15 Songs With Kids Singing the Chorus

Kids singing the chorus can make your song better. What else links Gucci Mane, Passion Pit, Pink Floyd, and Justice?!

By Adrienne Black

There's something about kids voices singing a chorus that can make it so damn catchy, and turn a song from a solid album cut into a hit. Artists know this, and have been employing the technique for years, trying to get some of that cuteness and appeal to rub off on their music. Many times this idea can get out of hand resulting in songs that sound like they just missed the cut to be a Kidz Bop record. But other times, artists find a way to balance everything just right.

A choir of kids singing in the background can lighten the mood of a song or make it easier to remember the words, but hearing children sing lyrics you wouldn’t expect them to can be amusing or flat out uncomfortable. Simply put, having kids sing on your song is a risky business. Here are some examples of when children singing a song's chorus actually worked, resulting in memorable, poignant, or powerful music. Plus, is there's anything else that links Gucci Mane, Passion Pit, Pink Floyd, and Justice?!

Here are 15 great songs with kids singing the chorus—let us know any of your favorites that we didn't include in the comments.

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2. Nas & Damian Marley - “My Generation (Feat. Lil Wayne & Joss Stone)”

Damien Marley & Nas

In 2010 when Nas and Damian Marley joined forces to create their Distant Relatives album, it was indeed the best of both worlds. Two strong forces on every track was sufficient but sometimes more is really merrier. For “My Generation,” not only did they get Lil Wayne and Joss Stone to add their vocals to the song, but they also decided to have children sing the chorus.

With so many voices already on one track, the children’s choir ties everything all together rather than over-saturating things. Having the kids sing, “My generation will make a change,” gives the line more weight than it would have if anyone else had sung it.

3. Passion Pit - "Little Secrets"

"Little Secrets" wouldn't be one of Passion Pit's best-known and most immediately recognizable songs without those kids singing the, "higher and higher and higher," on the hook. While guest artists are normally given a "featured" credit on songs they contribute to, it's rare that the children who provide such an integral part of the song are.

We're here to change that. Shout out to the PS22 Chorus from Graniteville, Staten Island on this one, and also on Passion Pit's "The Reeling" and "Let Your Love Grow Tall," to which they contributed backing vocals.

4. Gucci Mane - "Lemonade"

If you really listen to the “Lemonade” beat, the notes from the piano sound vaguely similar to the “Chopsticks” song that basically every novice pianist learns to play. Since it already sounds like a familiar childhood song and Gucci Mane is dedicating four whole minutes to his favorite primary color (you do you Gucci), it only made sense for him to round up some kids to help sing along.

The lyrics may not all be kid friendly, but the hook is too catchy to think about minor details like that.

5. Pink Floyd - “Another Brick in the Wall Part II”

Adults are often speaking on behalf of children, but on Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall Part II,” the kids finally get to speak for themselves. Chanting “leave them kids alone” in an almost robotic tone carries a paradoxical, more effective tone when said by children. In the song, Pink Floyd articulate that everyone is just another part of the overall "system" (instead of being seen as individuals), and the children chanting in unison bring the point home powerfully.

The kids' voices are the most recognizable part of the song, but producer Bob Ezrin revealed that he had to go behind the band's back to make the song sound like it does. Without their voices, the message would certainly still be there, but it wouldn’t have made the same impression.

6. clipping. - "Dominoes"

Clipping

Children have a way of singing even a short phrase and making it get stuck in your head forever. If you have younger siblings, they’ve probably already traumatized you with the songs from the Frozen soundtrack. Having a choir of children singing with only piano accompaniment is definitely one way to guarantee a memorable hook. clipping. went for this strategy, and they succeeded. “Dominoes” is a good song on its own, but the addition of the chorus sung by kids results in a song you have no choice but to remember.

7. M.I.A. - "Paper Planes"

M.I.A

Though the kids make a very short appearance on “Paper Planes,” it’s easily the most memorable part of the entire song. The simple hook basically sums up everything M.I.A. is talking about in her verses, but in the catchiest way possible. If an adult was reciting this hook it would come off far more threatening than it does when children say it. Somehow, children can even make gunshots sound fun.

8. Nas - "I Can"

There are very few rap songs you can play around the house that won’t result in a lecture from your mother about their subject matter. But in 2003, Nas made a song that can be played in any household. The message of “I Can” is pretty clear—Nas wants the youth to know that they can be great if they put their minds to it. Rather than just using kids’ voice as a catchy gimmick, Nas used them to really get his message of empowerment across. Hearing little voices sing, “I know I can, be what I wanna be / If I work hard at it, I’ll be where I wanna be,” can even make an unemployed college graduate feel hopeful again.

