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Put what you hear
into words.

A hard-to-hear word. A second singer. A chorus that comes back around. Find your way through the little decisions that go into writing lyrics for Genius.

Start with the bit you’re stuck on

Where does the advice come from?

Each entry names its source and authority tier. A linked linter check may cover only part of a convention; read its example and the entry’s qualifications for the limits.

The ascending bars ahead of each entry's tier label are its standing drawn as a ladder: four steps for the four source tiers, filled up to the tier the entry's sources establish. Climbing it is evidence, never an edit: an entry rises only when a higher-tier source confirming it joins its citations.

LyricLint advisory
LyricLint's own preference, on a convention no Genius source states: the blank line between song parts, the text-hygiene checks. It shares the bottom step with community guidance, because our preference claims no more standing than unreviewed community writing.
Genius community guidance
Ordinary community voice in any venue: an unreviewed annotation, guide-page text with no staff badge, an ordinary forum post.
External reference
An authority outside Genius: a dictionary, a language academy, a platform's own documentation. It ranks below a reviewed annotation because it is authoritative about language, not about Genius.
Editor-reviewed Genius annotation
A reviewed Genius annotation with no staff among its contributors.
Genius staff guidance
Genius staff wrote or touched it: a staff-badged guide page, staff among an annotation's contributors, or a staff reply on the forum. Who wrote it decides the tier, never the venue it appears in.
What about spelling and grammar?

The workbench also uses Harper for English spelling, grammar, and style suggestions. Those suggestions come from the proofreader, so they are not listed here as Genius conventions. Read them in the context of the lyrics before applying a change.

Transcription guide

Reviewed conventions, examples, and the sources behind them.

The checks below catch specific patterns in your text. They support your review; passing them does not verify every part of a convention.

Section headers and performers

Song parts open with bracketed headers

Genius staff guidance Use song part headers (opens in a new tab) Section headers, performer legends, and four differentiation styles. Verified 2026-08-17.

Each part of a song stands under its own header, the part's name in square brackets on a line of its own, with Intro, Verse, Refrain, Pre-Chorus, Chorus, Bridge, and Outro the most common names, and further parts documented in the reviewed sections guide.

Incorrect
Verse 1:
Correct
[Verse 1]

Exceptions and context

The linter checks the whole mechanical convention: a section with no header, a header written as prose, empty brackets, unbalanced ones, and a name outside every reviewed catalog.

What LyricLint checks

  • A section with no header
    Flagged example
    A lyric

    Every blank-line lyric section needs a song-part header. If these lines continue the previous song part, remove the blank line instead, because Genius does not allow blank lines to split one part into smaller stanzas. Otherwise, choose a reviewed localized term or enter a custom header; the source text remains unchanged until confirmation.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    A lyric

    See trigger and fix

  • A header written as a plain line
    Flagged example
    Verse 1:
    A lyric

    Genius marks song parts with a bracketed header. “Verse 1:” names a reviewed song part but is written as a plain line, so it reads as a lyric and no section is created. The bracketed form keeps the same part name.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse 1]
    A lyric

    See trigger and fix

  • Brackets with no song part in them
    Flagged example
    []
    A lyric

    The brackets are here, but the song part they open is not named, so this line marks nothing. Choose a reviewed header for the language you are transcribing in; LyricLint writes the name between the brackets you already typed and leaves the rest of the line, a performer legend included, exactly as it is.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    A lyric

    See trigger and fix

  • A header bracket left open
    Use song part headers (opens in a new tab) Section headers, performer legends, and four differentiation styles. Verified 2026-08-17.
    Flagged example
    [Verse
    Line

    Genius guidance establishes bracketed section headers. Detecting a missing delimiter is also a product-safety rule from the parser contract, not an explicit Genius catalog of every malformed case.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    Line

    See trigger and fix

  • A header no reviewed catalog knows
    Flagged example
    [Chor]
    En natt

    “Chor” is not in any reviewed section-header catalog. It may be intentional, but it could also be a typo. Confirm it manually; LyricLint preserves the text and does not guess a replacement.

    Accepted by this check
    [Refreng]
    En natt

    See trigger and fix

Name artists in headers when voices differ

Genius staff guidance Use song part headers (opens in a new tab) Section headers, performer legends, and four differentiation styles. Verified 2026-08-17.

Every header carries artist identifiers when a solo artist's song gives parts to other artists, or when a band or group has multiple vocalists, and none when one voice performs everything: a band with one lead singer, or a solo artist singing every part.

Correct
[Verse 1: Avery]

Exceptions and context

In between, identifiers are allowed but not required: songs by several primary artists or an artist-and-producer duo, and one-singer songs whose intro, outro, or interludes are sampled. The linter checks the mechanical half: a section with styled voices in its lyrics and no legend in its header; whether a song needs identifiers at all is a judgment about the release.

What LyricLint checks

  • Styled vocals with no legend
    Use song part headers (opens in a new tab) Section headers, performer legends, and four differentiation styles. Verified 2026-08-17.
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    <i>Second voice</i>

    This section differentiates inline voices, but its header does not yet say who they are. The formatting is worth keeping until the voices are known, since it tells the next transcriber a distinct voice sings here. Add a performer legend when the voices are identified, or remove the formatting only if the section no longer needs differentiation.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse: A & <i>B</i>]
    <i>Second voice</i>

    See trigger and fix

Order voices by prominence or arrival

Genius staff guidance Use song part headers (opens in a new tab) Section headers, performer legends, and four differentiation styles. Verified 2026-08-17.

