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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A selection of challenging songs that will earn you respect if you can nail them at karaoke! (221–230)
SymphonyHirai Dai
This is Dai Hirai’s 49th digital-only single, released in April 2023.
It was selected as the theme song for the feature film TOKYO MER: Running Emergency Room.
True to its title, the track lets you fully savor Hirai’s vocals—rich with chameleonic tone and expressive singing—set against a grand, symphonic arrangement.
I imagine it would be quite difficult for most people to reproduce this in karaoke.
Beyond mastering basic vocal techniques like phonation and expressive delivery, you’d also need a sense of unity with the backing track, an understanding of the words used in the lyrics, and a grasp of the lyrics’ overall meaning.
Mikan HeartC&K
This is C&K’s 10th single, released in October 2013.
While the soaring high-tone parts in the chorus seem fairly challenging to sing, the most difficult section is likely the low notes at the very beginning of the A verse.
When it comes to singing, many people tend to focus on the high parts, but in fact, low notes are harder to sing well.
To produce “solid, clearly conveyed low notes” like the artists themselves do, it’s no exaggeration to say that formal vocal training is essential.
When you actually sing it, pay close attention to the resonance of your low notes and how your low voice carries.
Just a little moreYOASOBI
This is YOASOBI’s ninth digital single, released in May 2021.
It also served as the 2021 theme song for Fuji TV’s Mezamashi TV.
Now, when singing this song at karaoke, the vocal melody has a wide range, and it’s essential to sing lightly and keep up with the slightly bouncy rhythm—that’s likely the biggest hurdle for most people.
On the original recording, you can hear what seems to be a fairly strong pitch-correction effect as part of the artistic expression, but you don’t need to worry about that.
Try to maintain the original song’s light, brisk feel, and use mixed voice and falsetto appropriately to deliver an overall soft, airy performance.
FMakishimamu Za Horumon
In the first place, unless you can do death growls, any Maximum the Hormone song might be difficult, but if I had to name one, it would be “F.” Some people might give up right from the intro.
Incidentally, it’s said that this song was created with the Dragon Ball character Frieza in mind.
Wait & See ~Risk~Utada Hikaru
It was released in 2000 as Hikaru Utada’s fifth single.
Produced by Jam & Lewis, the song became a hot topic and achieved million-seller status.
Hikaru Utada’s songs are all set in very high keys, and this one is particularly difficult to sing due to her unique vocal phrasing.
GIRL TALKAmuro Namie
It was released in 2004 as Namie Amuro’s 28th single.
The song was used in Mandom’s “LUCIDO-L Prism Magic Hair Color” commercial, and its theme is female friendship, beginning with strings.
It’s a challenging track to perform due to Namie Amuro’s distinctive mix of English and Japanese in the lyrics and her phrasing.
A selection of challenging songs that will earn you respect if you can nail them at karaoke! (231–240)
Kokoro KaleidoscopeYamauchi Keisuke
This is Keisuke Yamauchi’s 24th single, released in March 2023, by an artist often called the “prince of the enka world.” Yamauchi is a remarkably appealing singer with a resonant, clear, and powerful voice and dynamic delivery.
Although it’s enka, I personally liked that it’s arranged with a slight rock flavor (lol).
At first listen, the vocal melody itself might not seem that hard to sing, but trying to reproduce this performance in karaoke—using enka-style expression such as vibrato on long tones while never letting it feel earthy—would be quite challenging.
Pay close attention to how you feel the rhythm when you sing.