How to do the reverse singing challenge

By Tinyfair · Updated October 22, 2026 · 4 min read

Short answer

Record yourself singing or saying a short line of two to five seconds. Play the recording backwards and listen to it several times. Record yourself copying that backwards sound as closely as you can, then reverse your copy. If you matched the sounds well, your original line comes back, a little strange and very funny. Short, clear phrases work best.

Step by step

You need:

An Android phone with a microphone
A way to reverse audio: a reverse audio app or an audio editor
A quiet room
Friends to take turns, if you play as a group

Pick a short line. Choose two to five seconds: a name, a short sentence or the first line of a song you sing yourself. Long lines become a blur when reversed.
Record it clearly. Hold the phone about a hand's width from your mouth in a quiet room and record. Leave a short silence before and after so nothing is cut off.
Play it backwards. Reverse the recording and listen several times. Slow it down or loop it if the app allows; that makes the odd vowels much easier to hear.
Copy the backwards sound. Record yourself imitating what you hear, sound by sound. Do not try to say the original words; copy the vowels, the hisses and the rhythm.
Reverse your copy. Play your imitation backwards. If you copied it well, the original line comes back out, with a strange accent that is the whole fun of the challenge.
Compare and try again. Listen to the original and your flipped copy one after the other. Pick the part that sounded worst, practise just that piece, and record again.

Watch it on YouTube

Reverse Singing Challenge: can you sing it backwards?YouTube Short · 0:30

Do it faster with BackvoxBackvox: Reverse Audio & Voice

Backvox puts the whole challenge on one phone. You record a line and play it forwards or backwards, slow it down, change the pitch, loop it or trim it. The challenge mode walks one to four players through four steps: record, listen reversed, copy, and hear the copy flipped back. The target and your copy are drawn as two waves, and your flipped copy is compared with the original on the phone for a game score out of 100. You can share a 9:16 video with both voices and the score, or save the audio. Recordings stay on your phone, and there are no ads while you record or play. Backvox does not include songs; you record your own voice or import audio you made or may use. It is free on Google Play. Pro, yearly with a 7-day free trial, monthly or a one-time lifetime payment, removes the video mark and ads and adds 5-minute recordings instead of 60 seconds and echo, robot and chipmunk effects.

See Backvox

Why reversed speech sounds so strange

Speech is not symmetric in time. A word like stop starts with a hiss and ends with a sharp click; reversed, it starts with a click and fades into a hiss. Vowels also glide, and the glide runs the other way. That is why reversed speech sounds like a foreign language and why copying it takes a few tries.

You do not have to understand the reversed sound. Treat it as a melody of noises and copy that melody.

Tips for a better score and funnier results

Start with words full of long vowels and few hard consonants. Names work well.
Break the reversed clip into two or three chunks and learn each one separately.
Hard sounds at the end of the original, such as t, k or s, come first in the reversed clip. Put them at the start of your copy.
Breathe out on hissing sounds and let them grow louder instead of fading.
Keep the same distance from the phone for every recording.
Record in a quiet room. Background music and voices ruin both the playback and any comparison.

How to reverse audio on Android without a special app

Any audio editor with a reverse effect will do. On a computer, the free editor Audacity has Effect, Special, Reverse. Record on your phone with the voice recorder, send the file to the computer, reverse it there, and send it back. It works, but it is slow for a game where you want to go back and forth many times, which is why most people use a phone app that records and reverses in one place.

Playing it as a party game

Pass one phone around. Each player gets the same line, or the group picks a line for each person. Everyone listens to the reversed version, records a copy, and the group votes on whose flipped copy sounds most like the original. Keep turns short so nobody waits long.

Use lines you made up or songs you sing yourself, especially if you plan to post the video.
Ask before you post a recording of someone else's voice.

Questions people ask

What app do people use for the reverse singing challenge?

Any app that can record and play audio backwards works. Apps made for the challenge save time because they record, reverse and flip your copy in one place instead of moving files between apps.

How do you sing backwards?

You do not reverse words in your head. Listen to the reversed recording, copy its sounds and rhythm exactly, then reverse your copy so it plays forwards again.

How long should the line be?

Two to five seconds is a good start. A single name or short phrase is easiest; whole song verses are hard even for people who play often.

Can I reverse a voice recording I already have?

Yes. Most reverse audio apps and audio editors can open an existing file. Only use recordings you made or have permission to use, especially if you share the result.

Why does my reversed copy sound nothing like the original?

Usually the timing is off or a sound is missing. Slow the reversed clip down, learn it in short pieces, and copy hisses and clicks as carefully as the vowels.