Where several artists share one section, the plain slot belongs to the voice with the most lines or the first to sing; italics, bold, and bold italics follow in that order down to the fewest lines, in the header and in the lyrics both, with names separated by their formatting, commas, and an ampersand before the last.

Correct
[Chorus: Avery, <i>Blair</i> & <b>Casey</b>]

Exceptions and context

The linter checks the mechanics of the four slots: their order, that only the supported italic and bold tags carry them, and that the legend and the lyrics agree about which are in use; which artist earned which slot is a count of lines only the transcriber can make.

What LyricLint checks

  • A legend whose styles are out of order
    Use song part headers (opens in a new tab) Section headers, performer legends, and four differentiation styles. Verified 2026-08-17.
    Flagged example
    [Chorus: A, <b>B</b> & <i>C</i>]
    Line

    Section-local performer groups should appear in plain, italic, bold, then bold-italic order. Shifting them into order rewrites the legend and the section's formatting as one edit, so every group keeps its own performers.

    Accepted by this check
    [Chorus: A, <i>B</i> & <b>C</b>]
    Line

    See trigger and fix

  • Markup that is not italic or bold
    Use song part headers (opens in a new tab) Section headers, performer legends, and four differentiation styles. Verified 2026-08-17.
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    <u>Voice</u>

    Performer differentiation supports plain, italic, bold, and nested bold-italic slots. This literal tag or malformed nesting is preserved for review.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse: A & <i>B</i>]
    <i>Voice</i>

    See trigger and fix

  • A styled voice missing from the legend
    Use song part headers (opens in a new tab) Section headers, performer legends, and four differentiation styles. Verified 2026-08-17.
    Flagged example
    [Verse: A]
    <i>Voice</i>

    The styled lyrics mark a distinct voice the header does not identify. The formatting itself is worth keeping, since it tells the reader, and the next transcriber, that a separate voice sings here. When the voice is known, choose the section voice and this styled voice to add the missing performer legend without changing the lyrics.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse: A & <i>B</i>]
    <i>Voice</i>

    See trigger and fix

  • A legend slot the section never uses
    Use song part headers (opens in a new tab) Section headers, performer legends, and four differentiation styles. Verified 2026-08-17.
    Flagged example
    [Verse: A & <i>B</i>]
    Only A sings

    The section legend should describe the performer styles that actually occur in its lyrics. Remove the unused slot to keep the header and formatting in sync.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse: A & <i>B</i>]
    A sings
    <i>B sings</i>

    See trigger and fix

  • The same voice reopened line after line
    Use song part headers (opens in a new tab) Section headers, performer legends, and four differentiation styles. Verified 2026-08-17.
    Flagged example
    [Verse: A & <i>B</i>]
    <i>First</i>
    <i>Second</i>

    The same performer style ends and immediately starts again on the next line. Keep one wrapper around the continuous passage to minimize formatting markers.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse: A & <i>B</i>]
    <i>First
    Second</i>

    See trigger and fix

Group unison voices with ampersands

Genius staff guidance Use song part headers (opens in a new tab) Section headers, performer legends, and four differentiation styles. Verified 2026-08-17.

Vocalists performing the same lines in unison are one group: their names share one text formatting and are joined with ampersands, and commas separate whole groups from each other, never the voices inside one.

Correct
[Chorus: Avery, <i>Avery & Blair</i>, <b>Avery & Casey</b>]

Exceptions and context

A group is always its members written out: the linter flags a legend naming a collective identifier such as Both or All where the names belong.

What LyricLint checks

  • Both or All standing in for artist names
    Flagged example
    [Chorus: A, <i>B</i> & <b>Both</b>]
    Line

    Genius staff guidance is that artist names are always written out in section headers, never combined under identifiers like “Both” or “All”. Performers singing the same lines in unison are grouped with ampersands inside one style slot, so the legend names exactly who shares them.

    Accepted by this check
    [Chorus: A, <i>B</i>, <b>A & B</b>]
    Line

    See trigger and fix

Parentheses sit outside voice formatting

Editor-reviewed Genius annotation Performer formatting and parentheses (opens in a new tab) Editorial reference: parentheses stay outside performer formatting. Verified 2026-08-17.

Where a differentiated voice's words are parenthesized (an ad-lib or a backing line), the italic or bold tags wrap the words inside the parentheses, and the parentheses themselves stay unformatted.

Incorrect
We own the night <i>(We own it)</i>
Correct
We own the night (<i>We own it</i>)

Exceptions and context

The reviewed headers guide's own worked examples keep the same boundary, so the linter's fix moves the formatting inside the parentheses.

