The best karaoke songs for women are the ones you know by heart, that sit in a comfortable range, and that the room can sing along with. Below are 20 well-known picks, grouped by how they feel to sing, with a short note on why each works. If your favorite is missing from the karaoke catalog at your venue, you can make a backing track yourself with the Karaoke Maker.
A quick note: ranges are a matter of voice. "Easy" here means a narrow range and a steady pace, and "big" means a chorus that asks for power. Your own voice decides which is which, so try a few at home first.
These songs have a modest range and a pace that gives you time to breathe. They are a good place to start if you are nervous.
- "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman. A low, talky vocal and a steady pace. It is more about storytelling than power.
- "Put Your Records On" by Corinne Bailey Rae. Mid-tempo and gentle, with a melody that stays within a comfortable range.
- "Valerie" by Amy Winehouse (the Mark Ronson version). An upbeat groove with short phrases that are easy to catch. A great one for a group.
- "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac. Slow and simple. Good for a quiet moment in the night.
- "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac. Laid-back and mostly in the middle of the range, with plenty of space between lines.
Pick one of these when you want the crowd to join in.
- "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper. Bright and bouncy. Everyone knows the chorus.
- "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" by Whitney Houston. Fast and joyful, with a chorus that the whole room will sing for you. The high spots are a stretch, so keep them light if you need to.
- "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" by Shania Twain. Playful and rhythmic. You can speak some lines and sing others.
- "Dancing Queen" by ABBA. Easy to join, and the room will finish it with you.
- "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift. A fast, chatty verse and a chorus that is easy to remember.
These suit a night when you want to own the stage.
- "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor. A karaoke classic that fits almost any voice and any crowd.
- "Respect" by Aretha Franklin. Short phrases, a strong beat and a spelling bit that the crowd can handle. Bring the attitude.
- "Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson. A big, driving chorus. The verses are comfortable, so save your energy for the chorus.
- "Brave" by Sara Bareilles. Mid-tempo with a clear message and a chorus that builds without being too high.
- "Roar" by Katy Perry. A steady pace with a chorus built for a group.
Choose one of these if you want a showstopper. They ask for more control and power.
- "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele. A low verse, then a chorus that asks for power. Pace yourself.
- "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler. Long and dramatic, with a huge finish. It is a marathon, so you need to save your breath.
- "Never Enough" by Loren Allred (from The Greatest Showman). A real vocal challenge with a wide range. Pick it only if you are confident.
- "Torn" by Natalie Imbruglia. Mid-tempo with a chorus that lifts in a way that feels good to belt. Easy to sing with feeling.
- "Don't Rain on My Parade" from Funny Girl, as sung by Barbra Streisand. A showtune that grows from quiet to huge. Fun for those who love musicals.
Use these quick checks.
- Hum the chorus first. If the top notes feel like a strain, choose another song or sing it an octave lower or with a different key.
- Pick a song you can speak the words to. If you know the words without looking, you can focus on the sound.
- Think about the room. A crowd sings along to a classic much more readily than to a deep cut.
- Check the length. A very long song can lose a room, so pick a shorter one for a big group.
- Warm up. Hum or sing quietly for a few minutes before you step up.
A karaoke catalog may not have every song, and a re-recorded version may sound a little different from the one you love. If you have a file of the song, you can make your own backing track with the original band:
- Upload an MP3, WAV, M4A or FLAC file, up to 10 minutes, to the Karaoke Maker.
- Sign in with Google and press "Make a karaoke track." The price is on the button before you start. Songs usually cost 1 credit per minute, and a new account gets 5 free credits.
- Wait a minute or two. In our own test, a 4 minute 44 second song split into six stems in 56 seconds.
- Download the Instrumental reel as an MP3 at 320 kbps. A file for a song that long is about 10.9 MB.
You also get a Vocals only file, which helps you hear how the original singer phrases a line. The tool removes all vocals, including backing vocals, so songs with big choirs will feel a bit empty. The Instrumental Maker gives you the same result for a cover or a video, and the Vocal Remover is the general page for taking the singing out of a song.
The result is good, but you may hear faint traces of the original voice in quiet parts. Play the whole track once before the event.
Making a backing track for private fun or practice is fine. Posting a performance or a video needs permission from the people who own the song.
Classics that everyone knows are the safest. "I Will Survive," "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," "Dancing Queen" and "Valerie" are all well-known and fun to sing along with.
Pick songs with a narrow range and a steady pace, such as "Fast Car" or "Put Your Records On." Crowd favorites like "Dancing Queen" also work, because the room helps.
Try "Fast Car," "Valerie," or the verses of "Rolling in the Deep." Lower voices often suit songs with a talky, relaxed delivery.
Yes. Many karaoke machines and apps have a key control. With a file you made yourself, use any audio editor or DAW, since the file keeps the original key.
Usually 1 credit per minute of song, and the price shows on the button before you start. New accounts get 5 free credits, enough for one song up to 5 minutes.