Pick out the challenging songs that will earn you respect if you can nail them at karaoke!
Have you ever thought, “I’d look so cool if I could get through this song at karaoke,” only to crash and burn halfway through?Songs that are hard to sing hide plenty of tough spots—wide vocal ranges, complex rhythms, and blisteringly fast phrases that barely leave room to breathe.But that’s exactly why the sense of accomplishment when you nail them is second to none.In this article, we introduce a wide variety of challenging songs that are worth taking on at karaoke.If you want to test your limits or are looking for a spark to help you level up your singing, let this guide you to your next song choice!
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Picking out tough songs that’ll earn you respect if you can nail them at karaoke! (11–20)
Bird Crossing the NightMISIA
The theme song for the WOWOW × Lemino serial drama “Kenzo Kitakata’s Water Margin,” digitally released on February 15, 2026, is a grand ballad with resounding strings that matches the drama’s epic worldview.
Its themes are believing, resisting, and surviving.
Lyrics by Nemuko Oikawa, who wrote the lyrics for “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis,” music by Tokiko Kato, and arrangement by Shiro SAGISU.
When you listen to it, you can really feel MISIA’s signature style.
The high chorus and long sustained notes are especially captivating.
Imagining a large hall with rich resonance, it’s best to sing boldly without over-fixating on pitch.
Dawnyama
While carrying on the worldbuilding established so far, yama takes on a new vocal expression in this “new frontier ballad.” Written as the theme song for Kyoko Saito’s first starring film, “Love Trial,” releasing on January 23, 2026, it’s a ballad that showcases a voice where strength and fragility coexist, portraying inner conflict swaying between dreams and happiness.
The tempo is very slow and the singing is breathy, which in turn puts one’s vocal ability to the test.
It’s important to sing each lyric carefully to avoid sounding sloppy.
Also, to enhance the breathy quality, being mindful to let the voice come out slowly will help create the right atmosphere.
-ness; typicality; the quality/essence of being [X] (as in “X-ness” or “X-like character”)Ofisharu Higedan Dism
![-ness; typicality; the quality/essence of being [X] (as in “X-ness” or “X-like character”)Ofisharu Higedan Dism](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YFzG-JABlnw/sddefault.jpg)
This song, chosen as the theme for the animated film “Hyakue-mu.,” is a quintessentially Higedan-style challenge.
The rhythm is fairly steady, but there are lots of words, making breathing difficult, and the range is extremely wide.
In the C section and the chorus, many people will probably think, “Wait, does the melody really go up here?” Once you start singing there’s almost no break—the melody just keeps coming one after another—so you’ll need a lot of resolve (lol).
First, make sure you firmly memorize the lyrics and melody! The A section seems relatively calm to sing, but from the B section onward it’ll be tough unless you plan your breath spots.
Instead of singing at 100% the whole time, aim to release your voice little by little and save the full power for the high notes—that balance works well! Don’t miss even the briefest moments where you can take a breath.
Also, in passages that drop from high to low, pitch tends to sag and you may strain your throat, so try singing with your eyebrows kept raised!
Blooming in the mudUorupisukātā
Wolpis Carter is a male singer whose voice is so clear and pure it almost sounds feminine.
He’s known as a “high-note-seeking guy,” and this song is his true specialty! The pitch climbs even higher toward the end, so unless you’re good with high notes from the start, it’s tough to sing in the original key.
The last chorus might even give you a headache…
Still, when a song is this high, it becomes downright beautiful.
I personally love high-note songs, and belting them out feels amazing.
The overall range is quite wide, from G#3 to F5, so be careful not to overuse your throat on the low notes.
Lift your facial muscles from the beginning and sing it through to the end!
Together forever!Kitanitatsuya
Singer-songwriter Tatsuya Kitani, who enjoys overwhelming support from young listeners.
While he has many catchy songs, he also has some technically demanding ones.
Among them, the one I especially recommend is Zuutto Issho! This piece requires a wide vocal range from mid1 A# to high A, with quite dramatic pitch movement up and down.
That alone makes it difficult, but it also has few breathing points and many rapid-fire phrases, so in addition to pitch control, strong lung capacity is needed.
It’s a song that demands comprehensive vocal ability, so definitely give it a try.
Ghost of the SeaYonezu Kenshi
It’s a digital-download-only single by Kenshi Yonezu, released in June 2019.
Now, when it comes to singing this song like the original, you need to be able to switch perfectly and smoothly between mixed voice, chest voice, and falsetto.
That’s a pretty high bar for many people who haven’t had formal vocal training.
If you’re just tracing the melody, some might manage by adjusting the key and avoiding those register shifts.
However, in this song, the very use of different vocal registrations is central to the expressive performance, so it can be considered quite a difficult piece.
Picking difficult songs that will earn you respect if you can pull them off at karaoke! (21–30)
The Disappearance of Hatsune Miku (feat. Hatsune Miku)cosMo@bousou P
This is a song provided by the so-called Vocaloid producer cosMo@Bousou-P, included on the album “The Disappearance of Hatsune Miku.” Since it’s a Vocaloid track, it’s packed with ultra-fast, high-pitched phrases that are impossible for a human singer to reproduce, so in a sense it might be the most fitting choice for this article’s theme of “karaoke songs that are hard to sing,” right? Honestly, it feels more accurate to say “impossible to sing” than “hard to sing” (lol).
There’s no way to perfectly replicate the original with live vocals, so when you sing it at karaoke, don’t sweat the small stuff—just have fun! If you’re a woman who’s often told you have an “anime voice,” it might actually turn out pretty well (lol).