Just play a song and sing along

Anything you know by heart — the chorus especially, since that's the part you'll belt. It doesn't need to be a karaoke version or have the words on screen. The radio, a playlist, a streaming app, an old CD: if it plays, you can sing along to it.

Phone speaker on the kitchen counter, a little Bluetooth box, the car stereo, a laptop playing YouTube — anything that plays out loud counts. Don't overthink it. The music just needs to be audible on the recording so everyone can tell what you're singing.

A second phone, a tablet, a laptop sitting on the table, or a friend holding their phone and laughing. Any of these works. If all you have is the one device playing the music, skip down to step six — there's a trick for that.

Start the video recording first, then start the music. That way the whole take is on the video. Now sing along exactly like you would in the shower: same energy, same wild confidence, zero rehearsal. If you forget the words, make some up — that's usually the best bit.

Phone microphones pick up whatever's loudest, and that's usually the song. Keep the music a bit quieter than feels natural and your voice will come through clearly. Do a quick ten-second test, play it back, and turn the volume down if the music is drowning you out.

Prop your phone against a mug or a book so the camera can see you, switch it to video, and hit record with the music playing out loud on that same phone. You'll end up with you singing along while the song plays — and honestly, it looks and sounds great. It's the most natural-looking video of the bunch.

Keep it to thirty seconds to two minutes — a verse and a chorus is plenty. Then head back to the home page, sign in, give it a silly name, pick a category, and send it in. Every approved video is automatically in the weekly $100 contest, too.