes. Rap is often a show killer, since it is surprisingly difficult to rap without direction from a vocal track.
These are the common top 10 show killers at the karaoke venue. Don’t (please) sing them. There are a few excellent tunes on this list. And there are a couple songs on the list that are musical abortions. You are sure to discover yourself flailing gracelessly onstage if you choose one of these. It is time to give these tracks a karaoke gravestone. The audience may throw stuff at you if you choose to perform one of them.
The 10 Show Killers of Karaoke:
1. “Bohemian Rhapsody” – Queen
2. “I Touch Myself” – The Divinyls
3. “Total Eclipse of the Heart” – Bonnie Tyler/Nikki French
4. “Barbie Girl” – Aqua
5. Meatloaf – “Paradise by the Dashboard Light”
6. ”I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston
7. “Baby Got Back” – Sir Mix-A-Lot
8. “Anything for Love” – Meatloaf
9. ”I Got You Babe” by Sonny and Cher
10. ”Beat It” by Michael Jackson
Since karaoke audiences are usually good folks, you may choose one of the show killers and no one will throw stuff at you (usually). But we will secretly hate you. Since several of the show killers are obnoxiously long, we should have lots of time to wish we were somewhere else!
That’s my opinion and I’m holding to it. The show killers are unlikely to bring down the house in a good way. I bet you know a song you should perform that rarely is sung at karaoke shows; just explore the machine karaoke songbook. The crowd wants to sit up and remember a tune they haven’t listened to repeatedly. Is your signature track on the show killer rundown? Uh-oh, time to get a different one.