Tambourine first, or the key button? A karaoke habits test

What's the first thing you do at karaoke? Go through the eight questions and mark the answer that pulls you most each time, then count how many times you picked A, B, C and D. Nobody's keeping score here. People grab the same remote in the same room and still wait for different moments.

Each result comes with three songs. The NONOL editorial team found them while measuring songs on the Bugs weekly chart for our October lists, so we've noted the moment each type will love, as a time or a count.

Eight questions

1. You walk into the karaoke room. What do you do first?

• A Find the key buttons on the remote
• B Check where the 'skip interlude' button is
• C I already know my first song's number by heart
• D Grab the tambourine

2. Your first song is…

• A A ballad that climbs one more step in the last chorus
• B A song with a long stretch of band playing
• C A song that starts singing before the backing even settles in
• D A song with a chorus everyone can sing along to

3. When an interlude starts, you…

• A Catch my breath and get ready for the next high note
• B Get up and dance, or hit 'skip interlude'
• C Punch in the next song's number
• D Keep the beat on the tambourine

4. When a friend is singing, you…

• A Shout along when the key goes up at the end
• B Get up next to them and dance through the interlude
• C Name the song the moment the first line starts
• D Sing along on the chorus, mic or no mic

5. The score pops up on screen. You think…

• A That last high note did it
• B Who cares about the score, the interlude dance was perfect
• C It's because I didn't miss the first beat
• D We all sang together, so the score doesn't matter

6. Five minutes left. The last song is…

• A One that ends with a key change
• B Two songs, thanks to 'skip interlude'
• C Something upbeat from the very first line
• D A chorus everyone knows, sung all together to close

7. The button you press most on the remote is…

• A Key up / key down
• B Skip interlude
• C Reserve
• D Applause and cheer sound effects

8. The nickname your friends gave you is closest to…

• A The high-note specialist
• B The interlude dancer
• C The one-second starter
• D The sing-along conductor

Results

Go to the result for the letter you picked most. If two letters are tied, both types are you.

Mostly A · The Key-Change Challenger

You wait for the moment near the end when everything climbs one more step. In these songs, the backing and the voice rise together, as if someone pressed the karaoke key button.

• TAEYEON 'Bansanka' — At 2:50, right where the lyric changes from '수천 번' ("thousands of times") to '수만 번' ("tens of thousands of times"), the key goes up a half step. Key-change list · Music video · Apple Music
• Roy Kim 'If You Ask Me What Love Is' — After '없이는 나 살 수 없어서' ("because I can't live without") at 2:45 comes a breath of about a second, and from '너가 노래가 된다면' ("if you became a song") at 2:50, it's sung a half step higher. Key-change list · Music video · Apple Music
• Lim Hyunjung '사랑은 봄비처럼... 이별은 겨울비처럼' — The last chorus at 3:13 rises not a half step but a whole step, as if the key button were pressed twice. Key-change list · Official audio · Apple Music

Mostly B · The Interlude Player

You welcome the gaps where the voice rests. When an interlude runs long, you might hit 'skip', or you might get up and dance.

• N.Flying 'Flashback' — From 2:51.6, the band runs for 24.4 seconds with no voice. Of the interludes we measured in 85 songs on the chart, it's the longest. Interlude list · Special clip · Apple Music
• 10CM 'To Reach You' — In a 2-minute-38-second song, 23.6 seconds from 1:04.6 is interlude, about a seventh of the whole song. Interlude list · Music video · Apple Music
• TWS 'plot twist' — The 6.8 seconds from 1:34.8 are a dance break with nothing but dancing on screen. Short, but just right for dancing along. Interlude list · Music video · Apple Music

Mostly C · The First-Line Starter

You don't wait for an intro. You're the type who never misses the beat on songs that start singing before the backing settles in.

• ILLIT 'It's Me' — The first sound is the voice itself. The drums don't join until about five seconds in. First-seconds list · Music video · Apple Music
• D.O. 'Guitarist' — The singing starts at 0.3 seconds; the bass comes in at 9.8 seconds and the drums at 13.9. For nearly the first ten seconds, the voice stands out front on its own. First-seconds list · Music video · Apple Music
• KiiiKiii 'Pop Off Pop Off' — The voice arrives at 0.9 seconds, under a second in, and the drums and bass come in nearly eight seconds later. First-seconds list · Music video · Apple Music

Mostly D · The Sing-Along Conductor

Karaoke only starts once there's a chorus where everyone shouts the title together. We picked these by counting the title in the Bugs lyrics.

• ROSÉ & Bruno Mars 'APT.' — The title is an English abbreviation, but the lyrics sing it 61 times as the Korean word '아파트' (apateu). Title-count list · Music video · Apple Music
• ATEEZ 'BAD' — A chorus that piles it up in lines like 'She's so BAD BAD BAD' brings it to 36. Title-count list · Music video · Apple Music
• RESCENE 'Pinball' — Counting the '(Pinball)' in parentheses, it's 33. Title-count list · Music video · Apple Music

Put all four types in one room and you end up sharing the remote. Next time, pick a song from a result that isn't yours and sing it.