What LyricLint checks

  • Formatting wrapped around the parentheses
    Use song part headers (opens in a new tab) Section headers, performer legends, and four differentiation styles. Verified 2026-08-17.
    Flagged example
    [Verse: A & <i>B</i>]
    A <i>(Second voice)</i>

    The reviewed guide styles only the words of a parenthetical and leaves both parentheses plain, and the performer’s italics or bold sit just inside them. This wrapper carries the parentheses along with the words.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse: A & <i>B</i>]
    A (<i>Second voice</i>)

    See trigger and fix

Annotate a header too crowded to format

Genius staff guidance

Where one section has more vocalists than the four text formats can carry concisely, the header omits the names and an annotation over it breaks down who performs each line; names never stand in brackets at the start of lyric lines, and asterisks or other symbols never stand in for a name.

What LyricLint checks

  • More voices than there are style slots
    Use song part headers (opens in a new tab) Section headers, performer legends, and four differentiation styles. Verified 2026-08-17.
    Flagged example
    [Verse: A, <i>B</i>, <b>C</b>, <i><b>D</b></i> & E]
    Line

    The source discusses omitting names when too many vocalists prevent concise formatting and gives a more-than-four example for multiple vocal samples; it does not state a universal five-performer ban. Preserve the import while considering a merged group, another section, or explicitly removing differentiation.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse: A, <i>B</i>, <b>C</b> & <i><b>D</b></i>]
    Line

    See trigger and fix

  • A performer named on the lyric line
    Use song part headers (opens in a new tab) Section headers, performer legends, and four differentiation styles. Verified 2026-08-17.
    Flagged example
    [Verse: Avery]
    [Avery] A line

    Performer identities belong in the section-header legend and are correlated through the four style slots. Removing the label drops the attribution from the lyric, so name the performer in the section header and style the line to keep it.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse: Avery]
    A line

    See trigger and fix

Credit performers, not their characters

Genius staff guidance Use song part headers (opens in a new tab) Section headers, performer legends, and four differentiation styles. Verified 2026-08-17.

A song performed in character is identified by the performers credited on the release, which may itself credit the characters; for a musical, or a musical-style film or television show, the transcriber may use character names where those read more appropriately.

AI vocal identifiers follow consent

Genius staff guidance Use song part headers (opens in a new tab) Section headers, performer legends, and four differentiation styles. Verified 2026-08-17.

An AI vocal imitating a specific artist is identified by that artist's name only where the artist or their estate consented, and as AI otherwise; an artist applying AI to their own voice keeps their name, vocals imitating nobody are AI or left unidentified when used as samples, and an AI or virtual artist performs under its own name.

Known sample voices may join the header

Genius staff guidance Use song part headers (opens in a new tab) Section headers, performer legends, and four differentiation styles. Verified 2026-08-17.

A prominently featured producer tag or vocal sample may carry its vocalist's name in the section header when the vocalist is known.

Exceptions and context

A sample shorter than a full line, or samples that would push one header past four artists, share a single text formatting instead, with identification left to annotations and song metadata.

Sampled dialogue names the actor

Genius staff guidance Use song part headers (opens in a new tab) Section headers, performer legends, and four differentiation styles. Verified 2026-08-17.

Sampled film or television dialogue is identified by the actors who speak it, never by their characters.

An instrumental page reads [Instrumental]

Genius staff guidance Instrumental songs (opens in a new tab) Use [Instrumental] as the lyric text for an instrumental track page. Verified 2026-08-12.

A track with no lyrics still gets a page: its whole lyrics field is the single line [Instrumental].

Correct
[Instrumental]

Exceptions and context

An instrumental version of an already-existing song is only added where it was released in some official capacity: on streaming, a box set, or similar.

Check whether your language kept Hook

Editor-reviewed Genius annotation

Replacing the deprecated Hook header with Chorus or Refrain is settled for English songs only; some international communities, German among them, still use Hook, so a transcription in another language follows that community's own ruling, confirmed with its community lead where it is in doubt.

Exceptions and context

For supported languages the linter already knows the answer: each language pack carries that community's reviewed header vocabulary, and the deprecation warning stands down wherever a pack still lists Hook as a valid term. For a language the packs do not cover, the Song Headers in Different Languages page cited above is the inventory to check before asking a community lead.

What LyricLint checks

  • [Hook], which Genius has retired
    Flagged example
    [Hook]
    Sing it

    The current Genius section guide replaces [Hook] with [Chorus] or [Refrain]. These replacements use the canonical names from the selected English language pack; choose the term that matches the song structure.

    Accepted by this check
    [Chorus]
    Sing it

    See trigger and fix

Label a two-song track by Parts

Editor-reviewed Genius annotation Song Sections & Headers Guide (opens in a new tab) Only verses are enumerated; distinct verses use ascending numbers. Verified 2026-08-12.

A track that a segue divides into two distinct songs still never numbers its choruses, intros, or other non-verse parts; the split is carried by Part labels instead: Part I, Part II, and so on.

Exceptions and context

The linter flags any numbered non-verse header; whether a track is really two songs behind one segue is a judgment only the transcriber can make.

What LyricLint checks

  • Distinct verses left unnumbered
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    First
    
    [Verse]
    Second

    This song has 2 verses, and each one has different words. The Genius section guide enumerates distinct verses in ascending order, so a reader can tell which verse is which.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse 1]
    First
    
    [Verse 2]
    Second

    See trigger and fix

Check a language's headers before editing

Genius staff guidance

Standard section headers exist in many languages, and the reviewed inventory of them is the place to check before changing a header in a song whose language is not your own; each community settles its own vocabulary.

