I have recently created a couple of articles about which songs are the easiest to sing, those are extremely good for any beginner singer. However, if you are an advanced singer I got your back, the below list of hardest songs to sing will be a challenge for even veteran singers. Although most people can sing these songs, the problem is that they can not sing them well. Most of these songs are hard to sing for a couple of reasons, like vocal range, complexity, rhythm, and even the unique voice of the singer.
For example on a recent study of Freddie Mercury’s voice, found that his singing frequencies are unusually high, and this is why not so many people have a hard time singing or imitating Freddie Mercury’s songs. As the singing industry is extremely competitive, some singers choose to sing difficult songs in order to stand out from the crowd. Some of the below songs are actually difficult because of the extensive usage of high notes.
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While most established singers can sing high notes, the problem comes when they have to keep using these high notes for almost the duration of the entire song. If you are a female then do not worry as there are plenty of vocally challenging songs for females in the below list. In addition to this I will also include the most difficult song in the world to sing, I did hear a couple of singers singing it, although while it wasn’t awful but you could clearly hear that there is a lot of space for improvement.
Songs with high notes for females are extremely challenging, generally speaking, the female voice can go fairly high and men simply can not produce this high pitched voice consistently, although there are some exceptions. If you are a fan of karaoke, then rest assured because the below list contains one of the hardest songs to sing for karaoke as well. As a side note, if you are a fan of acapella singing, then my recommendation is to check out my recent article Good songs to sing acapella solo ( Top 100 ).
The problem with finding the hardest songs to sing is that every individual singer has its own flaws and strengths, some singers might have some difficulty in singing some of the easiest songs, while others will struggle to sing the hardest ones. If you are a serious singer and want to improve your singing technique, and you also want to amaze everybody by singing one of these hard songs to sing, then my recommendation is to start practicing them as soon as possible. If you want to get better at singing then my personal recommendation is to check out my recent article How to sing better ( Top 47 Tips and Industry Secrets ).
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1. “Bohemian Rhapsody” Queen
You will see a couple of songs from Queen in this list, Freddie Mercury’s vocal technique is simply unmatched in the music industry even today. And let us remember when he rose to fame there was no such thing as autotune. One of the main reasons why “Bohemian Rhapsody” from Queen is so hard to sing is because Freddie Mercury’s voice vibrated at a higher frequency than most singers are able to do so. This makes his voice truly unique, and no matter what song of Queen you listen to you will be mesmerized.
One problem which most singers tend to face when trying to sing this song is the length of the song and the frequent tempo and rhythm changes, it is difficult for even the most experienced singers.
2. “I Believe In A Thing Called Love” The Darkness
“I Believe In A Thing Called Love” by The Darkness is hard to sing due to the massive vocal range of the lead singer Justin Hawkins. Oftentimes, singers who sing this song sound out of tune, this happens even for experienced singers, the main reason is that the lead singer has a natural ability to go from one extreme of his vocal range to the other in a split second, and simply put most singers can not keep up.
3. “I Will Always Love You” Whitney Houston
What kind of hardest songs to sing list would this be without at least a song from Whitney Houston? If you have ever tried to sing “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston, then you have probably noticed that you need a lot of stamina and an excellent breathing technique. Another problem which singers who attempt to sing this song may face is the extremely high pitched singing, which is done by the artist with the belting singing technique.
4. “Dream On” Aerosmith
“Dream On” by Aerosmith is by far one of the most popular songs from Aerosmith, it was written back in the ’70s and it is specifically tailored for the amazing vocal range of the lead singer. A lot of singers have attempted to sing this song correctly, but most of them failed mostly because of the frequent changes in pitch and because the song was composed for the F key minor.
5. “Unchained Melody” The Righteous Brothers
This song is considered a classic by many, and even almost 70 years after it has been first released, people still struggle with singing it correctly. The main reason why “Unchained Melody” by The Righteous Brothers is so hard is that it has a lot of high trills and crescendoes. While some singers might match the high trills, but generally speaking most of them will struggle with the numerous crescendos as they are fairly complex.
6. “Video Games” Lana Del Rey
“Video Games” by Lana Del Rey has won the title of the “Song of the Decade”, although this isn’t what really makes it hard to sing. The problem is that the singer has an extremely unique voice and most people who attempt singing this song sound monotone and even out of tune most of the time.
7. “Wuthering Heights” Kate Bush
You have probably not heard of “Wuthering Heights” by Kate Bush, just listen to it for a couple of seconds and you will understand why it is so difficult to sing. The singer has a fairly high pitched voice, which in fact is her natural ability, if you listen to some of her interviews you will notice that she actually speaks with this high pitch. If you are a fan of karaoke singing then try this song out, and try to sing with a high pitch as much as possible, for more fun karaoke songs check out my recent article Best sing along songs when drunk ( Top 23 ).
