In 2009, 80 000 Finns sang the Hard Rock Hallelujah song to thank the Lordi band for winning the Eurovision Song Contest. To date, this massaoke (mass karaoke) record has not been broken.
Besides, what are the most popular songs people sing in karaoke style? This time we will figure out what songs are the best karaoke hits in various parts of the world, and what song is the most popular on the planet. To get the job done, we will use relevant playback ratings provided by various karaoke business as well as the Studio Evolution song base.
What are the most popular karaoke hits in the post-Soviet space?
Ryumka vodki na stole (A glass of vodka on the table)
In the post-Soviet area, the “Ryumka vodki na stole” song by Grigory Leps has been the most popular choice for karaoke singing for many years now. It still dominates in various karaoke ratings. For instance, this musical composition has been played about 600 000 times on the Evolution karaoke systems so far.
According to a study published by Segodnya (Today), the “Ryumka vodki na stole” song is the most performed hit among men in most Ukrainian cities. Karaoke fans prefer that track for its relevance and sincerity. Usually, male singers sing the Ryumka at the end of the party, when they get excited and sentimental.
As for female singers, they differ significantly in their karaoke preferences. Some of them prefer songs performed by Svetlana Loboda; others are fond of Elena Vaenga, the Via Gra band, and Irina — “Crazy Empress” — Allegrova. However, popular female songs share a common feature: they are relevant and express the current mood of karaoke singers.
According to trusted karaoke ratings, the following are the top five songs in the posy-Soviet region:
- Ryumka vodki na stole by Grigory Leps
- O Bozhe Kakoj Muzhchina (Oh God, what a man) by Nataly
- Mladshiy leytenant (Second lieutenant) by Irina Allegrova
- Tam gde klen shumit (Where the mapple in the wind is) by the Sinyaya ptitsa (Blue bird) band
- Kolybelnaya (Lullaby) by Polina Gagarina
The data taken from the following web sources: https://www.hitlist.ru/, https://vkaraoke.org/, https://vibirai.ru, https://vm.ru, https://vseorechi.ru
Now, here are the top five songs by Evolution*:
- Ryumka vodki na stole by Grigory Leps
- Batareyka (Battery) by the Zhuki (Beatles) band
- Vahteram (To janitors) by the BoomBox band
- Rayony-kvartaly (Neighborhoods) by the Zveri (Animals) band
- Kukushka (Cuckoo) by Polina Gagarina
*the data is provided for May 2019 and is based on the karaoke playback rating for the Evolution karaoke systems and the EvoClub request lists.
Unlike Russian and Ukrainian karaoke clubs, Kazakh leisure venues can boast of different customer preferences. Namely, local amateur performers prefer to sing in English. The Kazakh karaoke statistics look as follows:
- Peremirie (Сeasefire) by the VIA Gra band
- Vahteram (To janitors) by the BoomBox band
- Diamonds by Rihanna
- V klube (In the club) by Timati
- Oficery (Officers) by Oleg Gazmanov
It’s no big secret songs in English are not very popular with people living in the post-soviet environment. The reason is, they lack language skills. As a result, in the Evolution playlist, English songs can be seen at the end of the first two hundred positions. Zombie by the Cranberries band is the most popular hit.
As for movie/cartoon songs, they are in popular demand!. “Do not hang your nose, midshipmen”, “Goluboy vagon” (“Blue rail wagon”), and “Athos song” make a must-have for any karaoke business in the region. As with Leps, the likelihood of hearing D’artagnan’s hoarse voice increases in direct proportion to the amount of performance’s sentimentality.
In most cases, karaoke preferences of a wide range of singing fans are easy to explain. People new to karaoke often choose kid’s songs as they know the words since they were children. Moreover, it is recommended to start with a musical composition you have heard repeatedly. That will help you build the best experience. A relaxed singer feels more confident with the microphone in hands.
What songs are popular in Japan, the homeland of karaoke?
The Japanese have lots of spots and ways to spend quality time with friends or family. In most cases, however, in the Land of the Rising Sun, people prefer to visit karaoke clubs. Perhaps, the only issue is that karaoke fans have to choose a spot that best fits their mood.
In a survey on the Ask Japanese blog, the Japanese shared their karaoke preferences. Those include the latest pop hits, anime songs, and foreign songs that became classic hits. The Japanese prefer to practice before the performance. To improve their singing skills, they use solitary karaoke boxes. In other words, those guys use homemade solutions for karaoke parties.
