15 Best Songs To Sing Acapella

Beautiful Girls is a Doo-wop-inspired R&B song by American-Jamaican singer Sean Kingston. It was released on May 26, 2007. 

Not only is this song Kingston's signature song, but it endures as one of the most beloved songs from the late 2000s. It makes for a great song to sing on its own due to its soulful vocals which call for such a tone.

One of the reasons the song is so soulful is because it samples an earlier classic with its own history of being sung without accompaniment, Ben E. King's "Stand by Me." Kingston and the song's producers, J.R. Rotem and Peter Harrison spin the sample and make it their own, making for a modern classic.

An acapella cover by the YouTube group Tinitones, released in 2019, went viral for all the above characteristics. The Irish group even performed the song on Ireland's Got Talent, to great success.

Despite the sorrowful lyrical content, the song is a bouncy, sweet, and sentimental track. It is a great starting point for anyone who wishes to practice their vocals as it is tuneful, catchy, and does not require one to change their vocal range.

You Don't Know My Name is an R&B song by singer-songwriter Alicia Keys. It was released as a single on November 10, 2003.

A romantic ballad about crushing on someone, the song is Keys' first single from her successful 2003 album, The Diary of Alicia Keys. What makes this song a great one for singing without accompaniment is that the original song itself utilizes Keys and the piano.

It's already a beautiful stripped-down song that showcases her vocals and lends itself well to being used for vocal practice. It's not something for beginners to practice with but makes for great practice if one is already well into singing.

Alicia Keys is a talented singer and in this song, she utilizes such singing techniques as runs, harmonies, and belts. It's also over six minutes long, and Keys utilizes all six minutes to showcase her singing skills, which can in turn be utilized by people wishing to learn how to sing better.

Rolling in the Deep is an R&B and Soul-influenced song by Adele. It was released as the lead single for her album 21 on November 29, 2010.

The song introduced Adele to a global audience as the English singer-songwriter had previously only been known in the UK. The singer became known for her booming, powerful voice and her cutting lyrics aimed at past lovers.

This particular song is a great example of her booming voice and ability to use it. The verses showcase her steadiness as she carries the tune while adding subtle runs under each rhyme. 

However, it is towards the chorus that she lets completely loose. She continues this throughout the song, but her choruses get more and more powerful as the song goes on.

By the end, Adele is literally screaming, belting to be more precise, and taking complete control of the music till it's only her voice that holds power. 

Rolling in the Deep is a masterclass of a song where the vocals take the center stage. The music is just window dressing while the prize, the gold, is her vocals.

Are You That Somebody? is a funk-inspired R&B song by the late singer Aaliyah. It was released on May 26, 1998.

The song was written by Static Major and Timbaland with the latter also producing it. It is one of the most beloved songs in Aaliyah's short catalog.

Though she passed at the young age of 22, Aaliyah left behind a lasting legacy chiefly due to her amazing voice. This song is a great example of how she was able to utilize her voice to completely fill the record.

What sets Aaliyah apart from most other singers is that, although her voice is not powerful and bombastic as some of the previous singers, she knows how to be soulful and make her quiet parts stand out. It's hard to replicate what Aaliyah did on most of her tracks and especially this one.

This song is a great example of the power of quiet singing. Plus, Aaliyah's falsetto is one of the best examples of the singing style, and the way she uses it is amazing too.

So Sick is an R&B song by singer-songwriter Ne-Yo. It was released as the second single of his debut album.

The song gained a lot of popularity for its lovelorn subject matter and quickly became number 1 in the US and the UK. It introduced Ne-Yo to a larger audience and by doing so, introduced his soulful singing too.

The singer quickly gained a reputation for his beautiful singing, and the song makes it very apparent. What makes the song so great is that it's apparent Ne-Yo has put a lot of emotion into his singing, and it's palpable.

Just being able to sing is not as important as being able to put emotion behind a song. Many genres in pop music, like Rock, for example, have a legion of singers who are not technically gifted but make up for it by being able to infuse soul and emotion into their singing.

In this song, Ne-Yo has managed to do both. Over a soft, piano-led beat, the singer sings about an old relationship that still leaves him sore every time he listens to love songs.