Exceptions and context

For the linter's supported languages the packs already carry each community's reviewed header vocabulary; the Song Headers in Different Languages page cited above covers the rest.

What LyricLint checks

  • A header from the wrong language pack
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    En natt

    This is a recognized English Verse header. The selected reviewed language pack recommends a localized term; custom and unreviewed headers are always preserved.

    Accepted by this check
    [Vers]
    En natt

    See trigger and fix

  • A header outside Norwegian conventions
    Flagged example
    [Bridge]
    En natt

    The reviewed Norwegian header for this song part is “Bro”. LyricLint recognizes “Bridge” as an alternate name and suggests the catalog spelling.

    Accepted by this check
    [Bro]
    En natt

    See trigger and fix

Headers speak the transcription's language

Genius staff guidance

Song part headers are written in the same language as the transcribed text, and the reviewed inventory of headers in other languages documents each community's forms.

Exceptions and context

The linter checks recognized headers against the selected language pack's reviewed vocabulary and offers the community-preferred localized term where one exists.

What LyricLint checks

  • A header from the wrong language pack
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    En natt

    This is a recognized English Verse header. The selected reviewed language pack recommends a localized term; custom and unreviewed headers are always preserved.

    Accepted by this check
    [Vers]
    En natt

    See trigger and fix

  • A header outside Norwegian conventions
    Flagged example
    [Bridge]
    En natt

    The reviewed Norwegian header for this song part is “Bro”. LyricLint recognizes “Bridge” as an alternate name and suggests the catalog spelling.

    Accepted by this check
    [Bro]
    En natt

    See trigger and fix

Match Norwegian Chorus to Pre/Post-Chorus

Genius community guidance Genius Norway (opens in a new tab) Norwegian chorus convention: mektigemartin (community contributor; role unverified). Verified 2026-09-21.

In Norwegian transcriptions, use Chorus when the song has a Pre-Chorus or Post-Chorus section. If neither occurs, use Refreng instead.

Incorrect
[Pre-Chorus]
Lyset viser vei

[Refreng]
Vi finner hjem
Correct
[Pre-Chorus]
Lyset viser vei

[Chorus]
Vi finner hjem

Exceptions and context

This Genius Norway community convention was confirmed in the supplied conversation with mektigemartin, who recalled the linked forum discussion. The specific forum post and contributor role have not been independently verified.

What LyricLint checks

  • A header outside Norwegian conventions
    Flagged example
    [Bridge]
    En natt

    The reviewed Norwegian header for this song part is “Bro”. LyricLint recognizes “Bridge” as an alternate name and suggests the catalog spelling.

    Accepted by this check
    [Bro]
    En natt

    See trigger and fix

Keep Pre-Chorus and Post-Chorus in English

Genius community guidance Genius Norway (opens in a new tab) Norwegian chorus convention: mektigemartin (community contributor; role unverified). Verified 2026-09-21.

Norwegian transcriptions keep Pre-Chorus and Post-Chorus untranslated. Replace prerefreng, pre-refreng, førrefreng, and før-refreng with Pre-Chorus; replace postrefreng, post-refreng, etter-refreng, and etterrefreng with Post-Chorus.

Incorrect
[Førrefreng]
Correct
[Pre-Chorus]

What LyricLint checks

  • A header outside Norwegian conventions
    Flagged example
    [Bridge]
    En natt

    The reviewed Norwegian header for this song part is “Bro”. LyricLint recognizes “Bridge” as an alternate name and suggests the catalog spelling.

    Accepted by this check
    [Bro]
    En natt

    See trigger and fix

One blank line between song parts

LyricLint advisory Use song part headers (opens in a new tab) Section headers, performer legends, and four differentiation styles. Verified 2026-08-17.

A single blank line separates each song part from the header of the next, and never more than one.

Exceptions and context

This is LyricLint's own readability advisory rather than a stated Genius rule: the reviewed guide's examples all keep the single blank line, but no source spells it out, so the claim carries LyricLint's name instead of theirs.

What LyricLint checks

  • No blank line above a header
    Use song part headers (opens in a new tab) Section headers, performer legends, and four differentiation styles. Verified 2026-08-17.
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    First
    [Chorus]
    Second

    The reviewed Genius guidance places headers above distinct song parts but does not explicitly require a blank line. LyricLint suggests one here to make section changes easier to scan.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    First
    
    [Chorus]
    Second

    See trigger and fix

  • More than one blank line between parts
    Use song part headers (opens in a new tab) Section headers, performer legends, and four differentiation styles. Verified 2026-08-17.
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    First
    
    
    [Chorus]
    Second

    The reviewed Genius guidance places headers above distinct song parts and does not say how many empty lines go between them. LyricLint keeps the separation to a single blank line so the gaps down a transcription stay even.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    First
    
    [Chorus]
    Second

    See trigger and fix

Spelling and contractions

The standardized spellings

Genius staff guidance Use standardized spellings (opens in a new tab) Preferred spellings with contextual exceptions. Verified 2026-08-12.

The reviewed preferred forms, each over the spellings the guide corrects.

