Karaoke 5 is a karaoke player, song manager and lyrics editor for Windows and macOS. Its standard Freeware version handles playback and library management. Paid Home and Professional licences add lyric synchronization and online song tools, while Professional also provides a separate audience display.
The song collection
Karaoke 5 combines a primary database, an Explorer window and two adjacent playlists. Explorer searches internal or external drives and lets users drag files into the database, a playlist or the singer schedule.
The player accepts several kinds of karaoke material:
- K5, MIDI, KAR and KFN files.
- MP3 and WMA audio, including MP3+CDG, WMA+CDG and CD+G material.
- Virtual Score files and video formats such as MP4 and FLV.
Playlist sets hold different song selections. Users rearrange rows, keep a song’s key and tempo settings, and enable automatic playback.
Sound and song transitions
The mixer changes key, tempo, volume and equalizer settings during playback. Home and Professional include K5 virtual instruments and SoundFont playback for MIDI material.
Mix Control moves from the current song to the next. Standard Freeware offers Stop/Start and Cross Fade; paid licences add manual and other fade combinations. Karaoke 5 also removes vocals from audio in real time to produce a backing track.
Hosts launch jingles and send messages to the karaoke window. Song auditioning requires a second audio card.
Time lyrics to the music
Home and Professional turn song text into karaoke timing. Users open a song, load a text file or paste lyrics, and divide words into syllables. During synchronization playback, pressing Enter marks where each word or syllable starts.
Karaoke 5 previews the timing and lets users correct individual points or shift the whole text earlier or later. Separate voice sections handle duet lyrics. The editor creates karaoke files in K5, MIDI, MP3 and MP4 formats. K5 creation requires three separate MP3 tracks: harmony, drums, and voice or melody.
Local and online song search
The AI assistant accepts a spoken or written request and searches the local database, P2P network and YouTube together. It can play a result or add it to the queue.
Home and Professional also search YouTube inside Karaoke 5. Users preview a video, download it, and add the song to the database or a playlist.
Singers, screens and phone bookings
The singer schedule combines performance order, singer name, song, key, notes and a message. Hosts change the order directly and display an announcement for the next singer. Professional sends lyrics to a second monitor or TV while the host keeps the controls on the computer.
Karaoke5 Live connects phone browsers with that host computer. Guests scan the venue’s QR code and enter their names. The host starts the evening and opens or closes bookings.
Guests choose from the songbook, scan a song’s QR code or type a request. Songbook and song-code bookings identify the backing track; a typed request lets the host assign it. Bookings enter the playlist with the singer’s name, and guests can change their key, dedication or notes from the phone.
Run a music quiz
Karaoke 5 creates quiz questions from a playlist on the host computer. The host chooses modes such as title, artist, introduction or lyrics, then sets difficulty and question timing. Players join from their phones, individually or in teams.
For each question, the computer plays an audio clip while phones show answers and a countdown. A time bonus can reward faster responses. Hosts can pause or skip questions, and the game ends with a leaderboard. Evening statistics keep booking counts and rankings, with history output available as PDF.
Freeware, Home and Professional
| Main version | Functional scope |
|---|---|
| Freeware | Playback, library management, basic transitions, jingles and messages. |
| Home | Lyric synchronization and online search for private use; phone management and quizzes allow up to five users. No second TV window. |
| Professional | Public show use with the separate TV window, phone bookings and quizzes. |
Home and Professional offer subscription or perpetual licences.
Karaoke 5 Lite
Lite is a separate free player with its own Windows and Mac downloads. It supports playlists, drag-and-drop playback, mixing, YouTube search and streaming, key changes and tempo control. Unlike standard Freeware, Lite includes the second-screen TV window and K5 instruments. Its MIDI melody controls silence channels four and five.
