Doing karaoke for me is all about having fun and singing a few memories in the form of our favorite songs. There aren’t many singers who have given us more memories than Billy Joel. He has had a career that has spanned decades and many of his songs have become real classics that form part of the soundtrack to many lives.
If you want to create a really great karaoke night then you need to include a few of Billy Joel’s best songs. Let’s check out some of the best Billy Joel karaoke songs that you can use for karaoke night.
1. Piano Man
You will have to search a long time to find a song that has become more of a signature to any singer than Piano Man has become for Billy Joel. The song is the reason that people call him the Piano Man and it is by far one of his biggest hits ever.
The story telling in the song is one of the things that has made it really popular, and it is also a great song for karaoke night for the same reason. This is a song that is a lot of fun and the chorus is so catchy that it will inspire everyone to get singing. This could be a great song to start karaoke night and get everyone in the spirit of the night.
The really surprising thing is that Piano Man was one of the first songs that Billy Joel has ever written. He was only 24 years old when he wrote the song. At the time he was actually a piano lounge singer who was entertaining people in a bar using an assumed name. Just to pay the rent. His experiences inspired the song, which tells all of the stories of some of the real people in the bar that he worked in.
He was surprised when the song became really popular, but it became a major hit and it has remained a song that has been loved for many years.
2. New York State of Mind
If you are a New Yorker then this song has probably come up a time or two in your lifetime. It is pretty much the anthem for the city and a theme song for everyone who feels at home there.
It is the perfect song if you want to show some love for your home town, whether you grew up there or now choose to call it home. It is a song that has a bit of a blues or jazz vibe but it also really works for karaoke night if you want to slow it down a little bit.
There was a time that the very famous Long Islander, Billy Joel, stayed in Los Angeles for a few years. But it never quite felt like it was his home. He missed New York and, on his way back home in a bus he wrote this song that became so special to so many different people.
It later became even more special when it was used as part of a benefit for victims and first responders of the 9/11 attacks. This song means a lot to many different people and if you are one of those people then it can be the perfect song to add to your set.
3. She’s Always a Woman
What is karaoke night without at least one really great love song? You have to have at least one. And among all of the great songs that are in the Billy Joel music book, She’s Always a Woman has to be one of the best love songs that he ever wrote.
The song is all about a guy that falls in love with a so-called modern woman and all of her flaws and quirks but everything that she brings to the relationship too. It is about loving a strong woman and everything that she brings.
Billy Joel had plenty of experience with a relationship like that, his then wife Elizabeth Weber was really strong and competent. She was the inspiration for this song.
When Billy Joel wrote this song it was just after he went through some rough times when he signed bad contracts and made a few poor choices. That is when Elizabeth Weber stepped in. She took over the management of his career. She was a great negotiator and got his career back on track when it comes to financial matters.
A great song to sing to that strong person in your life who looks out for you.
4. Uptown Girl
This has to be the Billy Joel go to karaoke song of all time. It is a fun upbeat song to sing and who doesn’t adore this song? It is perfect to bring the fun to karaoke night. It can be sung as a solo but also done as a group song like the cover version that the boyband Westlife did.
It doesn’t matter in which way you decide to sing Uptown Girl on karaoke night, it is sure to be a big hit with the audience who will love the song as much as you do. You don’t easily meet anyone who says they don’t love this song.
When Billy Joel wrote the song he titled it Uptown Girls, and it was about a few women who he was surrounded with. Including two supermodels Christie Brinkley and Elle Macpherson, both of which he was involved with.
He ended up having Brinkley, who was then his soon to be wife, in the music video. The video was fun and cute and Billy later said that the song was there to give hope for all guys, since the fact that he could attract such an incredible and stunning woman should give “hope to every ugly guy in the world.”
The song might serve as inspiration but it also serves as a great song for karaoke night.
5. You May Be Right
This might just be one of the most rock and roll Billy Joel songs of all time, but You May Be Right is just a great bop too. Singing that he “might be crazy,” doesn’t sound like a very romantic sentiment but then he goes on to explain that his wacky personality might just be the thing that she is looking for.
The song sounds a little bit angry and you can really belt it out on karaoke night. You need to put in a lot of energy and spunk to the song. Like you are trying to convince someone that your specific brand of weird makes you the perfect partner for them.
What is more romantic than having your two brands of weird working together and creating a really awesome relationship. Or you know, just a really awesome karaoke night.
6. Goodnight Saigon
If you want to slow down the night just a little and sing a song that can be almost considered haunting, then Goodnight Saigon might just be the one for you to sing on karaoke night.
Billy Joel didn’t agree with the Vietnam War and didn’t go, but many of his friends did and he wanted to honor that. So, instead of writing an anti-war song, he instead focused on the stories of some of the people who were there.
He listened to them and that is what inspired this song. He doesn’t really take a side at all, instead he just tells the tragic and traumatic stories of some people who lived through the event. It is a beautiful song that does take a really good voice to sing.
As long as you can do it with respect and care this could be a really stunning addition to karaoke night. A song that will be very different from other karaoke songs but that will still be great to sing.
7. We Didn’t Start the Fire
Next let’s take the beat right back up all the way with a classic pop song from Billy Joel. It has been called a lesson in pop history, but this is just an incredible song. It does have a reference for over 100 real events and headlines that happened between 1949 to 1989. That is the year of his birth and the release of the song.
If you do want to sing it for karaoke night, then I would advise doing a few breathing exercises before getting to the stage. It is a seriously fast song and you are almost sure to get out of breath somewhere along the line.
That is why it might just be a great song to sing as a group or in a duet. That way you will have some backup and you don’t need to sing the really fast lyrics on your own.
It is a great song to get everyone involved in singing. One that would be great to end the night with everyone up singing and dancing.
Billy Joel Has Incredible Karaoke Songs
There are still loads of other great Billy Joel songs that could be perfect for karaoke night. Some of them include: My Life, Only the Good Die Young, Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song), It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me, and many more.
As long as you love the song and can have loads of fun singing it, then it could be the perfect Billy Joel song for you to sing on karaoke night.
