Lyrical Titles

Welcome to the return of the Lyrical Titles bingo event! It will run September through December, though entries will be accepted later. (I just won't generate new cards after that point).

The challenge this time is bingo, using song lyrics as titles according to the prompts on generated bingo cards. This is a low-stakes, personal challenge, of course; there's no penalty for not finishing or running late.

Link to the AO3 collection for this event. I know with some of our events there were some issues where the collection would not come up automatically in AO3's collection field, but if you use the full name of the collection (LyricalTitlesBingo2026) it should work fine even if you need to manually type in the whole thing.

Prompts:
The following are the prompts that the bingo card will be generated from. Let me know down below if you want a card, and if you want any prompts specifically excluded from it (a card needs a minimum of 24 prompts, but that's the only limit on number of exclusions). Feel free to request a new card at any time through December 2026, even if you've already received one. Note, we have some new prompts this year, suggested by purplehellebore 

1. Instrumental song
2. Sad song
3. Happy song
4. Angry song
5. Romantic song
6. Breakup song
7. Nursery rhyme
8. Slow song
9. Fast song
10. War song
11. Folk song
12. Grief song
13. Holiday song
14. Non-romantic love song
15. B-side song
16. Protest song 
17. Pre-1900 song
18. Pre-1950's song
19. 50's song
20. 60's song
21. 70's song
22. 80's song
23. 90's song
24. 00's song
25. Song released in 2026
26. Song released in your birth year
27. Meme song
28. Song in a language other than English
29. Song that isn't available on mainstream digital music platforms
30. Song with lyrics that do not contain the title
31. Song from a musical
32. Song from a soundtrack
33. Song from a concept album/rock opera
34. Chart-topper
35. Song with a month in the title
36. Song with a name in the title
37. Song with a color in the title
38. Song with an article in the title
39. Song with a number in the title
40. Song with a location in the title
41. Song with a question in the title
42. Song with food or drink in the title
43. Song with a title one word long
44. Song with a title six or more words long
45. Song with multiple singers on the track
46. Song > 7 minutes long
47. Song < 2 minutes long
48. Last line of a song
49. First line of a song
50. Line from the chorus
51. Lyric with "light" or "dark"
52. Lyric with "love" or "hate"
53. Lyric with "red", "green", or "blue"
54. Lyric with "sleep" or "wake"
55. Lyric with "night" or "day"
56. Lyric with "remember" or "forget"


Rules, Guidelines, and FAQ:

All works must be your own and not previously posted.
All works must use either the title of a song or a portion of its lyrics as the work title.
Works have a minimum wordcount of 100 words.
Please indicate the song title and artist in each entry for this challenge. You're not required to link to the song, but feel free to do so if you want!
Work text should be under a cut or linked offsite. Please indicate any warnings in your post.
You can begin working on the fics at any time, but please don't post them until September.

What kind of works are allowed?

All fandoms and original work are allowed. Works must be your own and not previously posted, but do not need to be exclusive to this event - they can also be used as entries for concurrent events. This is a writing focused event, and there is a minimum wordcount of 100 words, and no maximum wordcount.

How many fics do I need to write?

For a bingo, 5 prompts in a line (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal). You can do more if you like, or even go for a blackout (all 25 prompts).

Do the songs/lyrics I pick need to be in English?/Can I translate non-English lyrics?

You can use songs from any language (aside from the "Song in a language other than English" prompt). Titles/Lyrics may be in their original language, or you may translate them if you wish. For that matter, works can be in any language as well.

Do the lyrics need to be incorporated into the work?

No, this event is focused on titles, lyrics do not need to be used in the work itself.

What counts as a "Meme song"?

Any song that's used as a meme (past or current), such as "Never Gonna Give You Up" - Rick Astley, "Angel" - Sarah McLachlan, "All Star" - Smash Mouth, etc. Basically, if there's a "Know Your Meme" page for it, you can consider it a meme song.

What is meant by "Song that isn't available on mainstream digital music platforms"?

Anything that's not available on Spotify, Amazon MP3, iTunes, etc, or uploaded to Youtube by a record label. If it's only on Bandcamp or uploaded to Youtube by an independent artist or random channels, that's fine and can qualify for this prompt. Same if you can purchase the physical vinyl, CD, or cassette from Amazon, that's fine as long as it's not available digitally.

What is meant by "Song from a concept album/rock opera"?

A concept album or rock opera, is an album where the songs are not independent of each other, but instead tell a story that progresses across the album, such as with Pink Floyd's The Wall. Does not need to necessarily be in the "rock" genre.

What is meant by "Chart-topper"?

Anything that is or has been at the top of a music chart. Does not matter which country or year.

Do the "song with ___ in the title" and "lyric with ____" prompts apply to both song titles and fic titles?

No, prompts 35-42 apply to the song selection only - your fic title does not need to include the requirement for the song title. Prompts 48-56 are the only ones with restrictions on the title of your fic, but do not limit the song selection (other than it must have lyrics and, for 51-56, include one of the two words somewhere in the lyrics).

Does the Free Space mean I choose from any of the above prompts, or any song/lyric at all?

Any song you want!

Have fun!

Any questions, comments, or suggestions? Please don't hesitate to ask below! Feel free to tell everyone what album you're planning on using, if you want!