This weekend was spent mainly singing and howling with laughter after playing with the karaoke feature Apple Music Sing alongside the Continuity Camera, which you can try in the public betas of iOS 17 and tvOS 17.
Sing enables you to not only see the lyrics to songs but to see yourself on TV as you sing them, and the result is some of the most fun we’ve ever had in our front room. One of the things that makes Sing work so well is that it uses your iPhone and the Continuity Camera feature. Simply connect your iPhone, place it pointing outwards from somewhere near the TV, and it will automatically focus on you.
Not only that but it uses Apple’s Centre Stage too, with the camera following you as you move around and automatically narrowing or widening the focus as people leave or enter its field of view.
As we’ve discovered, that’s a recipe for serious fun and serious comedy when you use it for karaoke: duets and multi-singer or multi-rapper songs are ideal for having people pop in and out or up and down to do their thing.
You can try Sing out right now by installing the public betas. Here’s how to download the iOS 17 public beta on your phone; once you’ve signed up for the betas, you can download them to your TV by going into Settings > System > Software Updates > Get Beta Updates.
As with any beta there are likely to be some bugs and unexpected app issues, so don’t install the software if you’re not okay with that risk. For what it’s worth we haven’t encountered any deal-breaking problems on iOS 17 or tvOS 17, but your mileage may vary.
To use Sing, find the song you like in Apple Music and play it on your Apple TV 4K. Look for the lyrics icon at the lower right of the screen – it’s two inverted commas in a speech bubble – and tap that. You’ll now see four icons above the top right of the timeline, one of which is a video camera.
Select that and you’ll be asked if you want to use your iPhone camera, next confirm on your iPhone and you’ll see live video from its main camera. Put your phone where it can see you and use the microphone icon to adjust the volume of the vocals to suit – it does a really good job of removing vocals partly or completely while leaving the music intact.
And that’s all you need to do to use one of the best streaming service's upcoming karaoke features. Here are 13 song suggestions to get you going and – if you’re anything like us – giggling. Some of the choices here aren't suitable for younger singers, but most of the songs are completely family-friendly.
Summer Nights, John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John
We had to include this one. It’s the law. Summer Nights isn’t just a brilliant sing-along, it’s also fun to do with larger groups, as you can have them pop into frame for the “tell me more! Tell me more!” bits and Continuity Camera will expand the frame to fit them all in.
You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling, The Righteous Brothers
This isn’t the most visual song to perform, we know. But if you drop this on an unsuspecting pal and then exit the frame so the camera closes in on them, your iPhone will capture them going bright red during the very, very high “Baby! BABY!” bits in incredible close-up detail.
Somebody That I Used To Know, Gotye & Kimbra
Who hasn’t stripped naked and covered themselves in body paint to do karaoke in their front room? If that seems a bit much, you can still have fun with this song and your iPhone. You can experiment with the camera’s framing by having the person singing Kimbra's bits stay out of the frame at first, then appearing at the edge of the room and moving closer as the vocal reaches its climax.
2Pac feat. Dr Dre, California Love
You’re not going to be able to recreate the Mad Max vibes of the music video in your front room, even if it’s as messy as our apartment. But that doesn’t mean you can’t replicate the bits where Dre and 2Pac stand on a podium – we improvised with an IKEA footstool – and bend low to throw shapes at the camera.
Bring Me To Life, Evanescence
Unleash your inner Amy Lee by wearing an old nightie and getting some completely random guy to run into the room for the frankly unnecessary rap bits.
Call Me Maybe, Carly Rae Jepsen
We had a big debate over whether it should be this or the even better Run Away With Me, but for sheer friendship fun this is the one that’s the most fun to bellow at your iPhone as you bounce around with your BFFs.
Lose Yourself, Eminem
If you have an aspiring rapper in the family this is a great track to play around with. Continuity Camera does a great job of tracking you as you move from up close to the iPhone camera (and your TV) to further back for the all-important arm-waving of the chorus. With a pal? Stan’s a great option for a twofer.
Islands in the Stream, Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers
According to the LA Times, this is the best karaoke duet of all time. Co-written by the Bee Gees it’s an absolute banger, but while the sheer talent of Dolly and Kenny is of course part of its soaraway success it’s the lyrics that make it such a great karaoke song. As the LAT says: “For married karaoke couples of a certain age, performing ‘Islands in the Stream’ together is akin to making a very public renewal of their vows” – and for younger folks it’s a great way to express emotions that are sometimes easier to sing than to say.
Aerosmith and Run DMC, Walk This Way
There’s something about being on screen that brings out the exhibitionist in all of us, and what better way to exploit that than with this awesome mix of rap and rock guitar? The camera happily makes room for as many genre-busting musicians as you can fit in your front room, and it does a great job of focusing on your air guitar solo in the closing section too.
Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, Elton John and Kiki Dee
It’s all about the 'woo-hoos', although if you’re familiar with the video you’ll know it’s also a classic of the two-singers-on-camera genre. Elton’s dad dancing, Kiki’s much calmer performance and the distinctly awkward bit where he throws his arm around her are eminently copyable when you’re on Continuity Camera. Bonus points if you can match Kiki’s dungarees.
Straight Outta Compton, NWA
We can’t include any of the lyrics here for obvious reasons, but this is another absolute joy to rap along with – especially if you try to copy Easy E and Dre’s most aggressive moves while you do it.
Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen
Here’s one for the Queen fans and drama queens generally. Bohemian Rhapsody is well known for its ability to humble cockier karaoke performers – it’s really hard! – and the “mamma mia” section in the centre is a hilarious mess when you’ve got multiple pals taking a single line each. Extra points if you turn the lights off and shine torches under your faces for the first half.
Slipknot, Wait and Bleed
Admittedly this might just be one for our place, where this and System of a Down’s Chop Suey are seriously fun karaoke choices. There’s something really sweet about kids hollering along to some of Slipknot’s most self-loathing music and bursting into giggles at the sweary bits.