So Sick is a great example of subdued singing that lends itself to singing without accompaniment.

Let Me Love You is a soulful R&B track by teen-idol turned pop star Mario. It was released as a single on October 4, 2004.

Written by Ne-Yo, Kameron Houff, and Scott Storch and produced by the latter, the song shows the singer wondering why the girl he likes is with a cheating lover. It can be seen as the antithesis of So Sick as if that song was the end, this one is the beginning. 

As with Ne-Yo's later song, this one too showcases a moderately timed singing style that focuses on the vocals and gives it an emotional touch. However, Mario manages to bring a bit more life to this than Ne-Yo did in his song by giving it a bit more bounce.

The singer lets his voice run and wander around the verses while reigning it in during the actual verse. He does a lot of runs and hums which enhances the vocals and gives them a warm quality.

The song is a great way to practice singing, especially for acapella due to all the harmonies that the singer does with himself. Plus it is also a bop.

Stay is an R&B-influenced pop song by Rihanna with guest vocals by Mikky Ekko. It was released on December 13, 2012, as a single.

Rihanna is one of the most popular singers of her generation and of our time. However, though her vocal chops are not to be laughed at, many of her biggest hits are dance tracks where she works alongside the music rather than overpowering it. 

However, on this early 2010s track, Rihanna opts to go for the ballad route by singing in this slow, piano-based song about lost love and longing. Not only was the song commercially successful but also critically beloved with many adoring Rihanna's voice.

The song lends itself to singing without accompaniment not only because it doesn't use that much in the original, but because as a ballad, the focus here is on the singer's voice and the emotions she portrays with it. 

Rihanna has a powerful voice, in the same vein as Adele, but here she lets it run free, naked, which makes it stand out even more. The standout moment in the track is when she soars during the chorus.

Halo is an R&B and pop song by the American singer Beyonce. It was released on January 20, 2009, as a single for her landmark third album.

Much like Rihanna, Beyonce is widely regarded as one of the best female vocalists of our time. In fact, many claim her to be the best vocalist of all time, and it's not hard to see why.

Unlike Rihanna, Beyonce has never shied from letting her voice stand on its own. She is a big fan of runs and belting and often lets her voice run wild, letting it go to places most would think impossible.

Halo is a great example of her diverse style of singing. A simple ballad about adoring your lover, Beyonce elevates it to greater heights by going toe to toe with the booming drums and synths. 

Halo is a great example of singing by pushing against your vocal range. Through vibrato yelps and trills, Beyonce manages to rapidly alternate between two notes, both adjacent, and deliver a song with a crushing crescendo.

Sure Thing is a neo-soul and R&B song by American singer Miguel. It was released on January 17, 2011.

The song is a great example of neo-soul style singing where Miguel imbues his vocals with a sensuality that is hard to miss even on the first listen. The lyrics are simple but metaphorical as the singer brings up many analogies to showcase his love for his partner. 

Miguel is a fabulous singer and one of the most soulful tune-smiths in modern R&B. Sure Thing is a masterclass in neo-soul that has transcended its time as it recently became viral on TikTok over a decade after its release and even charted again, reaching number 49 on the Hot 100.

What makes the song so amazing is Miguel's consistent singing underlined by the subdued beat. He floats on the beat and his vocals and the beat mirror each other like a fish and the surface of the sea.

However, the single also adorns his singing with sweet harmonies and subtle trills. As it is a song that focuses more on showing off Miguel's singing, it is a great choice for a song that can be sung without any accompaniment.

Cellophane is an Avant-pop song by the English singer FKA Twigs. It was released on April 24, 2019, as the lead single of her album Magdalene.

It is a soft and powerful song that serves as a meditation on not being enough for a lover. On release, people were blown away by Twigs' powerful vocal performance.

The song features just her voice, a distorted piano, and short but quiet bursts of noise used sparingly at different parts of the track. However, Twigs' voice is the standout here as she delivers a quiet, introspective, but ultimately powerful performance.

In just three minutes and twenty-four seconds, Twigs sings a sorrow-filled, mournful ballad about not being enough for a lover. What makes it special is that her voice goes from a breathy soprano at the beginning of the song to a devastatingly high falsetto that is hard to reach for anyone else.

