Iconic karaoke songs from the '80s
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Iconic karaoke songs from the ’80s
Madonna performing live in 1985.
Whether you prefer to belt out Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'” in your living room or hit your local bar for a spirited sing-along, one thing’s for sure—you can’t beat a great karaoke night.
Though the practice of loudly and proudly singing your favorite songs has probably occurred since the dawn of music, karaoke’s current format evolved relatively recently. The word “karaoke” was coined in 1956, when the orchestra at Japan’s Takarazuka Revue theater went on strike, leading management to use prerecorded music for the performance. The term is a combination of two Japanese words: “kara” (short for “karappo,” meaning empty) and “oke” (short for “okestora,” a transliteration of “orchestra”).
Other aspects of karaoke’s origins remain debated, however, including who built the first karaoke machine and when. Some credit Japanese entrepreneur Shigeichi Negishi and his 1967 Sparko Box, while others attribute the invention to Japanese businessman Daisuke Inoue and the 8 Juke machine he created in 1971. Whomever the source, there’s no denying karaoke rapidly started rising in popularity in the ’70s. Filipino inventor Roberto del Rosario patented the Karaoke Sing-Along System in 1975, bringing it to Southeast Asia. By the 1980s, “karaoke boxes,” or KTVs, began appearing in private rooms throughout Japan, and it wasn’t long before it spread to the U.S., too, with America’s first karaoke bar opening in 1982.
Ever since, karaoke has made a massive pop cultural impact, appearing in countless movies and TV shows. As of 2023, more than 50 years after karaoke’s inception, the global market is valued at $5.4 billion and is expected to grow to $7 billion in the next decade, according to a Market.us report.
There are thousands of songs to choose from on any given karaoke night, but you’ll notice some of the most popular come from karaoke’s earliest years. Think about classics like “Love Shack,” “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” or “Livin’ on a Prayer”; chances are high that, no matter your age, your go-to song comes from one decade in particular: the 1980s.
Stacker consulted the experts at Billboard, Time Out, and other music outlets to identify 20 of the most iconic karaoke songs from the ’80s. Read on to see if your top pick made the list or to get inspired for your next karaoke session!
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“Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi live at Nakano Sun Plaza, Tokyo.
Who could forget this classic love story between downtrodden dock worker Tommy and diner server Gina? Karaoke performers put their hearts and souls into Bon Jovi’s 1986 rock ballad, beloved for its catchy lyrics and high-energy refrain. If you love singing “Livin’ on a Prayer,” you’re in good company—pop star Rihanna sang her rendition on the “Ellen” show in 2016, and Taylor Swift spontaneously performed the track alongside Jon Bon Jovi and Prince William in 2013 at a charity event at Kensington Palace.
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“Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper performing on stage.
Originally recorded by Robert Hazard in 1979, Cyndi Lauper’s version of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 after its release in 1983. Lauper’s upbeat pop track went platinum six times, earning the singer two Grammy nominations at the 1984 awards. Some karaoke-goers may struggle to hit all of Lauper’s high notes, but that doesn’t take away from the song’s timeless message about empowering women.
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“Dancing on the Ceiling” by Lionel Richie
Lionel Richie on the Dancing On The Ceiling tour performs at the St. Paul Civic Center.
The music video for Lionel Richie’s “Dancing on the Ceiling” is as memorable as the 1986 track. Featuring a slowly rotating room and guest appearances from Rodney Dangerfield and Cheech Marin, the five-minute video cost between $350,000 and $500,000 to produce, according to Billboard. (For comparison, that’d be $1 million to $1.43 million in 2024.) But “Dancing on the Ceiling” made plenty of money back, as Richie’s album of the same name went triple platinum within the first few months of its release. These days, karaoke fans can try to sing and dance along with Richie’s signature moves, even if their feet must remain firmly planted on the ground.
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“Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler performing on stage, 1986.
Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks in 1983 with “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” which still generates buzz today. More specifically, the dramatic rock track sees a surge in popularity during certain celestial events: Spotify searches went up by almost 50% during the April 2024 solar eclipse, and Spotify plays in the U.S. jumped by over 3,500% during the August 2017 solar eclipse.
No matter what’s going on in the skies, though, “Total Eclipse of the Heart” remains arguably one of the best karaoke duets of all time, creating the perfect opportunity for shier singers in the room to jump in on the “turn around, bright eyes” line. And ever since the song was featured in the 2003 comedy “Old School,” you may hear some karaoke-goers add a certain four-letter word to their renditions.