  • I'mma, Ima, Imma becomes I'ma

  • cause, cos, cuz becomes 'cause

    cuz remains valid when it means cousin.

  • ok, O.K. becomes okay

  • til becomes 'til

    British English uses till and is not rewritten.

  • trynna becomes tryna

  • aye, ay becomes ayy

  • hoe becomes ho

    hoe remains valid for the gardening tool or its use.

  • tho becomes though

  • yah becomes ya

    yah remains valid when it means yeah or yes.

  • ya’ll becomes y'all

  • skrt becomes skrrt

  • Perk, Percy becomes Perc', Perky

    The replacement applies only when the word refers to Percocet.

  • boujee, boujie becomes bougie

  • shawty, shorty

    Both forms are accepted according to pronunciation.

    LyricLint reports neither form; the entry records the accepted variants and seeds Harper.

  • lil, li'l becomes lil'

  • whoa becomes woah

  • dawg becomes dog

    Depends on the recording: Genius also allows a distinct or deliberate pronunciation to be written as heard, so compare the audio before replacing it.

  • choppa becomes chopper

    Depends on the recording: Genius also allows a distinct or deliberate pronunciation to be written as heard, so compare the audio before replacing it.

  • oughtta becomes oughta

  • naïve becomes naive

  • cliche becomes cliché

  • alright, all right

    Both forms are accepted.

    LyricLint reports neither form; the entry records the accepted variants and seeds Harper.

  • AKA, AKAs, A.K.A, A.K.A.s becomes a.k.a., a.k.a.s

    Which preferred form applies follows the position in the line.

  • G.O.A.T., G.O.A.T.s becomes GOAT, GOATs

  • V.I.P., V.I.P.s becomes VIP, VIPs

  • A.S.A.P. becomes ASAP

    A$AP performer names remain unchanged.

  • CREAM, C.R.E.A.M. becomes cream

    Keep C.R.E.A.M. when naming the Wu-Tang Clan song.

  • H.A.M. becomes HAM

What LyricLint checks

Spell deliberate mispronunciations as sung

Genius staff guidance Transcribe as spoken (opens in a new tab) Reflect distinct pronunciation unless a phonetic spelling harms comprehension. Verified 2026-08-12.

A word an artist mispronounces or deliberately bends (local slang, or a rhyme forced into the flow) is transcribed to reflect the pronunciation, within reason; slang built on a mispronounced word is spelled the way it is usually written online, or as it is pronounced.

Exceptions and context

The same convention read the other way is what the linter checks: written-only texting shorthand such as idk stands for words the artist actually sang, so it is expanded to them rather than kept as letters nobody performed.

What LyricLint checks

  • Texting shorthand in a sung line
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    Idk what to tell you

    Texting shorthand is a way of writing rather than a way of singing: the letters stand in for words the vocal performs in full, and Genius wants the sung words in standardized spelling. Initialisms that are themselves said aloud (ASAP, OK, VIP) are left alone. Check the delivery before replacing this, since an artist who spells the letters out is transcribed as they sing them.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    I don't know what to tell you

    See trigger and fix

Keep the standard spelling when unclear

Genius staff guidance Transcribe as spoken (opens in a new tab) Reflect distinct pronunciation unless a phonetic spelling harms comprehension. Verified 2026-08-12.

Where writing a pronunciation out would make the word hard to recognize, the standard spelling wins: business rather than bini for the Southern pronunciation, and rather than an' where the d softens, of rather than o' where the f does.

An apostrophe marks the omitted side

Genius staff guidance

When letters or a syllable are dropped from a word, the remaining characters take an apostrophe on the side of the omission (ballin', gon' for gonna, 'til, 'em), and a contraction's apostrophe always sits on the side its letters left.

Incorrect
Ballin like we used to
Correct
Ballin' like we used to

Exceptions and context

The linter checks the contractions and shortened forms it knows; an elision in a word outside its tables is the transcriber's to mark.

What LyricLint checks

  • A contraction missing its apostrophe
    Contraction apostrophes (opens in a new tab) Write apostrophes in clear contractions. Verified 2026-08-12.
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    Dont go

    This list excludes especially ambiguous forms such as “ill” and “well.” Confirm the intended meaning before applying the punctuation.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    Don't go

    See trigger and fix

  • A spelling the guide standardizes
    Use standardized spellings (opens in a new tab) Preferred spellings with contextual exceptions. Verified 2026-08-12.
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    Imma go

    The reviewed Genius spelling guide recommends this form.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    I'ma go

    See trigger and fix

Transcribe in the artist's own English

Genius staff guidance Use standardized spellings (opens in a new tab) Preferred spellings with contextual exceptions. Verified 2026-08-12.

A song by a British artist is transcribed in British spellings and one by an American artist in American: the lyric follows the variant its artist uses, never the transcriber's.

Exceptions and context

The linter reviews only the 'til/till pair, and only while a British or American English variant is selected; every other variant spelling is the transcriber's to keep consistent.

What LyricLint checks

  • A spelling from the other English
    Use standardized spellings (opens in a new tab) Preferred spellings with contextual exceptions. Verified 2026-08-12.
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    Stay 'til dawn

    British English accepts “till,” while American English uses “’til.” This is a consistency review, not an automatic replacement.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    Stay till dawn

    See trigger and fix

Spelling follows the language's standard

LyricLint advisory How to Add Songs to Genius (opens in a new tab) Index of lyric accuracy and formatting guidance. Verified 2026-08-17.

