Any song, ready to sing along.

Karaoke turns a finished song into a sing-along video. Upload the full track and paste the words: the music plays without the vocals, every word lights up as it is sung, and a Vocal volume slider brings the singer back as quietly as you like, as a guide.

No software needed. Everything runs in your browser.

For singers, vocal coaches, karaoke and cover channels, and artists making a sing-along version of a song they have the rights to.

The line being sung is set large and lights up word by word, in time with the song. The next line waits underneath, smaller and faded, so whoever holds the microphone always knows what is coming.

What you get

How to make a karaoke video

  1. Upload the song. Open a new Karaoke project and add the full song, vocals and all: an MP3 or WAV of 30 seconds to 10 minutes, no bigger than 200 MB. While the music is prepared the full song plays, so you can start on the frame straight away.
  2. Paste the lyrics. Open Lyrics, paste the words, one line per sung line, and sync them to the song: every word gets its own moment. Listen through and drag any line that needs a nudge; its words move with it.
  3. Design the frame. Pick Wipe or Pop and the colours of the words, then add a background, props, text and images around them. Set Vocal volume to 0 for the music alone, or higher to keep a guide voice. The project saves itself as you work.
  4. Pick the shape and render. Choose landscape, vertical or square and press Render. Our servers draw every frame at 60 fps, and the finished MP4 waits in your library to download or publish to your YouTube channel.

What is a karaoke video?

A karaoke video plays a song without its lead vocal and puts the lyrics on screen, lighting up each word as it should be sung, so anyone can sing along in time. Here is what makes one work, why the timing matters so much, and how Karaoke makes one from the full song you already have.

What a karaoke video is, and who makes one

A karaoke video has two jobs. It plays the music without the singer, so the person holding the microphone becomes the voice, and it shows each word at the moment it is due, so nobody has to know the song by heart. The classic screen does both: the line being sung, its words changing colour as they go, and the next line waiting underneath.

Singers use karaoke videos to rehearse and to perform, and vocal coaches use them in lessons. Karaoke and cover channels publish them on YouTube, and artists release a sing-along version of their own single beside the official video, for the fans who want to sing it themselves.

Starting from the full song

The music is usually the hard part. A karaoke video needs the song without its lead vocal, and most songs never come with one. In Karaoke you upload the full song as it is, an MP3 or WAV of 30 seconds to 10 minutes, and it plays without the vocals, in the preview and in the finished video.

A song is prepared the first time you open it in Karaoke. Until it is ready the full song plays and you can work on the frame; the music switches over by itself when it is done, and Render waits for it.

A little of the singer is often welcome, especially for someone still learning the song. The Vocal volume slider mixes the original vocal back in under the music, from 0, the music alone, to 100, the singer at full level, and the render uses the same mix you hear while you work.

Why every word needs its own timing

A lyric video can show a whole line at a time. A karaoke video cannot, because the highlight is what tells the singer when to come in and how long to hold a note. Paste the lyrics, one line per sung line, and Karaoke times every word to the song, not just every line.

You do not need to tidy the text first. Headers like [Chorus] and repeat markers like (x2) are understood, and a chorus written once but sung again is expanded for you.

If a line lands early or late, drag it. Each timed line is a bar under the waveform, and its words travel with it; pull either end of a bar to change how long the line stays on screen. Already have the timing as an SRT file? Load it, and the words of each line light up in turn across the time the file gives that line.

Wipe or Pop: how the words light up

Wipe is the classic karaoke look: colour fills each word from left to right while it is sung, so a long note fills slowly and a quick run of words fills fast. Pop lights each whole word the moment it starts, with a small bounce, which suits songs with short, punchy words and a strong beat.

Either way, the line being sung is set large and the next one waits underneath, smaller and faded, so the singer can read ahead, and the first line shows a few seconds before it is due. You choose three colours: the words still to come, the sung words and the glow behind them.

Building the rest of the frame

Around the words, the frame is yours. Choose a solid colour, a soft two-colour ambient gradient, or a picture or video clip behind everything, with a blur you set; a background clip, uploaded or picked from the stock video search, is cut to the length of the song. Add any of 15 props, from a spinning vinyl to a disco ball, text layers for the title and artist in any of 200 fonts, and images such as your logo or the cover.

Each piece is a layer you can move, resize, rotate, hide or lock, and the lyrics are a layer too, so the words can sit low under a picture or fill the middle of the screen. There is no timeline to build: you lay the scene out once, and the song carries it from the first second to the last.

One project for YouTube, Shorts, Reels and TikTok

Switch between landscape, vertical and square at any time; every layer keeps its place in the frame. A landscape render comes out at 3840 x 2160, a vertical one at 2160 x 3840 and a square one at 2160 x 2160, all at 60 fps, as an H.264 MP4 with AAC audio.

