Challenge yourself with difficult songs at karaoke! Tracks that will earn you praise if you can sing them well
Even when you think, “I want to try this song at karaoke!”, once you actually give it a shot you sometimes run into unexpected hurdles—like a range that’s too wide or rhythms that are too complex.
What technical elements make certain songs difficult to sing? In this article, we’re featuring high-difficulty tracks that are especially rewarding to tackle at karaoke.
We also touch on which parts are challenging and what kind of vocal approach is required, so if you want to expand your expressive range as a singer, be sure to check it out!
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- [For Men] Tough Karaoke Songs: A collection of tracks that look cool if you can sing them!
- [If You Can Sing These, You're Amazing!] Cool Karaoke Songs for Women
- Recommended for great singers! A collection of impressive songs if you can sing them
- [For Women] Sing challenging songs at karaoke and steal the spotlight!
- [Challenge] A compilation of Vocaloid songs that are difficult to sing
- [For Men] Masterpiece Enka Songs with High Difficulty
- [For Women] Masterpiece Enka Songs with a High Degree of Difficulty
- [For Men] Cool, Popular Songs That Impress at Karaoke
- Karaoke songs popular with women that they want men to sing
- [Karaoke] Songs That Make It Easy to Score High | From Classics to the Newest Hits
- Even karaoke beginners can relax! Easy-to-sing songs for men
Tackling tough songs at karaoke! Tracks that will earn you praise if you can pull them off (341–350)
YesAcid Black Cherry
This is Acid Black Cherry’s 15th single, released in January 2012.
It’s a rock ballad that showcases a very expansive high-tone vocal from the very beginning, and I think it’s also one of the more difficult songs to sing at karaoke.
To sing it in the original key, you’ll likely need to master so-called head voice for the high notes.
Although it’s a ballad, the backing arrangement is fairly powerful, so try to sing in a way that doesn’t sound weak, but also be careful not to make it sound rough.
be aliveKoyanagi Yuki
This was Yuki Koyanagi’s fifth single, released in July 2000.
From her debut, Koyanagi has been highly praised for her vocal ability, and that powerful technique and expressiveness are fully on display in this song as well.
While many singers tackle high notes using falsetto or mixed voice (which, of course, are advanced techniques in their own right), she delivers soaring high tones confidently with a powerful chest voice.
It’s remarkable how rarely her pitch goes flat.
If you’re confident in your singing and vocal control, definitely try this one at karaoke.
affectionKoyanagi Yuki
Released in 2000 as Yuki Koyanagi’s fourth single.
It reached No.
3 on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart and was used as the ending theme for NTV’s “Yamitsuki.” It’s an extremely high-pitched song with very challenging breath timing.
If you can make it through, it feels incredibly exhilarating.
Let It GoMatsu Takako
It’s the Takako Matsu version of the hit song from Frozen.
For a while it was sung everywhere, to the point of becoming a social phenomenon, but it’s surprisingly difficult if you try to sing it faithfully.
The pitch range is extreme, and there are many high notes that need to be sung with openness and sustain, so it’s actually quite challenging.
You’re My Only Shinin’ StarKadamatsu Toshiki
Originally released in November 1999 as Toshiki Kadomatsu’s self-cover of a song he had written for Miho Nakayama—who was an idol singer at the time.
For reference, Nakayama’s version was released in February 1988.
Setting aside the vocal range, for a Kadomatsu song the vocal melody is relatively simple and singable.
However, since the lyrics are written from a woman’s perspective, there are very few singers who can express “a woman’s heart” to this extent.
Of course vocal technique matters, but I feel this song is emblematic of those that demand highly advanced expressive abilities.
Naturally, on the technical side as well, if your voice weakens in the high tones you won’t be able to fully convey the song, so you’ll need advanced vocal production skills too!
New EraAdo
This is Ado’s 10th digital single, released in June 2022.
Written and composed by Yasutaka Nakata, it was produced as the theme song for the anime film ONE PIECE FILM RED.
The opening begins with Ado’s wonderful high-tone vocals, hinting that this track will be a formidable challenge to sing at karaoke! As you listen further, that prediction proves right—the vocal melody spans a very wide range, which Ado masterfully delivers with diverse vocal techniques and expressive singing.
It’s quite a difficult song for karaoke, but give it your best shot and see if you can conquer it!
Hammer Song and the Tower of PainBUMP OF CHICKEN
Because of its unique tempo, it’s hard to keep in sync, and since it’s in a relatively high key among BUMP OF CHICKEN’s songs, quite a few people find it a bit harder to sing compared to their other tracks.
Many of BUMP OF CHICKEN’s songs have story-like lyrics, but this one is especially moving.