Outside deliberate as-sung spellings, lyric text follows the standard orthography of its language, the double-checked accuracy the transcription guide asks of every lyric.

Exceptions and context

The per-language checks are LyricLint's own curation against external dictionaries and academies (each rule's page cites its sources) rather than a reviewed Genius list; Genius's own reviewed forms are the standardized-spellings table above.

What LyricLint checks

  • A common English misspelling
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    I will definately stay

    The standard spelling is “definitely.”

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    I will definitely stay

    See trigger and fix

  • A common Norwegian misspelling
    Ord som mange lurer på (opens in a new tab) Frequently searched Bokmål spellings, including dessverre and interessant. Verified 2026-07-25.
    Flagged example
    [Vers]
    Det er desverre sant

    The standard spelling is “dessverre.”

    Accepted by this check
    [Vers]
    Det er dessverre sant

    See trigger and fix

  • A common German misspelling
    Häufige Fehler und Falschschreibweisen (opens in a new tab) Common German misspellings, including garnicht and nähmlich. Verified 2026-07-25.
    Flagged example
    [Strophe]
    Das ist garnicht wahr

    The standard spelling is “gar nicht.”

    Accepted by this check
    [Strophe]
    Das ist gar nicht wahr

    See trigger and fix

  • “a el” where Spanish wants “al”
    Ortografía (opens in a new tab) Contractions al and del, with proper-name exceptions. Verified 2026-07-25.
    Flagged example
    [Verso]
    Voy a el mar

    Spanish contracts the lowercase prepositions “a” and “de” with the article “el.” Capitalized “El” is left alone because it can belong to a proper name.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verso]
    Voy al mar

    See trigger and fix

  • A common Spanish misspelling
    La tecnología al servicio de la palabra (opens in a new tab) Frequent Spanish word-division errors such as sinembargo and porfavor. Verified 2026-07-25.
    Flagged example
    [Verso]
    Porfavor ven

    The standard spelling is “Por favor.”

    Accepted by this check
    [Verso]
    Por favor ven

    See trigger and fix

  • A common French misspelling
    Flagged example
    [Couplet]
    Je sais, sa va

    The reviewed standard spelling is “ça va.” The suggestion remains optional because lyrics can preserve intentional forms.

    Accepted by this check
    [Couplet]
    Je sais, ça va

    See trigger and fix

  • A non-standard Arabic spelling
    لغة الطفل العربي (٢): لغة الطفل في وسائل الإعلام المعاصرة (opens in a new tab) Common phonetic spellings لاكن and هاذا and their standard written forms. Verified 2026-07-25.
    Flagged example
    [المقطع]
    لاكن أحبك

    This is a common standard-Arabic spelling correction, but dialect spelling and intentional lyric stylization can preserve the original form.

    Accepted by this check
    [المقطع]
    لكن أحبك

    See trigger and fix

  • A non-standard Japanese spelling
    現代仮名遣い 本文 第2 (opens in a new tab) Conventional greeting spellings and ずつ. Verified 2026-07-25.
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    こんにちわ

    This is the conventional spelling, but phonetic spelling and intentional lyric stylization can preserve the original form.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    こんにちは

    See trigger and fix

  • A non-standard Korean spelling
    Flagged example
    [벌스]
    됬어

    This common spelling correction is offered as a preview so the transcription can retain intentional lyric styling.

    Accepted by this check
    [벌스]
    됐어

    See trigger and fix

Type reversed vocals as they sound

Genius staff guidance Reversed lyrics (opens in a new tab) Type reversed vocals as they sound. Verified 2026-08-12.

A vocal the production plays backwards is written out as it sounds, letter for letter, and capitalized as any other line would be; what the words are forwards belongs in an annotation rather than in the lyrics.

Correct
Emit eht lla ti od I

One letter pluralizes with an apostrophe

Genius staff guidance Pluralizing letters (opens in a new tab) Apostrophe-s for a single letter, bare s for longer. Verified 2026-08-12.

Pluralizing one letter takes an apostrophe before the s; pluralizing anything longer than a single letter does not, so an initialism or an abbreviation takes a bare s.

Incorrect
Two Ls and three CD's
Correct
Two L's and three CDs

Ad-libs and backing vocals

Transcribe every ad-lib

Genius staff guidance Ad-libs (opens in a new tab) Parenthesize and capitalize ad-libs. Verified 2026-08-12.

Every ad-lib belongs in the transcription (the most complete lyrics possible are the goal), written in parentheses with its first letter capitalized.

Correct
Racing down the boulevard (Skrrt)

Exceptions and context

The linter checks the shape once an ad-lib is written: the parentheses, the space before them, the separators between run-together ad-libs; hearing one and writing it down is the half only the transcriber can do.