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“Don’t Stop Believin'” by Journey
Neal Schon, Aynsley Dunbar, Steve Perry and Ross Valory of Journey perform live.
“Don’t Stop Believin'” has practically become synonymous with karaoke. Everyone from pro golfer Rory McIlroy to late-night host Jimmy Fallon has put their vocal chords to the test singing Journey’s 1981 epic ballad. Even if you’re not on the mic, it’s impossible not to join in with lyrics like “Hidin’ somewhere in the niiiiight” or “Streetlights, people, ooohhh”—or, at the very least, play some air guitar. “Don’t Stop Believin'” has enjoyed plenty of popularity outside of karaoke stages too. As of January 2024, the song has been certified 18 times platinum, making it the “biggest song of all time,” according to Forbes.
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“Islands in the Stream” by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton
Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton circa 1985 in New York City.
Country royalty Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers teamed up to record this near-instant karaoke classic back in 1983. The track has since been performed by everyone from Miley Cyrus and Shawn Mendes to Blake Shelton and even the Bee Gees, who wrote the song. Still, nothing compares to the original, which spent two weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won an Academy of Country Music Award for Single of the Year. Today, “Islands in the Stream” is such a popular karaoke choice that the song has even been performed on shows like “The Office” and “What We Do in the Shadows.”
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“Love Shack” by The B-52s
Photo of B-52’s on stage.
The B-52s dropped “Love Shack” in 1989, and the song soon reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The track’s ultra-catchy lyrics about a “funky little shack” off the side of an Atlanta highway are impossible to resist. But as many have learned the hard way, the latter half gets a little repetitive to sing along with, save for the fan-favorite line, “Tiiiiin roof, rusted.” And if you do decide to karaoke to “Love Shack,” make sure to do the song justice: Fred Schneider, the lead singer of the B-52s, has said that he’ll take the reins if he hears someone butchering his classic hit.
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“Like a Prayer” by Madonna
Madonna on the Blonde Ambition Tour.
The Queen of Pop is no stranger to controversy, but with its suggestive lyrics and a music video condemned by the Vatican, “Like a Prayer” might just be Madonna’s most hotly contested song ever. That said, these days, the 1989 track is not a controversial choice for karaoke. In fact, the chorus, which includes the Andraé Crouch gospel choir, begs for karaoke audiences to clap along. Over the years, the song has appeared on several movie and TV soundtracks, most recently in 2024’s “Deadpool & Wolverine.”
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“Pour Some Sugar On Me” by Def Leppard
Def Leppard performing in concert in Rochester.
The bold guitar riffs and brash lyricism of Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar On Me” have earned the track a well-deserved space in the pantheon of karaoke greats. As singer Joe Elliott explained in a 2012 interview, the song “means exactly what you think it means.” Though another 1988 Def Leppard hit surpassed it on the Billboard Hot 100—”Love Bites” made it to #1, with “Pour Some Sugar on Me” peaking at #2—it remains the band’s greatest legacy. Elliott has called it “the most important song in our entire career,” as anyone who’s seen 2000’s “Coyote Ugly” can attest.
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“Love Is a Battlefield” by Pat Benatar
Pat Benatar performs onstage at the Capitol Theatre.
Pat Benatar’s 1983 heartbreak rock anthem “Love Is a Battlefield” reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and scored her fourth consecutive Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. The song may be Benatar’s most prominent karaoke track, but it’s not her only one. Her 1980 release “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” and 1984 lovelorn rock ballad “We Belong” also make for excellent sing-alongs, but it’s hard to beat “Love Is a Battlefield”—just ask Jennifer Garner, who performed it in the 2004 rom-com “13 Going on 30.”
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“I Wanna Dance With Somebody” by Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston, performs at the Pine Knob Music Theater.
Few songs are as intrinsically linked to the 1980s as Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.” The 1987 earworm was Houston’s fourth #1 single on the Billboard Hot 100, and it’s been certified seven times platinum as of 2023. Anyone talented or bold enough to perform a Houston classic at karaoke deserves accolades—and you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone in the room who can resist chiming in with a responsive “dance” in the outro. Amid the countless fans who have performed the song, the rap group Migos brought their unique stylings to the track during a “Carpool Karaoke” segment on “The Late Late Show” in 2018.
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“Just a Friend” by Biz Markie
Rapper Biz Markie poses for a portrait in New York City.
