Like many things in life, singing is best enjoyed together with other people. In pop music there has been a long tradition of songs featuring multiple singers, and the most powerful of these forms is the duet.
A vocal duet is the perfect way to combine two voices together and tell a dynamic story through words and music. In this article we share with you the top songs for vocal duets that you can use to practice singing. Read on below to discover the duets!
Nancy & Frank sinatra - Somethin’ Stupid
First up in our list of top songs for vocal duets we have Somethin’ Stupid, a song written by Carson Parks but made famous through the iconic Nancy and Frank Sinatra version. This song has a free and easy feel, with light instrumentation composed mainly of guitar and strings, leaving plenty of room for vocal expression. Unusually for traditional duets, the main melody in this song is found in the lower (male) voice, giving this song a smooth and grounded feel. The higher voice part (female) follows an interesting harmony, giving support to the main vocal and offering a counterbalance between the masculine and feminine, mirroring the subject matter of the lyrics.
Diana Ross & Lionel Richie - Endless Love
Endless love is a timeless and much-loved song written by Lionel Richie and recorded as a duet with singer Diana Ross. This song is a classic love ballad, and follows the story of two people confessing their love for each other. Endless Love features a traditional vocal duet structure, with a verse section sung solo before joining together for the choruses. When singing together both voices are in a lead vocal role, making this a very fun song to perform as both voices get to fully express themselves. Whilst there are some challenging sections in terms of range and interval jumps, for the most part this song is not overly technical, and the focus is more on the emotion and expressiveness of the vocal performance.
Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta - You're The One That I Want
Next up on our list of top songs for vocal duets, we have You're The One That I Want from the insanely popular 1978 musical Grease. This song is an iconic pop duet sung by lead actors Oliva Newton-John & John Travolta, and is one of the highest selling singles of all time.
Grease tells the story of teenage romance in 1950s America and this song perfectly captures the optimism and rebellious attitude of the time. The vocal interplay between both voices in this song is very playful, and singers can have a lot of fun embodying both of the characters. The melodies are also very catchy making this song easy to pick up on a few listens. We recommend this duet to anyone who is interested in musical theatre and wants to practice songs in this style.
You can use Controllavoice to create an AI accompaniment to your own voice if you don't have anyone you can sing duets with!
Marvin Gaye & Tammi Tarell - Ain't' No Mountain High Enough
Marvin Gaye is an icon of soul music in the 1960s, and his 1967 duet Ain't' No Mountain High Enough with Tammi Tarell is remembered as one of many standout moments from his career. Ain't' No Mountain High Enough follows the typical Motown formula of a tight rhythm section, silky strings and a short and snappy song structure. Like many similar Motown hits, we shift through a few different keys as the song progresses, making this a fun song to practice changing keys. This song is very satisfying to perform as both vocals are given their chance to shine individually before uniting in harmony during the catchy chorus sections.
Timbaland & Nelly Furtado - Promiscuous
Now for something a bit more modern, we have the r&b hit Promiscuous from Nelly Furtado featuring the production & vocal talents of Timbaland. This song was released in 2006 and has since become one of the more memorable r&b hits of the era.
Promiscuous features a back-and-forth between both vocalists in the verse and chorus sections, giving each vocal a chance to stand out. The song contains lots of hip-hop elements in the beat and the production, with the verses being delivered in a more of a rapping style than singing. Promiscuous is a fun duet to sing for those who prefer a more urban style of performance and can provide space to practice switching from rapping and singing within the same song.
Aladdin - A Whole New World
We couldn't make a list of the best duets without including some Disney, and for this entry we think that A Whole New World, the signature song from Aladdin, is the best of the bunch. The song tells the story of Aladdin and Jasmine taking a flying adventure on the magic carpet and seeing the world together, and takes many cues from the style of showtune duets typically found in musical theatre and Broadway. This song is one of the more challenging entries on this list when it comes to vocal technique, so we recommend taking your time with this one whilst you are learning this song. Just like with You're The One That I Want, this track is perfect for anyone who is interested in musical theatre and wants to practice developing their singing technique for this genre of music.
Linkin Park - In The End
Last up in our list of top songs for vocal duets we have the massive rock hit In The End from Linkin Park. While this song isn't a duet in the classic sense like some of the other entries on thai list, In The End does contain two distinct vocal parts that makes singing this song really fun.
Throughout this song there is an interesting interplay between the rap and melodic lead vocals. In the verses we have a driving rap vocal, intercut with some supporting parts from the lead vocal, whereas in the chorus our lead vocal takes over with raw emotional power.
The lead vocal part in particular is quite challenging to sing and match the emotional intensity of the original performance from vocalist Chester Bennington. We recommend this song for singers who want to develop their voice singing in a rock style. This song is also quite unique as it is a song for two male voices, making it a karaoke favourite to be performed by two friends/brothers etc.
That brings us to the end of this post. Thank you for tuning in and checking out this article and we hope that you have found some of these duet recommendations to be useful. Have fun practicing singing these songs with your friends and musical peers!
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