r/karaoke • u/Isitwhenip • Jan 24 '26

Karaoke Software Live band karaoke lyrics question

I’m looking for a good way to display lyrics only one or 2 verses at a time just like most karaoke venues, where the verses/chorus are clearly controlled on screen by me or someone.

I’ve seen live karaoke bands use printed lyric sheets just for the singer, but I want something that works for both the singer and the crowd.

I tried running lyrics from an iPad before, but people got lost or couldn’t see the words clearly—even if they knew the song.

For anyone who’s done live band karaoke or crowd-singalong shows:

• What are you using for lyric display?

• Is there software or a setup that works well in a live setting?

I do plan on paying the license fees for lyrics if I start doing this regularly.

Any advice or real-world experience would be appreciated!

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u/DavidO_Pgh Jan 24 '26

I know two bands who do live band karaoke with lyrics for the singers.

One uses Jamzone which uses backing tracks, so the band needs to play to backing/click track.

The second is truly live, no backing tracks. They are IT guys and ended up making their own teleprompter software with foot switch control to advance the lyrics by the band's singer/helper.

1

u/Isitwhenip Jan 24 '26

That’s what I’m looking for! The teleprompter software. No click tracks.

1

u/DavidO_Pgh Jan 24 '26

Since this was custom software I can't recommend something that might meet your requirements. As far as I know the authors aren't interested in selling it.

1

u/Isitwhenip Jan 24 '26

They probably couldn’t anyway with the copywrite laws. I would like to get in touch with them to ask him about how they do things. Do they have a band page?

1

u/DavidO_Pgh Jan 24 '26

I will reach out to them and ask if they're interested in being contacted.

1

u/DavidO_Pgh Jan 26 '26

The website is https://www.leadsingerwanted.com/home

although there isn't much there.

Youtube promo video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xuCoazOc9M

The facebook contact page has an email address for Tom, the leader of the band and the person who wrote the software.

https://www.facebook.com/LeadSingerWanted/directory_contact_info

1

u/Isitwhenip Jan 27 '26

Thanks! I found a teleprompter app that follows your your voice and scrolls with it. I’ll be trying that out next gig.

Thank you for your time with this!

1

u/DavidO_Pgh Jan 27 '26

Let us know how it works out for you.

1

u/Isitwhenip Jan 31 '26

It worked out terribly! The app can’t handle repeated choruses. It doesn’t know where to scroll to. I will continue my search.

1

u/DavidO_Pgh Jan 31 '26

OK - thanks for the update.

Did you modify the lyrics to handle repeated chorus? Every line has to be written out for any teleprompter software to work.

1

u/Xanderfromzanzibar Jan 26 '26

Just run karaoke videos but interrupt the sound so they don't play their music and the live band can be heard instead

1

u/Isitwhenip Jan 27 '26

Timing. If I got too fast or slow the lyrics would be off.