9. Dead Man’s Bones - “In The Room Where You Sleep”

Dead Man’s Bones

Dead Man’s Bones is a folk rock duo that consists of Ryan Gosling and Zach Shields. In 2009 the duo released a self-titled album which was a collaboration with the Silverlake Conservatory Children's Choir. Gosling—who goes by the alias Baby Goose—plays the piano while singing in a deep, ghostly voice. The juxtaposition of his spooky voice with the sweet voices of the children’s choir makes for an intriguing result. While other artists are doing just one song with kids, Dead Man’s Bones found a way to complete an entire album without making it sound amateur.

So yes, it seems Ryan Gosling is just great at everything.

10. Trick Daddy - "I'm A Thug"

It’s no surprise that Trick Daddy would have a song featuring children on the chorus since one of his popular catch phrases is, “Trick love the kids.” To be honest, only Trick Daddy could have kids singing in the background as he raps about being a thug. Children’s voices always tend to brighten up a song, but in this case it really brightens up the whole subject matter. When the kids sing, “I don’t know what this world’s gonna bring/ But I know one thing, that this is the life for me,” you simultaneously get the sense that Trick Daddy lives a dangerous lifestyle but one he’s truly dedicated to.

Without the kids’ voices gliding over this rhythm, it just wouldn’t sound as sweet.

11. Jay Z - "Hard Knock Life"

On paper, someone rapping over a sample of “It’s A Hard Knock Life” from the broadway musical Annie sounds like a questionable move. But if that someone is Jay Z this combination immediately gets more interesting. As relatable as the lyrics may be, having Jay Z attempt to simply recite the words would have never made “Hard Knock Life” as successful as it was. Those little high pitched voices crying out for some love and attention allow Jay and all his fans to express the softer feelings they just can’t seem to bring themselves to admit.

12. Justice - "D.A.N.C.E."

There’s just something about a group of kids singing a hook that is hard to resist. When Justice released their song “D.A.N.C.E.” they recruited voices that would match well with their electro beats, pay obvious homage to the Jackson 5's "ABC," and get stuck in your head so damn quickly. The result was one of the biggest songs of the late 2000s, one that catapulted Justice to superstar status and appeared everywhere from festivals to radio to Jay-Z’s “On to the Next One.”

13. R. Kelly - "I Wish"

R. Kelly has proven that he can hold a track on his own. In fact, other musicians have often reached out for his assistance on their songs. If you’re always the one coming in to put the finishing touches on other people’s songs, who could possibly lend you any assistance? The answer is a choir of children. R. Kelly already mastered the art of having an adult choir bless his hook on, “I Believe I Can Fly,” so this was obviously the next step. “I Wish” is an emotional track but the addition of the little voices make it comforting rather than just sad.

14. Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Aeroplane"

It may only be the final chorus that the kids sing (or, probably more accurately, shout), but I'll be damned if they didn't nail this one. Sure, sometimes it's nice to have a well-trained, perfect sounding choir, but sometimes scrappy chanting (in this case from Flea's daughter Clara and her classmates) feels more real and more natural.

15. Gorillaz - "Dirty Harry"

It’s difficult to make a song about political issues that people will actually want to listen to, but Gorillaz realized that it was possible with a steady beat and children’s voices. The production invites you to dance and distracts you from the fact that these little voices are actually saying, “I need a gun to keep myself from harm.” It’s easy to hear how serious the lyrics being rapped by Bootie Brown of The Pharcyde are because of the tone of his voice, but kids on the other hand have the ability to say just about anything and still come off charming.

Because of that, it’s possible that people could have heard “Dirty Harry” quite a few times without actually noticing the subject matter.

16. Kanye West - "We Don't Care"

When Kanye West opens “We Don’t Care” by saying he has the perfect song for the kids to sing, he sounds sarcastic. But Kanye rarely jokes. He was right, the children do sound perfect on this hook. Hearing little kids who are clearly under the age of 25 sing, “We wasn’t supposed to make it past 25 / But the joke’s on you, we still alive,” is somewhat ironic but also poignant.

Listening to these lyrics come from a child makes it seem as if the kids’ voices are supposed to be symbolic for children who had to grow up too fast in order to survive. Whatever the real intention, the fact is that Kanye made one of the best songs with children singing the hook.

17. BONUS: The PS22 Chorus Even Make Swedish House Mafia Listenable

Kids can make any song better!


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