[For Women] Sing challenging songs at karaoke and steal the spotlight!
If you’re blessed with a singing voice you’re proud of, you’ll want to make the most of it and show it off to friends and everyone around you, right? In this special feature, we’ve collected challenging songs recommended for women like you.
Even when we say “songs that are hard to sing,” the difficult points vary: some demand a very wide vocal range, while others require delicate expressiveness, and so on.
Each song’s article includes notes on what makes it challenging and tips on how to sing it well, so be sure to use this as a guide and show off your wonderful voice to the fullest!
- Cool If You Can Sing! Popular Karaoke Songs Recommended for Women
- [Taking on a song with a wide vocal range] An S-class challenge track
- [High-pitched warning!] Songs with high notes that are hard to sing
- Songs Men Want Women to Sing at Karaoke: Irresistible Tracks [2026]
- Recommended for great singers! A collection of impressive songs if you can sing them
- Pick out the challenging songs that will earn you respect if you can nail them at karaoke!
- Songs to Help Women Sing Better: Practice Tracks for Improving at Karaoke
- Songs you’d want women to sing at karaoke! Karaoke picks recommended for Gen Z
- Karaoke songs that make it easy to score 100 points [for women]
- [For Women] Masterpiece Enka Songs with a High Degree of Difficulty
- [Songs That Make You Popular] Sing these to be a hit! Women’s karaoke songs
- A must-see for low-voiced women! Popular songs that are easy to sing at karaoke
- [For Women] Easy-to-Sing and Crowd-Pleasing Karaoke Songs
[For Women] Sing difficult songs at karaoke and get noticed! (111–120)
The strong and fleeting onesCocco
This was Cocco’s second major-label single, released in November 1997.
As of 2023, it remains her best-selling single, and it was also used as the CM song for Japan Airlines’ “JAL Hawaii Campaign.” The track has a generally warm, easygoing mood throughout, without dramatic melodic shifts.
However, if you listen with a focus on Cocco’s vocals, you’ll notice that even within this gentle song she consistently sings with a powerful, steady core.
It might be a slightly niche choice if you’re aiming to showcase your vocal prowess to others, but it’s a song I highly recommend practicing so you can perform it like Cocco herself.
Cabo da RocaDAZBEE
Songs with dramatic pitch jumps are difficult, but pieces with relatively constant pitch also present their own challenges.
On top of that, when there are fewer lyrics, there are more long tones, which means there are no moments where you can hide anything while singing.
‘Cabo da Roca,’ performed by the Korean singer DAZBEE, is a work of that type.
It isn’t intense, but because you have to keep both a whispery voice and falsetto stable at a high level, it can be said to demand solid fundamental vocal skills.
ShakeDOUBLE
DOUBLE is a leading R&B duo representing Japan.
If you lived through the full-fledged R&B boom of the 2000s, you’ve probably heard their music at least once.
Among DOUBLE’s works, the one I especially recommend is “Shake.” It features an authentic sound that easily rivals Western R&B and a solid groove rarely found in Japanese music.
Because vocal “fake” ad-libs—an advanced R&B technique—are used in most parts, mastering this song is difficult unless you can handle Western R&B vocals with ease.
Starry NightYuka
This is Yuka’s sixth digital-only single, released in February 2023.
It was selected as the theme song for the TV Asahi drama “A Night When Stars Fall.” When singing this song at karaoke, I think the key point is whether you can create contrast between the A-melody sections, which are built around the lower register, and the chorus, which centers on high tones.
From the persuasive chest voice—gentle and quiet in expression yet resonant in the thoracic cavity—heard in the A-melody, to the delicate falsetto in the chorus, pay close attention to smooth transitions between registers and to subtle vocal nuances as you sing.
While the song isn’t flashy, it’s one of the best choices for showcasing your vocal ability and expressive range.
sympathetic tearsHitoto Yo
It’s Yo Hitoto’s debut single, released in October 2022.
The vocal melody spans a very wide range, so to sing it you’ll not only need to have mastered smooth transitions between chest voice and falsetto, but also be able to incorporate so-called “kobushi”-style ornamentation in the long sustained notes.
It’s safe to say this makes it quite a difficult song to handle in karaoke.
Precisely because it’s so challenging, if you can pull it off, you’re sure to attract attention from those around you.
It’s a track I highly recommend to anyone confident in their singing—give it a try!
Faster than meiri
When we think of difficult songs, we tend to assume they’re ones with lots of high notes, but that’s not actually the case.
It’s true that high-pitched songs are hard, but pieces packed with advanced vocal techniques are far more challenging.
That’s why I recommend iri’s “Faster than me.” Centered on R&B and soul, it features a simple arrangement.
Not only does it incorporate sophisticated techniques like riffs/runs, falsetto, and falls, but because the instrumentation is minimal, even your breathing has to be treated as part of the vocal performance.
In conclusion
We’ve introduced a lot of songs that seem quite difficult to sing at karaoke—what did you think? Were there any you felt like you’d want to try? As I wrote at the beginning, even when we say “difficult songs,” there are truly many types and many different kinds of difficulty. To sing in a way that feels satisfying to you, you of course need proper vocal technique and appropriate expressive skills, but above all, the most important thing is your feeling of “I love this song!” I hope this article helps you discover just such a track.