Comparison
Where to keep your karaoke song list: notes, a spreadsheet, or an app
Almost everyone starts with a note on their phone or a spreadsheet. It works right up until the moment it matters, when the host calls your name and you are scrolling a hundred titles for the one that fits the room. Here is an honest look at all three, and when each one is actually the right call.
The three ways people keep a karaoke list
A karaoke list has one job that a to-do list does not: it has to help you decide, fast, under a little pressure. Most people reach for one of three tools. A notes app is the quickest to start. A spreadsheet adds columns and a bit of structure. A dedicated karaoke setlist app is built for the decision itself. They are not equally good at the same things, so it helps to see them side by side.
| What you need in the moment | Notes app | Spreadsheet | Reprise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hold your song titles | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Score and rate each song | By hand, if at all | A column you maintain | Built in, on every song |
| Filter to a mood or genre in one tap | No | Clumsy on a phone | Yes |
| Fill in genre and length for you | No | No | Automatic as you add |
| Line up tonight's queue | Rewrite it each time | Another sheet or column | Tonight's Queue |
| Keep songs you are still learning separate | No | By hand | Bungees |
| Track how you did over time | No | By hand | Performance Journal |
| Break a tie when you are frozen | No | No | Surprise me, from your own list |
| Work offline, no account | Usually | Depends on the app | Yes, on your device |
What a notes app gets right, and where it stops
A note is the fastest possible start. You can jot ten songs in a minute, it is already on your phone, and there is nothing to learn. For a short, stable list, that is genuinely enough. The wall you hit is that a note is a flat wall of text. It cannot tell you which songs you actually nail, it cannot pull up only your upbeat closers, and once the list runs long, finding the right one means scrolling and reading every line at the exact moment you have no time to. A note remembers your songs. It does not help you choose one.
What a spreadsheet adds, and where it still falls short
A spreadsheet is the natural next step, and it fixes part of the problem. You can add a column for a score, a column for genre, maybe a rating. On a laptop, you can sort and filter it nicely. The catch is that karaoke happens on a phone, in a dim room, with the mic coming your way. Pinching into a spreadsheet, tapping the right filter dropdown, and reading tiny cells is slow and fiddly right when you need speed. A spreadsheet holds structured data well. It just was not built to answer "what should I sing right now" in two taps.
What a dedicated karaoke setlist app changes
A karaoke setlist app takes the same list and makes the decision itself fast. This is where Reprise is aimed. Because score, tags, genre, and how well you know a song are real fields on every entry, you can sort and filter your whole repertoire in a tap: narrow to country, then to just your favorites, then to your higher-scored songs, and land on the one that fits the room. You stay in control the whole way; the app makes your own choice faster and more confident, it does not choose for you.
On top of the filtering, it does the things a note and a spreadsheet leave to you. It fills in genre and length automatically as you add a song. It lines up Tonight's Queue so you can plan the night and mark songs off as you sing them. It keeps a separate Bungees list for songs you are still learning, so your performable list stays honest. It logs each night in a Performance Journal so you can watch yourself improve. And for the moment you know the mood but cannot commit, Surprise me spins a pick from your own list as an optional tie-breaker, never the only way in. It works offline, with no account and no ads, and your data stays on your device.
Free to start, no subscription
Reprise is free to start with room for up to 25 songs, scoring, tags, Tonight's Queue, and the Friends tab, and no account. A one-time Full Version unlocks an unlimited library plus import, export, print, and sharing. There is no subscription; prices come from the store.
When a note or a spreadsheet is genuinely fine
None of this means an app is always the answer. If you sing the same handful of songs and rarely change them, a note in your phone is perfectly good, and simpler. If you love spreadsheets and mostly plan your nights ahead of time on a laptop, a well-built sheet can carry you a long way. The case for a dedicated app gets strong when your list grows past what you can eyeball, when you want to decide on the spot instead of ahead of time, and when you care about tracking scores and progress rather than just storing titles. If that is you, the switch pays off quickly.
Moving your list over without retyping
The good news is that outgrowing a note or a spreadsheet does not mean starting over. With the Full Version, Reprise imports a .csv, .txt, Word (.docx), a PDF with real text, or a Reprise .json file, and shows you a preview before anything comes in. Every import path has a Title-first or Artist-first toggle, so a list saved as "Artist - Song" imports correctly, not only lists saved as "Title - Artist." You bring years of collecting with you in one step. For the full walkthrough of setting up and using every part of the app, see the guide to organizing your karaoke songs.
Reprise is on iPhone and Android, free to start on the App Store and Google Play.
Common questions
Is a notes app or a spreadsheet good enough for a karaoke song list?
For a short list you rarely change, a notes app is fine. The trouble starts as the list grows: a flat note or a phone spreadsheet holds the titles but cannot score your songs, filter to a mood in one tap, or line up a queue, which is exactly what you need when the host calls your name. A dedicated karaoke setlist app keeps the same titles but makes them sortable and filterable, so the right song is a couple of taps away instead of a scroll.
What can a karaoke setlist app do that a spreadsheet cannot?
The difference is filtering in the moment. A spreadsheet can hold a score column, but narrowing to a genre and then to your higher-scored songs on a phone in a dark bar is slow. An app like Reprise makes score, tags, and confidence real fields, so one tap gives you the short list that fits the room. It also fills in genre automatically, lines up Tonight's Queue, tracks songs you are still learning, and logs your performances over time, none of which a spreadsheet does on its own.
How do I move my karaoke list from a spreadsheet or a note into an app?
You do not retype it. Reprise's Full Version imports a .csv, .txt, Word (.docx), a PDF with real text, or a Reprise .json file, and shows a preview before anything comes in. Every import path has a Title-first or Artist-first toggle, so a list saved as "Artist - Song" comes in correctly, not only lists saved as "Title - Artist."
Do I have to give up control over which song I sing?
No. The point of a good karaoke app is faster, more confident choice by you, not choosing for you. In Reprise you sort and filter your own list by mood, genre, artist, or how well you know a song, and you pick. Surprise me is only there as an optional tie-breaker for the moments you already know the mood but cannot commit, and it still pulls from your own list.
Is there a free karaoke setlist app for iPhone and Android?
Reprise is free to start on both the App Store and Google Play, with room for up to 25 songs plus scoring, tags, Tonight's Queue, and the Friends tab, and no account required. A one-time Full Version purchase unlocks an unlimited library plus import, export, print, and sharing. There is no subscription; prices come from the store.