Pass the Mic: How to Set Up an Epic Home Karaoke Session With an Apple TV

Listen, if there is one thing I will always be down for – it’s a loose, late-night karaoke session. Not just because my rendition of ‘Zombie’ by the Cranberries is phenomenal…ly bad, but because singing your guts out with a group of friends is one of the best, silliest, most joyful activities there is.

So, imagine my delight when I discovered that, friend, you can set up your own impressive karaoke session at home pretty easily if you have an Apple TV 4K on hand.

How to use Apple Music Sing for at-home karaoke

The feature that makes the Apple TV karaoke session possible is Apple Music Sing, which rolled out in late 2022. Essentially, the feature allows you to set up a pretty impressive home karaoke suite with everything from lyrics to special effects.

If you’re an Apple Music user with access to an Apple TV 4K, here is how you can set it up for yourself:

• Open the Apple Music app
• Play a song from the Apple Music catalogue
• If you don’t see time-synced lyrics automatically, select the Lyrics button at the bottom of the screen
• On your Apple TV Remote, press the Back button, then select the Mic Volume button
• To adjust the vocals, swipe the clickpad on your Apple TV Remote up or down

If you don’t have an Apple TV 4K, you can still set up a karaoke session by clicking on the lyrics button and following time-synced lyrics. You won’t be able to control the volume of the vocals in the track, but if you sing loud enough, we’re sure you can down them out.

If you do have access to the Mic Volume option, you can increase or decrease the support you’re given with the original vocals, so if you’d like to turn the volume down on Celine Dion and give yourself time to shine, you can absolutely do that.

N.B. If you can’t see the lyrics button, time-sensed lyrics aren’t available for that song. In this case, you may be able to click the three dots at the bottom of your screen and if the option ‘View Full Lyrics’ is available, click that.

How to use your camera with Apple Music Sing

If you want to elevate the karaoke party a little with some camera time, and some fun special effects, you can use your iPhone or iPad camera to screen your performance on the TV, too.

Here’s how you can do that:

• While playing a song with Apple Music Sing turned on, press the Back button on your Apple TV Remote
• Select the Camera button
• Select Connect iPhone or iPad
• On the Continuity Camera screen, select your user, confirm on your iPhone or iPad, then follow the onscreen steps to connect
• Place your iPhone or iPad in the landscape position in front of your Apple TV. From here, you can:
  • Change your background: Select the Camera button, then select a filter
  • Turn off the camera: Select the Camera button then select Disconnect Camera

While you can’t export the videos, they certainly add to the fun of the whole experience.

Read more about Apple Music Sing for karaoke here.

Karaoke playlist suggestions from Apple Music

Now that you know how to turn your Apple TV into a karaoke machine, what should you play? Well, you can ask Siri to help out by nudging her to play some of these recommended sing-a-long playlists through Apple Music.

Using your Siri Remote, hold down the Siri button and just say:

•  “Open Sing-Along Essentials playlist on Apple Music”
• “Open Carols Covered playlist on Apple Music”
• “Open Party Starters playlist on Apple Music”
• “Open Holiday Hits playlist on Apple Music” 

Who are we kidding, though? If you’re reading this, you already know what songs you want to sing during a karaoke session. Just play those.

This article has been updated since its original publish date.

Lead Image Credit: Searchlight/Apple