What LyricLint checks

  • A lowercase ad-lib in parentheses
    Ad-libs (opens in a new tab) Parenthesize and capitalize ad-libs. Verified 2026-08-12.
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    (yeah)

    This is a short recognized ad-lib inside parentheses. The suggestion is contextual and requires preview.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    (Yeah)

    See trigger and fix

  • Two ad-libs run together
    Ad-libs (opens in a new tab) Parenthesize and capitalize ad-libs. Verified 2026-08-12.
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    (Yeah yeah yeah)

    One ad-lib follows another with nothing between them. A comma separates them as distinct calls and a hyphen combines them into one; which one fits is a phrasing call, so both edits are preview-only.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    (Yeah, yeah, yeah)

    See trigger and fix

  • A parenthesis flush against a letter
    Ad-libs (opens in a new tab) Parenthesize and capitalize ad-libs. Verified 2026-08-12.
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    Hold me close(Yeah)

    A parenthesized vocal is a word of its own, so the parenthesis does not sit flush against the letter beside it. Inserting the space is mechanically safe. This spacing check is derived from how the reviewed ad-lib examples are set, not an explicit Genius rule.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    Hold me close (Yeah)

    See trigger and fix

  • A parenthesis left open in a lyric
    Ad-libs (opens in a new tab) Parenthesize and capitalize ad-libs. Verified 2026-08-12.
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    Hold me close (Yeah

    Parentheses wrap a vocal sitting behind the lead, so every opening mark needs its closing half on the same line. Detecting the imbalance is a product-safety check derived from that convention, not an explicit Genius catalog of every malformed case. Where the mark should close is a judgment about the vocal, so no automatic repair is offered.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    Hold me close (Yeah)

    See trigger and fix

Echo repeats are not ad-libs

Genius staff guidance Ad-libs (opens in a new tab) Parenthesize and capitalize ad-libs. Verified 2026-08-12.

Words repeated by an echo or delay effect on the vocal are not ad-libs, and the repeats are not transcribed.

Asterisks mark produced sounds, not vocals

Genius staff guidance Sound effects (opens in a new tab) Use asterisks rather than braces for sound effects. Verified 2026-08-12.

A sound effect in the production (a money counter, a gunshot) is wrapped in asterisks either side (*beep*); a sound the artist vocalizes with their own voice is a lyric and is written plain, without them.

Correct
*cash register* Countin' it up all night

Exceptions and context

The linter flags braces and other wrappers around a likely sound effect; whether a sound came from the booth or the board is a judgment only the transcriber can hear.

What LyricLint checks

  • A sound effect not wrapped in stars
    Sound effects (opens in a new tab) Use asterisks rather than braces for sound effects. Verified 2026-08-12.
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    {laughs}

    The braces wrap a recognized sound-effect phrase. Confirm the contextual classification before replacing the wrapper.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    *laughs*

    See trigger and fix

Bracket a yodel you cannot make out

Editor-reviewed Genius annotation Yodeling and scatting (opens in a new tab) Dash yodel and scat syllables, with bracketed fallbacks. Verified 2026-08-12.

A yodel or a scat run is transcribed syllable by syllable, dashes joining the syllables of one run, no dash where a small pause falls, and a comma closing each section; a transcriber not confident of the syllables writes [Yodeling] or [Scatting] where the passage occurs instead of guessing at them.

Correct
Lay-ee-oh-del-ay-hee, oh-del-ay-hee-hoo

Exceptions and context

A yodeling page also takes the Yodel tag. Yodels draw on a small set of recurring syllables (dee, del, ee, ho, la, lay, oh, oo, ro, yo), while scatting is free-form and has no such set, so only its segmentation is conventional. The dash itself is the hyphen convention stated with the other dash rules.

Censored and unknown words

Transcribe the explicit version

Genius staff guidance Censored words (opens in a new tab) Use four asterisks for a censored word. Verified 2026-08-12.

A transcription follows the explicit version of a song, so a censor mask belongs only where the recording itself censors the word, which even explicit versions occasionally do.

A censored word is four asterisks

Genius staff guidance Censored words (opens in a new tab) Use four asterisks for a censored word. Verified 2026-08-12.

A word the recording censors out is written as exactly four asterisks, however many letters the word has and however much of it survives the censor.

Correct
Keep that **** away from me

Exceptions and context

The linter flags letters mixed into an asterisk mask; a bare asterisk run could as easily be a divider or emphasis, so its length is the transcriber's to check.

What LyricLint checks

  • A censor mask that is not four stars
    Censored words (opens in a new tab) Use four asterisks for a censored word. Verified 2026-08-12.
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    f*** this

    This mixes letters with an asterisk mask. Confirm before replacing the entire censored-word candidate so no partial spelling remains.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    **** this

    See trigger and fix

A lyric you can't make out is [?]

Genius staff guidance Unknown lyric marker (opens in a new tab) Use [?] for unknown lyrics. Verified 2026-08-17.

A lyric nobody can decipher yet is represented by a question mark in brackets ([?]) and only that form: parentheses are avoided because they already mark ad-libs on Genius.

Incorrect
Counting every (?) till the morning comes
Correct
Counting every [?] till the morning comes

Exceptions and context

The linter checks the whole convention: recognized nonstandard markers, improvised runs of question marks standing where words would go, and a count of the [?] marks a document still leaves unresolved.

What LyricLint checks

  • A near-miss of the [?] marker
    Unknown lyric marker (opens in a new tab) Use [?] for unknown lyrics. Verified 2026-08-17.
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    I heard (?)

