How to use the Sing Karaoke feature on Apple Music on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV

Learn how to use the Apple Music Sing Karaoke feature on your iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV to sing along using time-synced lyrics and adjustable vocals.

Showcasing Apple Music Sing on iPhone, iPad and Mac
Apple Music Sing on iPhone, iPad and Mac | Image: Apple

What is Apple Music Sing?

Whether you’re humming to your favorite tune or singing the hook of a new song heard on the radio, Apple Music makes it easy and fun to sing your heart out to your favorite music.

The Sing Karaoke feature is available to Apple Music subscribers using compatible devices updated to iOS 16.2, iPadOS 16.2, and tvOS 16.2 or later.

Supported devices

You can enjoy Apple Music Sing on the following devices with an Apple Music subscription:

  • iPhone SE 3rd generation, iPhone 11 and later
  • iPad Air (4th generation and later), iPad mini (6th generation and later), iPad (9th generation and later), iPad Pro 12.9-inch and 11-inch (3rd generation and later)
  • Apple TV 4K (Third-generation and later)

Note: Apple Music Sing is currently unavailable on Mac and Android.

How Apple Music Sing works

Closeup of a studio microphone laying on a mixing console
It’s your turn for Karaoke. What are you singing? | Image: Michael Maasen/Unsplash

Apple Music Sing uses machine learning to separate a song’s vocals from everything else. As a result, you can adjust the vocals as easily as dragging a slider.

Real-time lyrics make Karaoke even better, with background vocals animating independently from the main vocals. Plus, a duet view shows multiple vocalists on opposite sides of the screen, making multi-singer tracks easier to sing along to.

The Sing feature is unavailable on songs outside the Apple Music catalog, like the music you’ve ripped from CDs or imported from other sources into the Music app. You cannot use Apple Music Sing with surround sound — If you turn on the Sing feature while listening to a Dolby Atmos song, Dolby Atmos will temporarily turn off.

How to use Apple Music Sing

On iPhone and iPad

  1. Open the Music app and start playing a song on Apple Music.
  2. Go to the Now Playing screen.
  3. Tap the Lyrics button.
  4. Tap the microphone button to start using Apple Music Sing.
  5. You can adjust the vocal levels of the song by dragging the microphone slider up or down.
Three highlighted screenshots showing how to using Apple Music Sing karaoke feature on iPhone

Touch the mic slider again to turn off the Sing feature for the selected song.

You can’t use Apple Music Sing if you don’t see the microphone icon. This could mean two things:

  • One, your device may not be compatible with Apple Music Sing,
  • Or two, the currently-playing song may not have been upgraded with Apple Music Sing support yet.

On Apple TV

  1. Open the Music app on your Apple TV
  2. Play a compatible song from Apple Music.
  3. Click the Lyrics button from the bottom right.
  4. Finally, click the starry microphone Sing button and start jamming.
Enable Apple Music Sing Karaoke on Apple TV

Further, with the Sing mic icon selected, press the center button of your Apple TV Remote’s touchpad, and it will show a vertical scrubber slider. Now swipe up or down on the touchpad or use the top and bottom buttons to adjust the vocal track.

Adjust Apple Music Sing vocal settings on Apple TV

If you don’t see the Apple Music Sing microphone button:

  • Either the song you’ve selected isn’t compatible with the Sing feature,
  • Or you don’t have an Apple TV model that supports the Sing feature. As mentioned, Apple Music Sing only works on the third-generation Apple TV 4K (2022) or later. You won’t see the microphone button if you have an older model.

How to find Karaoke songs on Apple Music

Apple Music Sing playlists on iPad
Apple Music Sing playlists will get you started | Image: Christian Zibreg/iDB

A song must have time-synced lyrics to work with the Sing feature. Many songs in the Apple Music catalog support animated lyrics. Ones that only have non-animated lyrics or no lyrics at all won’t work with Apple Music Sing.

Apple created special genre-based playlists to highlight popular songs that work great with the Sing feature. To find them, open the Music app, select the Browse tab, and then scroll down to see the playlists under the Apple Music Sing heading.

Karaoke nights will never be the same!

Whether you’re learning the lyrics of a new song or just singing the refrain, Apple Music makes Karaoke fun and accessible to everyone. You can sing along to your favorite music on your iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV without any setup.

Apple’s attention to detail with features like adjustable vocals, animated background vocals, and the duet view ensures a seamless experience. All you need to do is focus on the lyrics as they’re highlighted—and sing!

Other useful Apple Music tutorials: