Top 10 JJ Lin songs to belt out at your next karaoke session

There’s no mistaking it – Singaporean singer JJ Lin’s songs are amazing.

Throughout the span of his 21-year career, he’s put out hit after hit, but naturally, we have our favourites.

Some songs, such as A Thousand Years Later (Yi Qian Nian Yi Hou), are the best to sing when broken-hearted. Others, like Dou Jiang You Tiao, are perfect when you’re still drunk on puppy love.

There’s a JJ Lin song for every mood, and here’s our completely subjective ranking of top 10 JJ Lin songs to belt out at karaoke.

Spoiler alert: they’re mostly sad ballads.

10. When You

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You might know Cyndi Wang’s version of this song, but JJ’s version is somehow better to sing during karaoke sessions.

Pro tip: don’t attempt to use this song to publicly confess your love to someone though, because not everyone appreciates having all eyes on them.

9. Never Learn

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Indeed, there are some things we never learn.

The line that hits the hardest from this song will always be: “I realised that love isn’t everything”.

Chances are that if you hear this being sung by someone else, they’ll be slightly drunk and very heartbroken.

8. Beautiful

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The only duet on the list, JJ Lin sang this bop with G.E.M about a love that hurts, but is worth staying together for.

Pick your duet partner wisely for this one, because it’s a hard one to pull off.

7. Dou Jiang You Tiao

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One of JJ Lin’s earlier songs, Dou Jiang You Tiao talks about how soybean milk and fried fritters go together perfectly, just like him and his then-partner.

Oh, the beauty of puppy love.

6. River South

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The song waxes lyrical about how his loved one’s presence is fate, and that they believed that star-crossed lovers only belong in ancient lore. The last line, however, “We only understood when we had our hearts broken”, sums the song up perfectly – what a couple thought would be a fairytale ended up in heartbreak.

5. A Thousand Years Later

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Old is gold, and we foresee ourselves singing this song even a thousand years later.

While this song is about his love for someone and how he wishes for them to be happy, it seems like he’s making a noble sacrifice for the said loved one in order for them to have a better future without him. 

4. If Only

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Ever been through the love that could’ve, should’ve, and would’ve?

If Only perfectly encapsulates all the what if’s that flits through one’s mind after a breakup, and is perfect for letting out all those bottled feelings.

3. Those Were The Days

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Who hurt JJ Lin, and inspired this song?

He talks about being by his partner’s side while they chased after their dreams, but their love eventually became too much of a burden that they broke up.

Very sad, but it provides lots of feels for a great KTV sesh.

2. Practice Love

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You have to admit it – JJ Lin is great at writing breakup songs. Though we might never know who to thank for inspiring these hits, one thing’s for sure: songs like Practice Love, which talks about how one faces an ex years after a breakup that you didn’t quite bear to go through, are great for nursing one’s wounds.

1. Twilight

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Are we surprised that the number one song is yet another anthem for the broken-hearted?

Not only is the chorus easy to sing along to – our interpretation of the song is that the person he’s (and all of us, collectively) singing about broke his heart so badly that they’ve been shelved into a little corner of his heart and mind.

And now we’ve started to think about them again. BRB, going to sing this song as loudly as we can.