MMMBop - Hanson
What you sing: Mmmmmmmbop, didlee doo wop be dop du wop
What you should sing: Mmm bop ba duba dop ba du bop ba duba dop
The magic of a fraternal trio is that you don’t necessarily need to speak to be understood. Annoying all the same in the particular case of the Hanson Brothers, aged 17, 14 and 12, when in 1997 their song MMMBop topped international charts. It’s a lesson in how to to sing without the need of a speech therapist's onomatopoeias.
One Week - Barenaked Ladies
What you sing: Chicken, like vanilla is the finest of the flavors
What you should sing: Shake, I like vanilla, it's the finest of the flavors
The alternative rock band of the 90s found renewed fame thanks to the success of their theme song for the hit-show Big Bang Theory. The merry Canadians of the Barenaked Ladies are also well known for their hit, One Week virtually impossible to decipher without the help of your karaoke teleprompter.
It Wasn't Me - Shaggy
What you sing: How could I forget that I had given her ecstasy
What you should sing: How could I forget that I had given her an extra key
Number one in England and the States, in Australia and even France at its release in 2000, It Wasn't Me, owes its success first and foremost to its reggae-pop vibe. But the nonchalant prononciation of the singer poses comprehension problems throughout his cheating-inspired lyrics.
Wannabe - Spice Girls
What you sing: Everybody down and wine is all around
What you should sing: Slam your body down and wind it all around
Anyone nostalgic for the past might be tempted to spontaneously get up and sing the refrain from the popular English quintet, but Wannabe also has couplets and a rapped part by Mel B. that risk leaving the real lyrics all alone on the dance floor.
Macarena - Los Del Rio
What you sing: Baila tu cuerpo alegria, Macarena (translation: ?)
What you should sing: Dale a tu cuerpo alegria, Macarena (translation: Give happiness to your body)
Even if the choreography is unmistakable, for the non-Spanish speakers (and sometimes to hispanophones themselves) the lyrics lend more to choral garble. For this, karaoke can be doubly useful, allowing you to coordinate your movements with your words.
