Apple Music introduces Selfie Sing for karaoke video recordings
Music is adding a video-recording option to its karaoke experience, letting iPhone users film themselves singing along to selected tracks and share their performances.
Apple Music is giving its karaoke experience a social twist. Its new Selfie Sing feature lets listeners record videos of themselves singing along to their favourite tracks, complete with scrolling lyrics, microphone effects and the option to share their performances.
Spotted in the iOS 27.3 beta, Selfie Sing builds on Apple Music Sing, which already allows subscribers to adjust vocal levels and follow synchronised lyrics. Now, listeners can put themselves in the picture, turning a singalong into a video they can share with friends or on social media.
How does Apple Music’s Selfie Sing feature work?
As MacRumors reports, Selfie Sing introduces a dedicated playlist within Apple Music, featuring familiar tracks selected for a singalong. Users can choose a song and tap a new camera icon to open the recording interface.
Once recording begins, the iPhone’s front-facing camera captures the performance while the lyrics scroll across the screen. After finishing, users can adjust the volume of their own voice or experiment with four microphone effects: Megaphone, Echo, Concert Hall and Studio.
The finished video can then be saved to the iPhone’s Photos library or shared with others.
The initial playlist includes classics such as Aretha Franklin’s ‘Respect’, Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’, Madonna’s ‘Like a Virgin’, Oasis’ ‘Wonderwall’, Duran Duran’s ‘Hungry Like the Wolf’ and Britney Spears’ ‘…Baby One More Time’.
However, Selfie Sing isn’t available across the entire Apple Music catalogue just yet. MacRumors notes that users can’t record a Selfie Sing video for every track, although wider song support could arrive in the future.
There are also some device restrictions. AppleInsider notes that the recording functionality is currently limited to iPhones, with even an iPad Pro running iPadOS 27.3 missing the camera option. Recordings are produced in a vertical video format, making them particularly suited to sharing on social platforms.
Streaming platforms are making music more interactive
Apple isn’t the only streaming service exploring ways to make music more participatory. Spotify is also developing an AI-powered tool that will let fans create covers and remixes using songs from participating artists.
The two features take different approaches, but share a similar idea: giving fans more ways to engage with music. As Digital Music News points out, singing along to popular tracks and sharing performances has a long history on social platforms, with Musical.ly helping establish a format that remains popular on TikTok today.
Whether Selfie Sing catches on remains to be seen, especially with its limited song selection. For now, it’s another attempt by a streaming platform to turn listening into something more social, giving fans more reasons to get involved and spend time in the app as services compete to keep their audiences engaged.