I’ve noticed that people that do karoke regularly or semi-regularly have songs they sing frequently, especially if they’re in a new place. (People who do it more often seem to have more confidence doing new ones, especially in a safe environment.)
Mine are:
Magic Man - Heart (I sometimes do “Crazy On You” but only if my throat feels really good - it’s a little high for me)
Bette Davis Eyes - Kim Carnes
Hit Me With Your Best Shot - Pat Benetar
Wild Wild Life - Talking Heads
Respect - Erasure
So c’mon and sing out - what do you sing? For fun, include gender, since some of us cross over (like me - I’m a girl, but my voice is kind of low).
I don’t regularly do kareoke out where people can hear me, but it tends to show up at family gatherings since there’s a DJ in the family. So I’ve learned which few songs are easiest for me to sound okay on, which comes in handy on the odd occasion I’m out somewhere.
Show Me the Way - Styx
Someone to Watch Over Me - Whichever standard version’s available
Michael Buble: Feelin’ Good, Home, Try A Little Tenderness, working on adding The Summer Wind
James Taylor: Fire and Rain, Your Smiling Face
Paul Simon: You Can Call Me Al
Billy Joel: The Entertainer, Honesty, An Innocent Man
Neil Diamond: Longfellow Serenade, September Morn, (a favorite of kaylasmom) Beautiful Noise, Morningside (For My Children), Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show
Sinatra: I’ve Got You Under My Skin, Night and Day, You Make Me Feel So Young
Weird Al Yankovic: Yoda
Roy Orbison: Crying, Only the Lonely
Blood, Sweat & Tears: And When I Die
Perry Como: Hot Diggity Dog (Ziggity Boom) – a favorite of Michaela’s
Show Tunes: The Music of the Night (Phantom of the Opera), Love Changes Everything (Aspects of Love)
Duets with kaylasmom: All I Ask of You (Phantom), Endless Love (Ross and Richie), (With You I’m) Born Again (Preston and Wright), Somewhere Out There (Ronstadt, and Ingram)
Cat Stevens - Sitting, Moonshadow, I Can’t Keep It In
Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees, High and Dry, Street Spirit
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Snow (Hey Oh), Under the Bridge
If my voice isn’t feeling up to par but I want to sing anyway, my standby is “Follow Me” by Uncle Kracker. I am convinced that 96% of everyone on the planet could sing this and sound just fine (the same holds true for “Margaritaville”, but I patently refuse to sing it).
I usually sing several Toby Keith songs, because my voice matches his voice almost perfectly. Shoulda Been a Cowboy is kind of my signature song, and I do a killer rendition of Stays in Mexico.
I can’t sing well and I know it, so I use audience participation songs to help me overcome that. The songs I always do, and the only songs I will ever do are:
David Allen Coe: You never called me by my name.
Hank Williams Jr.: Family Tradition
Jimmy Buffet: Why don’t we get drunk
All are easy for the crowd to sing along to, and I have fun with all three.
I’m in awe of people who can sing with anyone else listening. I can sing with my cats in the room, and I can sing in the car with my son with me, but nobody else. NOBODY.
I’m a closeted karaoke singer. I usually sing to the karaoke music on Comcast’s On Demand. My favorite songs are songs by the Cars. (I do a pretty good Ric Ocasek.) Some of my favorite ones this month are “You Might Think”, “Take The Long Way Home”, and “More Than A Feeling” (which takes on extra meaning with the death of Brad Delp). I also like to sing most Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen tunes as well as some BTO and Eagles. In short, just about most classic rock tunes.
I used to cringe at the very thought of karaoke, until the navy decided to station me in Japan for three years – karaoke is ubiquitous over here! Since then, I’ve steadily built up a repertoire of “old faithfuls” that I can rip into even while stone cold sober It’s different over here, though – they give you a microphone and you sing from wherever you’re sitting, viewing the lyrics (with the obligatory nonsensical video behind it, what’s up with those crazy videos anyway?) on an overhead TV screen above the bar; this is much more preferable to the karaoke I’ve experienced in the states, in which you actually get up on a stage in front of everyone – far more intimidating!
Alice in Chains - Man in the Box
Stray Cats - Stray Cat Strut
Roy Orbison - Crying, Blue Bayou
Aha - Take On Me (need to be at least buzzing to do this one, heh)
U2 - With or Without You
Dead or Alive - You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) (this one gets all the ladies dancing, every time – a real show-stopper!)
Simple Minds - Don’t You Forget About Me
Journey - Open Arms, Don’t Stop Believin
INXS - Need You Tonight, Never Tear Us Apart
B-52s - Love Shack (duet with whichever lady I happen to be buying drinks for at the time, usually the bartender)
Plenty of others I’ll try depending on my level of intoxication. Oh yeah, and it seems “The Picture” duet (Sheryl Crow/Kid Rock?) has to be done every night. At least 5 times. In each and every bar. I can’t get away from it!
As my name might indicate, I’m a gal who really loves to sing (that’s the reason I chose the name, after all!). Here are some of my favorites: These Dreams–Heart (but only because they can lower the key for me–otherwise I’d rupture something trying to sing it!)
The First Cut Is The Deepest–Sheryl Crow
He Called Me Baby–Patsy Cline
Somebody Loves You–Crystal Gayle
Sad Songs (Say So Much)–Elton John
I sing weekly at the local American Legion–I have a few custom CD’s, so I actually sing a lot more than this, but these are the ones I hit pretty regularly. (I’ve even been told that I do a pretty kick-ass version of ELO’s Don’t Bring Me Down!)
I haven’t been to a dedicated karaoke joint yet, but I’ve heard about them from friends who have (and a scene from Lost in Translation actually takes place in one). I’m just talking about walking into a random bar for some booze – unless it’s a strip bar / brothel, there will almost always be a karaoke machine behind the bar (and there will almost always be someone singing “The Picture” at some point in the evening).
It’s different over here, though – they give you a microphone and you sing from wherever you’re sitting, viewing the lyrics (with the obligatory nonsensical video behind it, what’s up with those crazy videos anyway?) on an overhead TV screen above the bar; this is much more preferable to the karaoke I’ve experienced in the states, in which you actually get up on a stage in front of everyone – far more intimidating!