For those confident in their singing ability: Challenging songs to try at karaoke!
How do people practice songs that are hard to sing at karaoke? Not being able to hit the high notes, running out of breath, not keeping the rhythm… Even with those worries, don’t you ever think, “It would be so cool if I could nail that difficult song perfectly!”? The truth is, the tougher the song, the more likely it is that you can sing it surprisingly well once you get the hang of a few tricks.
In this article, we’ll introduce the traits of challenging songs you’ll want to try at karaoke, along with techniques to help you sing them well.
Let’s master that song you admire—together!
[For those confident in their singing ability] Difficult songs to tackle at karaoke! (1–10)
Fighting My WayHatsuboshi Academy, Giga, Saki Hanami
This is a character song from the game “Gakuen Idolmaster,” known as Gakumasu, and it’s the solo track by Saki Hanami, whom my student called the final boss! I’ve tried singing this song at karaoke myself, but it’s definitely not something you can sing just by casually listening to it! The tempo is fast, and the melody comes at you in rapid succession, so unless you really listen closely and get to the point where you can hum along, it’s pretty tough to handle at karaoke.
In fact, Gakumasu has a lot of songs made by Vocaloid producers, so most of them are said to be quite difficult.
It’s a fun song to listen to on its own, and if you can sing it, it’s super cool and feels great! I recommend humming when you’re learning the song.
Don’t hum by pushing with your throat; try doing it lightly so the resonance hits between your eyebrows!
A world where the sun does not riseAimer
This song, which is also the theme for “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Infinity Castle Arc: Chapter 1 Akaza’s Return,” spans roughly E3 to E5 and is quite advanced to sing on a first try.
When I first heard it, Aimer’s English-like diction made me think, “Is this a Western song?” but it’s firmly in Japanese (lol).
The A section is sung phrase by phrase in the lower register, but from around the B section it gradually becomes more emotional.
There are plenty of high notes, but rather than belting them in chest voice, using a strong head voice brings out both the poignancy and the power, matching the song’s mood.
From low to high notes, try singing with your eyebrows slightly raised to help stabilize pitch!
BibbidebaHoshimachi Suisei
Suisei Hoshimachi’s “Bibideba” became a hot topic on YouTube in 2024 as an “insanely difficult rap” and a “top-tier challenge” song—have you heard of it? Some of my students actually tried it, and when I taught it, I felt that on a first pass it’s quite hard and the melody is tough to anticipate.
Beyond rhythm and pitch, it includes rapid-fire sections and rap parts—there are lots of elements packed in.
If you can master it, it’s a super fun and satisfying song to sing! In the chorus, many phrase endings switch to head voice, so lift your facial muscles and keep centering your pitch between the eyebrows, imagining the sound traveling from the brow up through the head as you transition to head voice.
Raising your hand toward your head while singing can make the visualization easier and help the voice come out more freely.
For the word-heavy sections, don’t try to articulate every syllable crisply; instead, let the words flow so they ride the melody as you sing.
KusushikiMrs. GREEN APPLE
When it comes to Mrs.
GREEN APPLE’s vocalist, Motoki Omori, he’s known for his exceptional singing ability.
Given how massively successful Mrs.
GREEN APPLE has been, it’s only natural that their songs are very popular at karaoke—but many people probably end up feeling crushed when they try singing and realize they can’t perform anything like Omori.
The song Kusushiki, released in April 2025, is no exception: it’s hard to deny that perfectly delivering a melody line that fluidly covers a wide vocal range while seamlessly connecting rhythmic sections with soaring phrases is extremely difficult.
Another hallmark of Omori’s style is the delicate vibrato he applies to both the low notes and the falsetto, and since the rhythm in this track is also quite tricky, it’s a perfect pick for today’s theme.
-ness; typicality; the quality/essence of being [X] (as in “X-ness” or “X-like character”)Official HIGE DANDism
This song, chosen as the theme for the animated feature film “100m.
,” is a quintessentially Higedan-style tough piece.
The rhythm is relatively steady, but there are lots of words, making breathing difficult, and the range is extremely wide.
In the C section and the chorus, many listeners will probably think, “It goes up here?” Once you start singing, there’s almost no break—the melody just keeps coming one after another—so you’ll need to be really prepared (lol).
First, make sure you thoroughly memorize the lyrics and melody! The A section seems manageable to sing gently, but from the B section on, it gets hard unless you plan your breathing spots.
Instead of singing everything at 100%, aim to release your voice little by little and then let it all out on the high notes—that balance works well! Don’t miss any fleeting moments where you can catch a breath.
Also, when dropping from high notes to low notes, pitch tends to fall and you might strain your throat, so try singing with your eyebrows kept raised!
BetelgeuseYuri
Yuri’s “Betelgeuse” was practiced by a lot of my students, regardless of gender.
The more lessons I gave on it, the more I thought, “This song is tough,” so it’s perfect for those confident in their vocal skills! The overall range is D3–D5, making it a higher-key song.
The tricky parts are definitely the chorus and the C section.
Once you start singing, there’s no rest, no room to breathe, and many people struggle with switching to falsetto like Yuri does.
Most of Yuri’s songs don’t offer breaks once you begin, so the key is balancing how much volume to use—what percentage of your full power you’re singing with.
As for breath placement, if you hold out every note, you’ll lose track of where to breathe, so try cutting off phrase endings to create small gaps.
Don’t forget to take a breath in those spots! If you want to switch to falsetto, relax and let the sound float upward lightly—this naturally transitions into falsetto, so give it a try!
LetterUru
Uru’s “Tegami” will be released as a digital single on August 13, 2025, and it was written as the theme song for the film “YUKIKAZE,” which opens on August 15.
It’s a song that highlights Uru’s signature delicate, beautiful falsetto.
When singing it, pay attention to your breathing and the balance between low and high notes.
The beginning A melody and the section after the final chorus drop to around a low C3, so be careful not to let your pitch fall.
If you sing using your throat, you’ll carry that throaty sound into the higher notes, so aim to produce your voice from the vocal folds throughout.
Raise your eyebrows firmly and try placing the sound slowly in front of you to produce the low notes.
Also, since the chorus jumps up suddenly to higher notes, imagine resonating in your head and send your voice straight upward—this will make falsetto come out more easily!