Josh’s favorite karaoke songs

This is just an unordered list of karaoke songs that I like.

"Why?", you ask. Because every time I go to karaoke/노래방 (noraebang)/KTV I scramble to try to remember which songs I like.

Anyway, here’s a list of artists and songs in no particular order:

Main songs

Note: I haven’t sung all of these.

Alanis Morissette
- You Oughta Know
  Great for screaming. Well known. Fun to sing along to.
- Ironic
Blur
- Song 2
Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
David Bowie and Queen - Under Pressure
The Smiths

Interesting note
The Smiths don’t really show up in KTV in China. Probably due to controversial statements Morrissey made.
- How Soon is Now?
- This Charming Man
Gorillaz
- Feel Good Inc.
  
  People like this song, but I have to get better at the rapping part. Jaguar only had this Gorillaz song.
- Dare
- Clint Eastwood
Linkin Park
- In the End
- Crawling
- Numb
Smash Mouth - All Star
This is a good one for me since it’s not hard to hit the notes and I know all the words.
Aqua - Barbie Girl

People are surprised that I also know all the words to this song.
Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit

I’ve made it my policy to never look at the lyrics to this song. If you’re intelligible, you’re not singing it right.
TLC - No Scrubs

Fun song. Everybody likes it. Easy to sing along to. ~~I just can’t do the rapping part by LeftEye.~~ Actually I’m starting to learn it now.
Chumbawamba - Tub Thumping

Fun, easy song that everyone knows. It’s probably longer than you remember.
Third Eye Blind - Semi-Charmed Life
The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony
Haddaway - What is Love
Ace of Base - The Sign
Vanessa Carlton - A Thousand Miles

Fun, upbeat song. Most people should know this. Fun to sing along.
Sugar Ray - Fly
a-ha - Take on Me

I doubt I could actually sing this, but people know and like this song so it’s a good one to sing.
Daft Punk
- Around The World /s
- Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
  
  Jaguar suprisingly had this. I think the trick to getting this one is knowing exactly how to do a robotic intonation. Not my favorite, but kind of fun.
Dexy’s Midnight Runners - Come on Eileen

The good news is if you fuck up this song, you can just show them this video.
Hall & Oates
Scatman John - Scatman’s World

If you need to look at the onscreen lyrics for this, you probably shouldn't being doing it.
Pet Shop Boys - Opportunities
Radiohead
- Creep
- No Surprises
Real McCoy - Another Night

Note that Real McCoy also goes by the name M.C. Sar & the Real McCoy, which prevented me from finding them one time.
O-Zone - Dragostea Din Tei

People know this song, and I can kind of sing it.
OMC - How Bizarre
Right Said Fred - I’m Too Sexy
Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up
Gary Numan - Cars
Run DMC - It’s Tricky
Simply Red - Holding Back The Years
Tears for Fears
- Everybody Wants to Rule the World
- Mad World
- Head Over Heels
- Shout
  
  Didn’t like this one so much. It’s a bit long and repetitive, but it is easier to sing.
The Clash
- Rock the Casbah
- London Calling
- Train in Vain
The Cure
- Friday I’m in Love
Earth, Wind & Fire
- Boogie Wonderland
The Cranberries
- Dreams
- Linger
- Zombie
  
  Tried singing this recently, but I didn’t know the words that well.
The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way
Toto - Africa
Smashing Pumpkins - 1979
Men at Work - Down Under
Tracy Chapman - Fast Car
Prozzäk - Sucks to be You
Quad City DJs - Space Jam
Nine Inch Nails
Jamiroquai
Maybe. I probably wouldn’t be able to hit any notes.
- Tried singing Virtual Insanity, but I can’t hit the notes.
Fly Me to the Moon

Might be under Frank Sinatra. Originally written by Bart Howard, according to Wikipedia.
Ryan Gosling - I’m Just Ken

Songs/artists I haven’t really seen yet, but would be fun to sing

AFI - Miss Murder
Atari Teenage Riot - Rage
COIL
Throbbing Gristle - Discipline
Death Grips
Slowdive
Black Flag
- Six Pack
- Rise Above

Songs in other languages that I’d like to learn

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu - PONPONPON
王菲(Faye Wong) - 夢中人(Dreams)
Shin - 北京一夜(One Night in Beijing)
Psy - 강남스타일(Gangnam Style)

Other songs

Village People
- Y.M.C.A
- ~~In the Navy~~
  
  It turns out I only know the Dance Dance Revolution version. Most people don’t seem to know this song.
Backstreet Boys
- Everybody
  
  This is a classic that most people like.
I’ll Make a Man Out of You
Crowded House - Don’t Dream It’s Over
Britney Spears - Toxic
The Killers - Mr. Brightside

Pretty popular among anothers.
Blink 182 - I Miss You

This also shows up a lot.

Other thoughts

What makes a good karaoke song? Some axes you should evaluate when choosing a song:

Do you know the words?

You may like the song, or even know its chorus, but that doesn’t mean you can sing the whole song at karaoke. I found this out the hard way with some friends when we tried to sing Eddie Murphy’s “Party All the Time”, and it turned out there were more lyrics than just “my girl likes to party all the time, party all the time, party all the time…”.
Do other people know the song?

Not a deal breaker, but if other people don’t know the song, they’ll just be nodding along waiting for their own song to show up.
Can other people sing the song?

Karaoke is more fun when others sing along.
Can you hit the notes?

I like Jamiroquai, and I know most of the words, but I just can’t do it.
How long is this song?

Bohemian Rhapsody is like 6 minutes long, which is fine since people know it. If people don’t know your song, they’ll resent you. Doubly so if you suck at singing it.
What’s the mood of this song?

Upbeat, screamy songs get the party going, but sometimes they’re hard to start out with. Sad, slow songs can sometimes bore people, especially if you’ve been at karaoke for 3 hours.
Do they even have the song?

Some great songs just aren’t in their catalog. Bummer.

I’ll add more when I remember.