8. “My All” Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is one of the most popular singers from the ’90s, her song “My All” is considered by many one of the most difficult songs to sing. The main reason why so many singers struggle to sing this song is that the artist has an exceptional belting technique which can be fairly hard to even come close to. In addition to this, the song has a lot of bouncing beats which if you can not sing properly will make you sound out of tune.
9. “Forgot About Dre” Eminem feat. Dr. Dre
For all rap-singing fans, “Forgot About Dre” by Eminem feat. Dr. Dre is probably one of the most difficult rap songs which you can sing. Although this song is meant to be sung in a duo, but even if you manage to sing it in a duo, you will have an extremely hard time following Eminem’s fast lyrics. Next time when you go to a karaoke, dare somebody to sing this song and watch them looking confused when the lyrics on the screen pop off in a split second.
10. “Lovin you” Minnie Riperton
If you have never heard of Minnie Riperton, then my suggestion is to listen to “Lovin you”. Most singers will struggle singing this song as it requires a lot of technical singing skills from the singer. In addition to this Minnie Riperton has a natural ability to sing falsetto with which a lot of singers seem to struggle with.
11. “Black Velvet” Alannah Myles
“Black Velvet” by Alannah Myles is an old but gold song released back in the 80’s it quickly made its way on the top charts. The singer is using a fairly difficult belting technique which is rather hard to imitate. In addition to this the singer while belting is also singing in a fairly high pitch, just try it and you will see how hard it is.
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12. “Hurt” Christina Aguilera
If you want to learn how to project your voice into your singing, then I highly recommend you to learn to sing “Hurt” by Christina Aguilera. When you hear somebody say “sing your heart out” just imagine this song. A lot of singers will struggle singing this song because they can not project their emotions credibly, this in addition to plenty of high notes will make even advanced singers struggle with singing it.
13. “Chandelier” Sia
I have actually added this song to my acapella list also. To the untrained ear, it may sound like a fairly easy song to sing, but don’t get fooled by it. A lot of singers have difficulty singing “Chandelier” by Sia because of the sheer amount of power you will need to sing this song, on the other hand, a lot of singers will also struggle with the pitch of the song.
14. “My Immortal” Evanescence
This song is another great example of how you should project your voice, the main reason why “My Immortal” by Evanescence is so hard to sing is not only because of the projection of emotions but also because of the chorus. Try to sing it and you will see how hard it is to keep up with the chorus.
15. “Over the Rainbow” Judy Garland
“Over the Rainbow” by Judy Garland is a classic song, if you pull it off to sing it correctly, you will see everybody’s jaw drop. A lot of singers consider this to be an easy song to sing, as all you need to do is to know how to sing a ballad correctly, although this is true to a certain extent, but the truth is that knowing how to sing a ballad will not be enough.
16. “Run” Leona Lewis
In “Run” by Leona Lewis the ability of the singer to project her emotions is simply amazing. Although this might not be the main reason why so many singers struggle with it, the problem for most singers is the sheer complexity of the notes.
17. “Cry Me A River” Michael Buble
When you listen to the first couple of seconds of “Cry Me A River” by Michael Buble, you will probably think that you got this. And boy you will be in for a treat once the song starts to ramp up, and this is where most singers fail at singing this song, they simply can not keep up with the artist.
18. “The Star Spangled Banner”
We have all heard famous singers simply butcher the national anthem. The main reason why most singers struggle with singing this song is that they do not have the proper breathing technique and they simply can not sing the correct notes.
19. “Since U Been Gone” Kelly Clarkson
This is also one of those songs which will trick you into believing that it is easy to sing until you try it. The main difficulty of singing “Since U Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson is because of the belting technique in addition to the fairly high notes.
20. “Listen” Beyonce
“Listen” by Beyonce is a good example of the importance of hitting the right notes, there is simply no middle ground, you either hit the right notes correctly or you will simply fail at singing this song.
21. “Rolling in the Deep” Adele
“Rolling in the Deep” by Adele is a favorite song to sing for many singers, although most of them can not sing it correctly. Adele has an almost natural ability to use her falsetto voice, especially when singing higher notes, and this is where most singers fail. Although even Adele had a couple of throat surgeries to remove vocal cord nodules from her throat due to her falsetto singing. For more information about falsetto singing check out my recent article How to sing falsetto female? ( In 8 Easy Steps ).
22. “Skinny Love” Birdy
A lot of singers actually sing “Skinny Love” by Birdy at auditions, although they rather attempt to singing it than actually singing it correctly. The song itself is fairly hard to sing due to the higher-pitched voice which you will have to be able to keep up almost for the entire time of the song.
