The Perfect Post-Grunge Karaoke Night in 10 Songs

Ben Kaye
·7 min read

The post The Perfect Post-Grunge Karaoke Night in 10 Songs appeared first on Consequence.

As part of Post-Grunge Week, we’re planning your next post-grunge karaoke night by putting together the perfect playlist. You’ll find most of these songs on our 50 Best Post-Grunge Songs list, but be prepared for some unexpected selections.

Months before Post-Grunge Week was even a glimmer in the eyes of our editors, the idea of the perfect post-grunge karaoke night was planted in my head. My friends and I were at a karaoke bar and decided to do a final round where we secretly picked each other’s songs. That’s how Stephen ended up bringing down the house with Creed’s “Higher.”

He’s known for his grunge-y choices, so it seemed obvious in retrospect. But seeing everyone in the place singing along, and feeling the heady invigoration of belting it out myself, it struck me that “Higher” may just be the perfect karaoke rock song. By extension, post-grunge — once derided as “butt rock” — might just be the perfect karaoke genre.

Thankfully, when it came time to plan out the perfect post-grunge karaoke night, I had our list of the 50 Best Post-Grunge Songs to work off of — but be ready for a curveball or two. The idea here was to create just the right flow in the evening, keep the crowd’s energy aligned with yours, mixing up the challenging stuff with the easy winners. We’ve even ranked each tracks’ skill level from one to five microphones (🎤), so you know exactly what you’re getting into.

You arrive at the bar around 8:30 p.m. You put in your first song as you enjoy your first drink. You order a second round just before your name is called. Get ready to take the stage, because here’s the perfect post-grunge karaoke night in 10 kick-butt rock songs.

3 Doors Down — “Here Without You”

Skill Level: 🎤🎤

Timing: 9:05 p.m.

“Kryptonite” is a perfectly decent karaoke rocker, but frankly its lyrics are as cyclical as its drum pattern, and that can get kind of tiresome. “Here Without You” has more happening vocally, which actually makes it a fine warm up tune. You’ll get to show off some chops without stretching too far — the key changes are fun enough without being terribly daunting. Break it out early, when a pure ballad isn’t going to cause any sort of drastic mood shift.

Lifehouse — “Hanging by a Moment”

Skill Level: 🎤🎤

Timing: 9:30 p.m.

This is the equivalent of an aperitif. “Hanging by a Moment” sits warmly in the radio rock nostalgia pocket without attracting the same prejudices of the “bigger” numbers you’ll get to later. There’s quality sing-a-long appeal here to get the crowd on board with you early, which is key to a post-grunge karaoke night. You’ve got to be sure you can sustain those deceptively high notes in the hook’s punchy cadence, and hopefully you’ll have some assistance from your audience.

Default — “Wasting My Time”

Skill Level: 🎤🎤🎤🎤

Timing: 9:50 p.m.

Yeah, let ’em know what kind of night they’re in for. This is your first big opportunity to show off your pipes, hence the four mics. You should have plenty of help on that angsty chorus, but be prepared to carry everyone’s attention in the quieter moments. That’s what this whole outing is going to be about: quiet-loud. Prove to everyone early on that can master those dynamics, and that you’re not backing away from any side of this post-grunge stage you’ve built for yourself.

The Calling — “Wherever You Will Go”

Skill Level: 🎤🎤🎤

Timing: 10:10 p.m.

The night is starting to come alive, so it’s the perfect time for an easy crowd pleaser. The Calling tickles something in the nostalgia brain similar to Lifehouse, with a chorus that begs even harder for crowd participation. With strong tension-and-release, “Wherever You Will Go” is the perfect bridge between the heavier stuff and more crowd-pleasing selections. Be careful of cottoning your mouth too much trying to mimic Alex Band — that’s going to be a fatal trap throughout your evening, so luckily this one is more forgiving to bringing your own thing to it.

Finger Eleven — “Paralyzer”

Skill Level: 🎤🎤

Timing: 10:25 p.m.

Before it gets too into the thick of things, you’ve got one last chance to sneak in a weird one just for you. “Paralyzer” is bonkers conceptually, a quiet-loud post-grunge rager masquerading as a dance number. As such, you’re looking for a hyper specific demographic to meet you on this one, and they might not be there until the chorus. If the right mix is in the crowd and you put the proper stank on your delivery, however, watching them catch up to what you’re doing is gonna be glorious. The verses are a walk without feeling like a stroll, and the little run on the bridge is cool enough that really committing to the bit will make you look like a karaoke god.

Hinder — “Lips of an Angel”

Skill Level: 🎤🎤🎤

Timing: 10:40 p.m.

You just went a little off book, so time to make sure you’re on the same page with a classic. If your karaoke crew involves a partner/significant other of any kind, make sure you preface what you’re about to do here. These lyrics are painful to read, but they’re stupidly fun to sing. Thankfully, you can melodically talk your way through the verses — then just bring some growling earnestness to that absolutely ridiculous chorus, and you’re a hit. It doesn’t even matter if you can match the notes perfectly so long as you’re putting in that overly sincere bite. Really chew it up

Nickelback — “Someday”

Skill Level: 🎤🎤🎤🎤

Timing: 11:05 p.m.

You’ve taken folks on a journey tonight, you karaoke superstar. Now it’s time to plant your flag on the peak. What, you thought you’d be doing “How You Remind Me?” So did everyone else. “Someday” is something of the “forgotten” Nickelback classic, but it swings way harder than their more obvious singles. The hook will make people reconsider their “ironic” take on the band and trigger memories of how deep the Canadians’ catalog truly is. It’s also a mite bit more of a challenge, but if you get some backup singers on, “You’re the only one who knows that,” it’s going to be way more gratifying too.

Hoobastank — “Crawling in the Dark”

Skill Level: 🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤

Timing: 11:15 p.m.

Warning: This is not for everyone. The verses are insidious, a slithering crawl towards an explosive chorus that you so desperately want to belt out. But “Crawling in the Dark” takes serious breath control to get into the range Doug Robb does on that hook. If — if — you can get there, you’re going to have everyone in the bar thrashing like it’s 2001 again. Such a quintessential treasure of the post-grunge movement is a glorious climax to a karaoke night — but don’t be ashamed to skip it in favor of back-to-back Kroeger.

Chad Kroeger feat. Josey Scott — “Hero”

Skill Level: 🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤

Timing: 11:30 p.m.

Rounding the corner on the evening, it’s time for the cool down stretch. Returning to ballads doesn’t mean we’re going to pull back on the power, though. “Hero” is all about that big, muscular hook riding the wings of those strings. You’re going to get some rest in the verses, allowing you to pour out the reserves during the second half, where you’ll have to really own the mic when the music drops out on the bridge before roaring back for that final, emotional refrain. Go get ’em, tiger.

(Bonus: Do a Spider-Man soundtrack karaoke night, pairing this with Dashboard Confessional’s “Vindicated” and Corey Taylor’s “Bother.”)

Creed — “Higher”

Skill Level: 🎤🎤🎤

Timing: 12:00 a.m.

There is no post-grunge karaoke closer but “Higher.” The gods ordained this to be so when it became cool to do post-grunge karaoke again. It’s everything you want from a night like this: cathartic emotion, thundering chorus, epic familiarity. You should do a bit of a Scott Stapp impression here, and normally you’d want to be cautious of getting too into character. Frankly, though, everyone’s going to be singing just as loudly as you are, so you don’t even need to kill it to kill it. That’s why it’s a three-mic-er instead of a four: karaoke’s always easier when everyone’s belting it out together.

The Perfect Post-Grunge Karaoke Night in 10 Songs
Ben Kaye

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