Karaoke night at home, minus the machine
At a karaoke bar, the KJ collects song slips, keeps the rotation and puts lyrics on the monitors. Here your browser does that. A smart TV, projector or laptop on HDMI becomes the Big Screen with video, lyrics and the queue; the host’s phone is the KJ booth, and guests’ phones replace the slips and the applause meter. Nothing to rent, download or sign up for.
Where the songs come from, honestly: we don’t host a song library. Guests pick their song from the iTunes catalog; when they’re called up, the server finds a karaoke version on YouTube and skips videos that won’t play embedded. Lyrics come from LRCLIB, an open database. Big hits almost always turn up; a deep cut may lack synced lyrics, and then the words on the karaoke video do the job.
How the night works
- The host creates a Karaoke room and opens the Big Screen with the “📺 Big Screen” link, or goes to playparty.live/tv on the TV and types the room code. Tap “Turn on sound” on the screen — YouTube stays silent until someone does.
- Guests scan the QR or enter the 4-character code, type a name, find their song and tap “🎤 I want to sing!”. They can change the song or back out anytime.
- The host taps “To the stage” next to whoever goes next. There’s no auto-rotation, so a nervous first-timer can wait for a warmer crowd.
- “▶ Start” rolls the video; the current lyric line shows big and lit.
- “✅ End the performance” opens voting: one to five stars, one vote each, none for yourself.
- Score = average stars × number of votes: five stars from one friend is 5 points, four stars from five people is 20. “Tonight’s leaders” updates after every song; “🏁 End the night” shows a podium.
Group size, price and bots
- Free for up to 5 guests plus the host, any number of nights. For a birthday or a bar, the host buys a one-night pass for 20, 50 or 150 guests, shared with HitLoto music bingo. Guests never pay.
- Bigger crowd than expected? Upgrade the pass mid-party; the seats open right away.
- No bots — only real people sing. Start alone; guests walk in anytime while seats are free.
- Dropped connection? Reopen the room in the same browser to get your spot back. A room idle for 30 minutes closes itself.
Host settings and stage controls
In the lobby: the voting window (10–60 seconds, 20 by default), where lyrics show — Big Screen, singer’s phone or both — and a TV color theme. “Official karaoke channels only” limits search to known karaoke studios: fewer homemade tracks, smaller pick.
Mid-song, “🔁 Another clip” swaps a bad track, “🎤 No video” lets the singer use their own track while lyrics run on a timer, and ±0.5-second buttons fix drifting lyrics. Voting can be closed early. After 20+ seconds of singing, the host and singer can rate the clip 👍/👎, which steers future searches for that song.
Not included: a duet or team mode, automatic pitch scoring, recording. Duets share one request and the room does the scoring. “🔁 New night” wipes the leaderboard and keeps everyone in.
KJ tips for a night that doesn’t fizzle
- Sing first or send up your boldest friend: loud and goofy beats polished.
- Say stars are for energy, not vocal chops. The formula already favors whoever gets the whole room going over the singer with one superfan.
- Name the next singer during the vote — advancing is manual, so the gap stays short.
- Use a wired speaker; Bluetooth can lag. A mic is optional, but a cheap wireless one turns a living room into a stage. Phones don’t work as mics.
- Mix ballads with sing-alongs, and break every 40–50 minutes for a round of HitQuiz or Party Box on the same TV.