23. “The 7th Element” Vitas
If you have never heard of this artist then just listen to “The 7th Element” by Vitas, you will be in for a treat. If you remember the opera scene from the “5th Element” then this is exactly how Vitas sings, and a lot of his fans compare him to an actual alien. His voice is so high pitched that male singers will definitely struggle with this song.
24. “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” Jennifer Holliday
“And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” by Jennifer Holliday is considered extremely difficult to sing by a lot of singers, the artist has an extremely powerful voice and this combined with her high pitch singing will make any singer struggle with this song.
25. “All By Myself” Celine Dion
Oftentimes when I teach somebody to sing high notes, I make them listen to “All By Myself” by Celine Dion. Celine Dion’s voice in this song is so high pitched that you will almost think that it is not her true voice.
26. “You Raise Me Up” Josh Groban
“You Raise Me Up” by Josh Groban is mostly difficult because of the high vocal range which the artist accomplishes, in addition to this if you ever attempt to sing this song, then you will notice that it is extremely difficult to sing it also because of the insanely long notes.
27. “Stone Cold” Demi Lovato
“Stone Cold” by Demi Lovato is one of the most popular songs of this generation, a lot of singers consider this to be an easy song to sing, that is till they try it and get to the chorus part.
28. “Life On Mars” David Bowie
“Life On Mars” by David Bowie is fairly difficult to sing, mostly because of the ability on how the artist uses his voice, just give it a listen and try to sing along, some might even say it is impossible to sing it correctly.
29. “Titanium” David Guetta feat. Sia
“Titanium” by David Guetta feat. Sia itself isn’t that hard to sing, that is if you skip the chorus part, once you get there you will struggle with it.
30. “I Will Do Anything For Love” Meatloaf
31. “Under Pressure” Queen
32. “Take On Me” A-Ha!
33. “Painkiller” Judas Priest
34. “Keeper of the Seven Keys” Helloween
35. “Abigail” King Diamond
36. “Faithfully” Journey
37. “Chop Suey!” System of a Down
38. “Viva la Vida” Coldplay
39. “Dangerous Woman” Ariana Grande
40. “Vision of Love” Mariah Carey
41. “Crawling” Linkin Park
42. “Thriller” Michael Jackson
43. “Octavarium” Dream Theater
44. “Y’all Want a Single” Korn
45. “Without You” Mariah Carey
46. “Always” Bon Jovi
47. “Parallels” As I Lay Dying
48. “Egypt” Mercyful Fate
49. “Livin’ on a Prayer” Bon Jovi
50. “I-E-A-I-A-I-O” System of a Down
51. “And Then There Was Silence” Blind Guardian
52. “Sugar, We’re Going Down” Fallout Boy
53. “The Air That I Breathe” All that Remains
54. “Hello” Adele
55. “Twist” Korn
56. “Don’t Rain on My Parade” Barbra Streisand
57. “Carrie” Europe
58. “Given Up” Linkin Park
59. “The Great Gig in the Sky” Pink Floyd
60. “I Have Nothing” Whitney Houston
61. “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing” Aerosmith
62. “Rap God” Eminem
63. “Killer Queen” Queen
64. “Hallowed Be Thy Name” Iron Maiden
65. “Best Of You” Foo Fighters
66. “Hounds” Savatage
67. “Paradise City” Guns N’ Roses
68. “The Show Must Go On” Queen
69. “Wrong Side” Strapping Young Lad
70. “My Heart Will Go On” Celine Dion
71. “Child in Time” Deep Purple
72. “Emotions” Mariah Carey
73. “Nessun Dorma” Luciano Pavarotti
74. “Welcome To The Black Parade” My Chemical Romance
75. “Highlander” Lost Horizon
76. “My Last Sunrise” Demons & Wizards
77. “B.Y.O.B.” System Of A Down
78. “The March of the Black Queen” Queen
79. “Kiss from a Rose” Seal
80. “Laying the Demon to Rest” Theocracy
81. “Shakespeare’s Sister” Stay
82. “Back In Black” AC/DC
83. “Succulent Decedent” Sanguisugabogg
84. “Womanizer” Britney Spears
85. “Dark Chest of Wonders” Nightwish
86. “Death of a Bachelor” Panic! at the Disco
87. “Bodies” Drowning Pool
88. “Black Velvet” Alannah Myles
89. “This Darkened Heart” All That Remains
In conclusion
As you can see there are plenty of hard songs to sing, but trust me if you learn how to sing, even one of these songs you will truly amaze your listeners. A lot of singers are looking for a hard song to sing to impress somebody, most of them will choose one of the above listed songs.