Press Render and the video is made on our servers, so you can close the tab while it runs. It lands in your library with no watermark, ready to download or send straight to YouTube. Renders are unlimited on the Creator plan, so a version with a guide vocal and one without are simply two renders of the same project.

Everything a sing-along needs

The song, without the vocals. Upload the full song as it is, not an instrumental. It plays without the vocals, in the preview and in the finished video. A song is prepared once, the first time you open it in Karaoke, and while that happens the full song plays and the whole frame stays open to edit.

A guide voice, as loud as you want it. Vocal volume mixes the original singer back in, from 0 for the music alone to 100 for the full vocal. Leave it at 0 for a pure sing-along, or keep a quiet guide for someone learning the song. The finished video carries the same mix you hear while you work.

Every word lights up as it is sung. Paste the words and every one is timed to the song, not just every line, so the highlight follows the singer through quick runs and long notes alike. The line being sung is set large, and the next one waits underneath, smaller and faded.

Wipe or Pop, in your colours. Wipe fills each word with colour from left to right while it is sung, the classic karaoke screen. Pop lights each whole word the moment it starts, with a small bounce. Choose the colour of the words still to come, the sung words and the glow behind them.

The rest of the frame is yours. Put a solid colour, a soft ambient gradient, or a picture or video clip behind the words, with a blur you set. Add any of 15 props, from a spinning vinyl to a disco ball, text in 200 fonts, your logo or cover, a subscribe prompt or a QR code, each a layer you can move, resize, hide or lock.

Landscape, vertical or square. Render one project at 3840 x 2160 for YouTube, 2160 x 3840 for Shorts, Reels and TikTok, or 2160 x 2160 for feed posts, all at 60 fps with no watermark. Switch the shape at any time, and every layer keeps its place in the frame.

Works with

Compose: The same frame with the vocals left in: a lyric video, with visualizer looks and lyric styles.

Music Visualizer: A full-length video of the original song, on a template that moves with the music.

Frequently asked questions

How do I make a karaoke video?

Open Karaoke, upload the full song and paste the lyrics, one line per sung line. The music plays without the vocals and every word is timed to the song. Choose Wipe or Pop and your colours, add a background and anything else you want in the frame, pick landscape, vertical or square, and render.

Do I need an instrumental version of the song?

No. Upload the full song as it is, vocals and all, and it plays without the vocals. If you want a guide, the Vocal volume slider brings some of the original voice back.

Can I keep a little of the original voice?

Yes. Vocal volume runs from 0, the music alone, to 100, the singer at full level. Anything in between leaves a guide voice under the music, which helps when the song is new to whoever is singing. The video uses the same mix you hear in the preview.

How do the words light up?

You pick one of two ways. Wipe fills each word with colour from left to right while it is sung, and Pop lights up each whole word the moment it starts, with a small bounce. You choose the colour of the words still to come, the colour of the sung ones and the glow behind them.

Is every word timed, or only every line?

Every word. Each one gets its own start and end in the song, so the highlight moves through a line the way it is sung instead of lighting the whole line at once. The line being sung is set large, and the next one waits underneath so the singer can read ahead.

How do I fix a line that is out of time?

Drag it. Every timed line sits as a bar under the waveform: move a bar to move its line, words and all, or pull either end to change how long it stays on screen. Every change can be undone.

Can I use lyrics I have already timed?

Yes. Load an SRT file in the lyrics screen and its lines arrive already timed. An SRT file times lines rather than words, so the words of each line light up in turn across that line's time, a longer word taking a little longer.

Do I have to wait before I can start?

No. A song is prepared the first time you open it in Karaoke, and while that happens the full song plays and you can build the whole frame. The music switches to the version without the vocals by itself when it is ready, and Render waits until then.

What size should a karaoke video be for YouTube, Shorts and TikTok?

Landscape 16:9 for the full song on YouTube, which Karaoke renders at 3840 x 2160 and 60 fps. Vertical 9:16 for Shorts, Reels and TikTok, at 2160 x 3840, or square at 2160 x 2160 for feed posts. YouTube only treats a vertical or square video as a Short when it runs 3 minutes or less, so for a Short, start a vertical project from an edit of just the chorus.

Can I make a karaoke video of any song?

You can make one from any song you upload. Publishing it is a question of rights: a karaoke video still carries the song's music and its words, which belong to the people who wrote and recorded them. Post karaoke versions of your own songs, of songs you have licensed, or of songs whose owners allow it, and expect YouTube to check the upload against Content ID as it does any music.

How is Karaoke different from Compose?

Compose makes a lyric video: the song plays as it is, vocals in, with visualizer looks and lyric styles that show the words line by line. Karaoke makes a sing-along: the music plays without the vocals, and the words light up one at a time as they are sung. Both build the frame from the same backgrounds, props, text and images, and both render at the same sizes.

Is Karaoke included in the Creator plan?

Yes. There is one plan, $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year, and it covers Karaoke alongside every other studio, with unlimited renders and no watermark.

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