I sing karaoke twice a month at a bar in Southeast Portland that still has sticky floors and a host who calls everyone "baby." Last Tuesday I watched a man absolutely destroy "Total Eclipse of the Heart" in the most beautiful way possible. He was not a great singer. He was a great performer. He committed fully. He meant every word. He pointed at strangers during the key change. The room went insane.
Then a woman got up and sang Adele with technical perfection. Perfect pitch. Perfect runs. Perfect breath control. The room politely clapped. Nobody will remember her in a week.
This, I have decided, is the perfect metaphor for brand voice in 2026.
Most brands right now are trying to be the technically perfect Adele singer. Their copy is grammatically flawless. Their tone is consistent. They hit every brief requirement. They are polished and professional and completely forgettable.
The brands that are actually connecting? They are the "Total Eclipse" guy. They might be messy. They might not appeal to everyone. But they commit so fully to their specific voice that you cannot look away.
Duolingo commits to unhinged. Scrub Daddy commits to absurd. RyanAir commits to roasting their own customers. These brands are not technically perfect. They regularly post things that make their legal teams nervous. But they have something that perfection cannot buy: they are impossible to confuse with anyone else.
I have been developing what I call the Karaoke Framework for brand voice, and it has three principles:
Pick a song that suits your natural range. The "Total Eclipse" guy was not pretending to be Bonnie Tyler. He was himself, singing her song. The worst brand voices are the ones reaching for a personality they do not naturally have. If your brand is a B2B accounting platform, you probably should not try to be Wendy's on Twitter. Find the version of interesting that your brand can sustain without faking it.
Commit fully or do not get on stage. The worst karaoke performances are the half-committed ones. The person who is sort of singing but also sort of embarrassed to be there. Brands do this constantly. They try to be funny but hedge. They try to be bold but add disclaimers. They try to be vulnerable but stay corporate. Pick a lane and floor it.
The audience wants to feel something, not be impressed. Nobody goes to karaoke to hear perfect singing. They go to feel something. Joy, nostalgia, surprise, connection. Your brand's audience is the same. They are not grading your content on a rubric. They are asking, unconsciously: did this make me feel anything? If yes, you win. If no, you are wallpaper.
Nobody goes to karaoke to hear perfect singing.
I think the reason so much brand content in 2026 feels flat is that it has been optimized for consistency over conviction. Every post matches the brand guidelines. None of them make anyone feel anything.
So here is my challenge: if your brand got on the karaoke stage tonight, what song would you sing? Not what song matches your brand guidelines. What song would make the room go insane? That is your voice. Now commit to it like a stranger who really, truly believes that the night belongs to lovers.