It sometimes seems that the Japanese don’t bother so much about karaoke songs they want to sing. Those guys even have cover versions of Russian and Soviet hits such as “Million alyh roz” (“Million Scarlet roses”) by Alla Pugacheva. In Japan, the song title sounds as follows: Hyaku man bon no bar.
Matryoshka – Hatsune Miku & Gumi
The three leaders of the last 35 years will be especially indicative in terms of the diversity of the modern karaoke charts in Japan. Hanamizuki, a melodic, almost chamber song by Hitoto YoIn takes top position. Driving pop punk tunes come next. Evangelion theme songs are last on the list.
Japanese Top 5 is as follows:
- Hanamizuki – Hitoto Yo
- Chiisana Koi no Uta – MONGOL800
- Zankoku na Tenshi no Thesis – Takahashi Yoko
- Amagi-goe – Sayuri Ishikawa
- Cherry – Spitz
The data taken from the following web sources: https://www.buzzfeed.com, https://www.sbs.com.au and https://www.timeout.com
The Japanese also enjoy singing overseas hits. The following musical compositions are most common in karaoke request list:
- What Makes You Beautiful – One Direction
- Call Me Maybe – Carly Rae Jepsen
- My Heart Will Go On – Celion Dion
- We Are Never Getting Back Together – Taylor Swift
- Let It Go – Idina Menzel
Almost the same thing is happening in South Korea. The Koreans often add their local idols (popular young singers participating in Korean talent shows) to karaoke charts.
It is worth noting that karaoke in Korea is almost the same popular as in Japan. The Koreans even own a kind of record for the duration of non-stop karaoke performance. Namely, Kim Sung-Ok sang for 76 hours in a row. She performed 1283 songs! It’s entirely possible that she could sing more if it weren’t her relatives, worried about the girl’s health. They had simply taken a microphone from the singer’s hands.
Now, what are the preferences of the Korean karaoke fans? In most cases, they prefer to sing the latest hits and game/movie theme songs:
- Bermuda Triangle – Zico, Crush & Dean
- Why So Lonely – Wonder Girls
- EXO – Monster
- Blackpink – Whistle
- BTS – Blood Sweat & Tears
The data taken from the following web sources: https://www.soompi.com/, https://blog.inspiremekorea.com, https://charactermedia.com.
Speaking of Asian karaoke records, we have to mention the Filipino “My Way killings.” More than six killings, apart from numerous fights, have occurred since 2007 during the singing of the My Way song. It is noteworthy that the karaoke bar guard killed the first victim. As a result, Frank Sinatra’s legendary song is currently removed from karaoke bars and is prohibited to sing in public places.
Let’s scale up to the whole world
When it comes to karaoke preferences in various world countries, we have to consider the specific situation in those regions. So, each country has its homegrown professional singers who sing in their native language and remain unknown, or poorly known, abroad. At the same time, those local stars are extremely popular in their countries. For example, the After Party band is well-known in Poland, and hardly known in other regions.
The USA, Canada, Great Britain, and Australia are large English-speaking countries with a total population of over 460 million. Those regions can also boast of a single cultural and musical space. For musicians singing in English, it is relatively easy to catch on.
For the rest, world fame is a very long and thorny journey. With this in mind, when we talk about the rating, we usually mean English-speaking performers.
What songs make Top 5 karaoke hits? What song is the most requested title in world’s karaoke lists? The answer is Billie Jean by Michael Jackson.
Номер 1 в мире – Billie Jean.
The rest four world karaoke hits are:
- Perfect by Ed Sheeran
- Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen
- Despacito by Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee
- Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond
The data taken from the following web sources: https://www.timeout.com, https://topmusicgears.com, http://mentalfloss.com, and https://www.karafun.com
Other popular songs that don’t appear in the list, are My Way by Frank Sinatra, Purple Rain by Prince, Like a Prayer by Madonna, and I Want It That Way by Backstreet Boys.
Sure thing, all ratings provided are far from objective. You have a personal set of favorite songs to sing solo or with friends. And if you haven’t put together your top yet, the entire Evolution song database is at your disposal in the EvoClub electronic catalog. Tens of thousands of the official studio-quality karaoke tracks are waiting for you to sing them all!