Biz Markie’s melodramatic “Just a Friend” is one of the few song options that may be improved by drunken enthusiasm, making the hip-hop song a no-brainer for a karaoke night. The 1989 song, which went platinum in 1990, chronicles a relationship with an unfaithful woman who insists the other man is nothing more than a friend. Its heartbroken hook—”oh baby, you… got what I need”—is irresistibly fun to plead on the mic. Though not the original intention, the track makes for a great duet, as exhibited by Chris Rock and Kerry Washington in the 2007 movie “I Think I Love My Wife” and Jeff Goldblum, who performed it with Markie himself on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” in 2010.
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“Faith” by George Michael
George Michael performing on stage.
Since 1987, George Michael’s flirtatious pop track “Faith” has allowed karaoke singers to fully show off their vocal range (or lack thereof, depending on the performer). Taron Egerton fits into the former category; the actor, who played Michael’s one-time duet partner Elton John in 2019’s “Rocketman,” has called “Faith” his favorite karaoke song. And if you’re a child of the ’90s—or just have some aggression to get out—you could try Limp Bizkit’s version instead.
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“Don’t You Want Me” by The Human League
Human League performing on stage.
Unlike some of the more sentimental duets on this list, “Don’t You Want Me” may appeal to karaoke-ing couples in more complicated relationships. The 1981 track from the Human League recounts two perspectives on a partnership gone sour. It’s a fun one to belt out, thanks to the anguished “ohhhh” in the chorus following the titular lyric. No wonder legendary musician Sting counts the song among his karaoke favorites. “I wear a feather boa and everything; it’s fantastic,” he told People in 2023 of his karaoke performance style.
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“867-5309 (Jenny)” by Tommy Tutone
Tommy Heath and Jim Keller of the rock band ‘Tommy Tutone’ pose for a studio portrait session.
“867-5309 (Jenny)” may have been Tommy Tutone’s only hit, but its memorable lyrics and upbeat tone have made it a karaoke staple. Though bandmembers Tommy Heath and Jim Keller have conflicting memories of the 1981 song’s origin story, “867-5309” was an undeniable success, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. More than four decades later, Billboard called it a karaoke crowd-pleaser, describing it as “the right combination of dated and timeless” that “everyone knows and no one dislikes.”
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“Sweet Child O’ Mine” by Guns N’ Roses
Izzy Stradlin and Slash of the rock band ‘Guns n’ Roses’ perform onstage at the Troubadour.
Legend has it, it only took Guns N’ Roses five minutes to pen the classic “Sweet Child O’ Mine.” But the song went #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Guns N’ Roses’ only track to top the chart. Ever since its release in 1988, “Sweet Child O’ Mine” has become a karaoke mainstay for anyone brave or talented enough to attempt singer Axl Rose’s soaring high notes. Among them is actor Ana de Armas, who told her “Knives Out” costar Chris Evans in a BuzzFeed interview that “Sweet Child O’ Mine” is her #1 karaoke pick. When he called the choice “bold,” she admitted, “I have to be really drunk.”
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“Africa” by Toto
Toto on stage, 1997.
Toto’s funky tune about exploring a new land makes a great choice for late-night karaoke, with Billboard calling it “one of those songs that gets the whole bar singing.” It’s no wonder “Africa” landed atop the Billboard Hot 100 shortly after its 1982 release and is one of the band’s best-known songs today. Weezer also recorded a memorable “Africa” cover in 2018 after a six-month-long online fan campaign pushing for it. The fans blessed it by making it the band’s most successful song, in terms of digital sales, since “Beverly Hills” in 2005.
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“Dancing in the Dark” by Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen Born in the USA Tour.
With lyrics that speak to a universal desire for reinvention, Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” has resonated with just about every karaoke singer at some point. The 1984 song won Springsteen his first Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance. Not bad for a song that the rock legend reportedly wrote in a hotel room in a single night.
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“Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield
Rick Springfield plays guitar as he performs onstage at the Mill Run Theater.
Rick Springfield’s 1981 hit perfectly captures the emotions of wanting to date someone unattainable—in this case, the girlfriend of the narrator’s friend. “Jessie’s Girl” is a karaoke favorite for the lovesick or anyone else who can’t help but sing along to that instantly recognizable chorus. Befitting his status as karaoke royalty, Springfield appeared as a karaoke bar owner and performed “Jessie’s Girl” with actor Wendi McLendon-Covey on a 2018 episode of “The Goldbergs.”
Story editing by Jaimie Etkin. Copy editing by Paris Close. Photo selection by Clarese Moller.
