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Some songs sound better with background vocals included. Here’s how to keep them.

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What Are Backing Vocals?

Backing vocals are:
  • Background harmonies
  • Backup singers
  • Echo effects
  • Chorus parts sung by multiple voices

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Choosing at Creation Time

The best time to decide about backing vocals is when creating your karaoke:
  1. On the Create Karaoke page, expand Advanced Settings
  2. Toggle Keep backing vocals on
  3. Create your karaoke
This uses a separation model that preserves background vocals in the instrumental.

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Why Keep Backing Vocals?

Benefits:
  • Songs sound fuller and more complete
  • Helps with harmonies
  • Provides vocal cues for timing
  • Some songs feel empty without them
When to remove them:
  • You want complete silence except lead vocals
  • Backing vocals overpower the singer
  • The song works well with just instrumental

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Models for Backing Vocals

Different separation models handle backing vocals differently:

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MDX-Net (w/ backing)

  • Keeps backing vocals with instrumental
  • Good balance of separation
  • Popular choice for most songs

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MusicAI Multi-stem

  • Separates lead vocals, backing vocals, and instrumental separately
  • Gives you maximum control
  • Slightly higher credit cost

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MDX-23C (default)

  • Removes all vocals including backing
  • Cleanest instrumental
  • Best for pure karaoke experience

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Adjusting After Creation

If your karaoke is already created:
  1. Open the project in Studio
  2. Go to the Audio panel
  3. If backing vocals were separated, you’ll see a Backing Vocals slider
  4. Adjust the volume as needed
Note: If the original separation didn’t preserve backing vocals, you may need to recreate the karaoke with a different model.

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Tips

  • Listen to the original song to decide
  • Pop and rock songs often benefit from backing vocals
  • Solo acoustic performances work better without
  • You can always mix backing vocals lower rather than removing completely