Best Karaoke Song

Karaoke is a billion-dollar industry and a worldwide phenomenon. Whether you’re in a private booth in a slick karaoke club, at a weekly karaoke night at virtually any dive bar in America, or at home using a shitty karaoke machine and YouTube, there is no denying the allure. For singers, you get that moment in the spotlight, your 3 minutes and 55 seconds of stardom. For spectators, you witness the joy of undiscovered talent, or the schadenfreude of the deluded. But all karaoke songs are not created equal. What makes a song well suited to be performed by any average Joe? What songs should everyone agree to leave alone in the binder? That’s what the Great Pop Culture Debate wants to know as we discuss the Best Karaoke Songs Ever! Song discussed include Proud Mary by Tina Turner, Starships by Nicki Minaj, Torn by Natalie Imbruglia, Bad Romance by Lady Gaga, Summer Nights from Grease, You Oughta Know by Alanis Morissette, Islands in the Stream by Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers, and many more.

Host Eric Rezsnyak and panelists Andrea Guerrero, Curtis Creekmore, and Kate Racculia pound a few shots and take to the stage to croon out their picks for the best karaoke song.

Want to play along at home? Find the listener bracket here. Make a copy for yourself, fill it out with your picks, and see how they match up to our panel's choices.

For more great content, become a Patreon supporter of the podcast today to access the warm-up for this episode, including the panelists’ picks that did NOT make the bracket.

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Round 1 Match-Ups:

Match-Up 1: “Starships” by Nicki Minaj vs. “Proud Mary” Ike & Tina Turner

Match-Up 2: “Torn” by Natalie Imbruglia vs. “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor

Match-Up 3: “Summer Nights” from Grease vs. “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga

Match-Up 4: “Midnight Train to Georgia” by Gladys Knight & the Pips vs. “Islands in the Stream” by Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers

Match-Up 5: “You Oughta Know” by Alanis Morissette vs. “Undone (The Sweater Song)” by Weezer

Match-Up 6: “I’m Still Standing” by Elton John vs. “Love Shack” by the B-52s

Match-Up 7: “Rehab” by Amy Winehouse vs. “I Would Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)” by Meat Loaf

Match-Up 8: “Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Bonnie Tyler vs. “Don’t You Want Me” by Human League

Want a playlist of all the nominated songs, as well as a few other suggestions from the panel? Here you go:

Have a say in future episodes!

Finally, if you want to have a say in what episodes we tackle next, vote in our Topic Polls! And we would love to have you pick your faves in the polls currently open for your votes!

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EPISODE CREDITS

Host: Eric Rezsnyak

Panel: Andrea Guerrero, Curtis Creekmore, Kate Racculia

Producer: Mike Rapin

Editor: Jeffery Perry

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