Hi, I'm working with a group of six 8th grade girls in my after school English program, and I was told this week that I need to teach them an English song for my district's English festival. It needs to be something mid-tempo, age-appropriate (no curse words, no talk about sex/lust), and in a mid-range for vocals. I'm kind of out of date in terms of what popular songs would be fun to sing since I haven't been in the USA for a year. Right now, my only advice has been "Say it Again" by Marie Digby. If you have any others, please post!

Thanks,

-ginger

Desree - You Gotta Be
Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time
Vanessa Carlton - A Thousand Miles
Edwin McCain - I'll Be (there's one tiny reference about a bed, so maybe not?)

As for songs that are on the charts right now:
Jason Mraz - I'm Yours
Taylor Swift - Love Story
Jordin Sparks - One Step at a Time (might be hard to sing as some parts go kind of fast)
David Archuleta - Crush

Hmmm.

'Love Song' by Sara Bareilles
'Bubbly' by Colbie Caillat
'Ordinary People' by John Legend
'Strange and Beautiful' by Aqualung
anything by Lisa Loeb.. all her stuff are so sweet and easy to sing to, especially "Fools Like Me"
'Kiss Me' by Sixpence None The Richer
'With You' by Chris Brown
'Lemonade' by Passion
'Because of You' by Ne-Yo

and so much more that i can't think of anymore.. lol

I hope they're helpful! it's the best I could think of

Check out some Brie Larson songs.

Thanks for some of the suggestions! I think I'm going to use Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson, though--just found it on my iPod and it's not too fast while still being sweet.

-ginger

skater boi.

it's pretty easy.
but...maybe the baby part isn't such a good idea.

complicated.

Oh, good choice. I was gonna say that as well. I think it's pretty well known there too.

bc of you by neyo has sexual content in it lol

so not a good idea to use that song

complicated by avril L??

Not sure if their cussing in it, don't think so, and it's really famous so it'll be good to use that song <3

Pop Ya Collar by Usher
Nobody's Home by Avril Lavigne

Well, there are quite a lot of songs...but you just gotta find them xD Most of my recommendations contain rnb in them, since rnb music has a more pronounced beat, making it easier to learn the song. New and popular songs at the moment ... they're not suitable for your case, so some of these songs are slightly old - not much though.

I'd recommend the following songs :
With You - Chris Brown (There are some parts that speed up, but nothing dramatic)
Keep Her Warm - August Rio
Wait For You - Elliott Yamin (or you can choose the girl version, by Kyla)
Murder - Jay Sean ft. Thara
I Still Believe In Love - Jenny Hyun (pretty steady beat)
Down - JJ Lin (The vocals in the beginning are deep for some reason, but the rest is average and the lyrics are pretty repetitive)
Go On Girl - Neyo
Addicted - Stevie Hoang (Theres a slight reference to making love and all...but its more feeling than just mindless sex)
I Can Be - Taio Cruz
Ay Ay Ay - Taio Cruz
All Of Me - Varsity
Stung - Varsity
Right Back Where I Started - Varsity

And that's all I got ;D Good Luck with your classes.

I think almost any Backstreet Boys song would be easy.

^ totally i was thinking 'i want it that way' or something like that.

Well, they are also teens...so they want to know what's popular in the US, not something that was popular a decade ago.

-ginger

Hello Goodbye is actually very simple and catchy. I don't know if the Beatles are still popular, but somebody mentioned Cyndi Lauper--so I thought why not?