But Twigs showcases complete control while letting there be cracks, groans, and breaks in her voice to show that this is hard for her. As such, her singing ties back to the lyrical content of the song in a masterclass in subdued but powerful singing. 

Climax is an electronic R&B song by the American R&B singer Usher. It was released as a single on February 22, 2012.

This sexually charged quiet storm of a song tells the story of a lover unraveling after discovering that his partner has cheated on him. Produced by Floridian producer Diplo, the track focuses on Usher's voice while backing it with a hyper-electronic sound that seems to keep looping.

What makes this song great, musically speaking, is that the beat never reaches its crescendo. It rises throughout the song then dies down, rises again, and feels like a wave that never truly breaks, imitating the musical content. 

However, as this is a list about acapella, what's important here is the voice, and Usher shows off why he is a gift to R&B. One of the best showcases of male falsetto, the singer does a great job of rising and falling alongside the beat.

He even takes over the beat and makes it seem like the beat is following his lead, rising and falling alongside him. His singing also goes up and down like the same wave, aiming for the crescendo but never quite reaching it. 

Dangerous Woman is a retro-infused R&B and pop song by pop diva Ariana Grande. She released the song on March 11, 2016.

Released on the album of the same name, this song is a powerhouse of a track where Grande showcases in full force her supreme singing ability. Seen by many as the successor of Mariah Carey, Grande comes out in full force on this song about feeling excited by the love received from a good lover.

Just shy of four minutes long, the song features Grande belting her heart out while climbing through the chord progression throughout the song. Her way of singing can be described as a mix between bubblegum pop and even rock and roll.

There is a power and intensity to her voice but also a naughtiness. Grande makes a song that's both pop but also arena rock. It's more advanced than most songs on this list, but it can be done through practice and sounds amazing acapella.

Bohemian Rhapsody is an epic Rock song by the English rock band Queen. The band released it as a single on October 31, 1975.

Sung by the band's lead singer and frontman Freddie Mercury, Bohemian Rhapsody is a powerhouse of a rock song that remains a defining song in the genre due to its lack of a single chorus, many separate sections, and an operatic passage.

It is also well remembered for being one of the most popular songs in Queen's oeuvre and all of popular music. Mercury, already an accomplished singer, achieved worldwide fame and critical acclaim after the song's release. 

In it, he and at parts the rest of the band, jump between various ranges and sing with and without accompaniment. The resulting song showcases Mercury's superb singing when he jumps between sections, from the intro to the coda.

The song remains a daring challenge for any singer worth their salt to follow. It has also earned a place in the cultural lexicon due to its ingenuity, and difficulty, and for bringing something new to pop and rock music.

We Belong Together is an R&B song by the legendary American singer, Mariah Carey. It was released as a single on March 15, 2005.

Widely hailed as the greatest female singer of all time, Carey has one of the most remarkable voices in all of pop music. She has a five-octave vocal range and can even reach the whistle register that not many can.

We Belong Together is a master class in her singing as it contains all the multitudes of what makes her an amazing singer. With just a soft piano backbeat accompanying her, Carey goes from a subdued tone, in the beginning, to letting her voice completely loose in the song.

It's in the unraveling of her voice, which matches the lyrical content of unraveling for a past lover, that Carey shows off what makes her special. As a song to learn to sing without accompaniment, the song is definitely a challenge, but it is a worthwhile one because this song can be seen as one of the most beautiful to sing unaccompanied. 

Billie Jean is an R&B-infused disco song by Michael Jackson. It was released on January 2, 1983. 

Hailed as the king of pop, Michael Jackson needs no introduction. Billie Jean also needs none as it is one of his best-known singles from the biggest album of all time, Thriller. 

Though known for many things, including his activism, dancing, and video production, he is known first and foremost for his singing. One of, if not the main reasons why he is called the king of pop is due to his voice.

In this song, Jackson lets his vocal flair shine as he sings about a groupie with gusto, flair, and enough vocal trills and runs to make fans quake in their boots. The song remains a signature of Jackson's performance.

Despite how good the music sounds, the song is a great one to sing without accompaniment due to how much grit Jackson brings. Everyone who tries to sing it can't sing it without the same spirit, making it a great song to learn whether for practice or pleasure.