    This is an exact recognized unknown marker, so replacing only the marker is mechanically safe.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    I heard [?]

    See trigger and fix

  • A run of question marks for a lyric
    Unknown lyric marker (opens in a new tab) Use [?] for unknown lyrics. Verified 2026-08-17.
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    I heard ??? tonight

    Bare question marks are an improvised placeholder rather than a recognized marker, and the same characters can be deliberate punctuation, so the replacement is offered for review instead of applied mechanically.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    I heard [?] tonight

    See trigger and fix

  • A [?] left in the finished lyric
    Unknown lyric marker (opens in a new tab) Use [?] for unknown lyrics. Verified 2026-08-17.
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    I heard [?]

    Aim to transcribe all audible lyrics. Use [?] only when careful listening still cannot determine what is being sung.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    I heard every word

    See trigger and fix

Lines and repeats

Transcribe line by line, not in paragraphs

Genius staff guidance Individual lyric lines (opens in a new tab) Split prose-like transcription into lyric lines. Verified 2026-08-12.

Lyrics are transcribed line by line, each line ending where the musical phrase does (in most songs the snare marks the count, and the words landing on it show where a bar's lines break), because a long prose-like run hides where lines stop and how the rhyme scheme runs, especially on a phone.

Exceptions and context

The linter flags a line dense enough to read as prose; hearing where the beat actually breaks it is a judgment only the transcriber can make.

What LyricLint checks

  • A line that reads like prose
    Individual lyric lines (opens in a new tab) Split prose-like transcription into lyric lines. Verified 2026-08-12.
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    I walked into the room, and everyone was talking; the lights were fading, while another story started and nobody stopped to breathe before the ending arrived.

    Multiple clauses and a high word count make the transcription look prose-like. There is no fixed character limit; listen for musical line breaks and split only when supported by phrasing.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    A short lyric line

    See trigger and fix

Spoken sections break into lines too

Genius staff guidance Individual lyric lines (opens in a new tab) Split prose-like transcription into lyric lines. Verified 2026-08-12.

A spoken intro, interlude, or outro is transcribed line by line like everything else, split where the speaker pauses and where sentences begin and end, never as one paragraph.

Type repeated lyrics out in full

Genius staff guidance Repeated sections (opens in a new tab) Transcribe repeated lyrics instead of placeholders. Verified 2026-08-12.

A section the song repeats (a returning chorus, a refrain) is typed out in full at every occurrence, and so are lyrics repeated inside one section: a header or a count never stands in for words the song sings again, so nobody reading along has to scroll back to find them.

Exceptions and context

The linter flags x2 counts and Repeat placeholders outright, and offers to link identical choruses so the copies stay identical. On Genius itself, copy each repeated line together with the annotation number it carries in Edit Lyrics mode, so the annotations repeat with the words.

What LyricLint checks

  • A placeholder instead of the repeat
    Repeated sections (opens in a new tab) Transcribe repeated lyrics instead of placeholders. Verified 2026-08-12.
    Flagged example
    [Chorus x2]
    Words

    Repeated sections should contain the transcribed lyrics. The placeholder is preserved because expanding it requires the editor to choose the correct source section.

    Accepted by this check
    [Chorus]
    Words again

    See trigger and fix

  • Repeated parts that are not linked
    Flagged example
    [Chorus]
    Hold the line
    
    [Verse 1]
    A lyric
    
    [Chorus]
    Hold the line

    This song part appears 2 times, and every copy already matches or is still empty. Linked, editing one edits them all, so a correction can never land in just one copy.

    Accepted by this check
    [Chorus]
    Hold the line
    
    [Verse 1]
    A lyric

    See trigger and fix

An immediate repeat shares one header

Genius staff guidance

When an entire song part is sung again immediately, its lyrics are typed out again under the same single header, with no blank line between the copies.

Incorrect
[Chorus]
Hold on tight
We ride tonight

[Chorus]
Hold on tight
We ride tonight
Correct
[Chorus]
Hold on tight
We ride tonight
Hold on tight
We ride tonight

What LyricLint checks

  • An immediate repeat split in two
    Flagged example
    [Chorus]
    Again
    Tonight
    
    [Chorus]
    Again
    Tonight

    This section exactly repeats the song part immediately before it. Genius keeps the repeated lyrics, but places both copies together under the same header without a blank separator.

    Accepted by this check
    [Chorus]
    Again
    Tonight
    Again
    Tonight

    See trigger and fix

No doubled spaces or hidden characters

LyricLint advisory How to Add Songs to Genius (opens in a new tab) Index of lyric accuracy and formatting guidance. Verified 2026-08-17.

Lyric text keeps exactly one ordinary space between words and carries no invisible characters, the clean, concise text the transcription guide asks for.

Incorrect
Hold  on tight
Correct
Hold on tight

Exceptions and context

The exact checks are LyricLint's own text hygiene rather than a stated Genius rule: the guide asks for clean, accurate text without naming spacing, so this advisory carries LyricLint's name.

What LyricLint checks

  • More than one space between words
    How to Add Songs to Genius (opens in a new tab) Index of lyric accuracy and formatting guidance. Verified 2026-08-17.
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    Two  words

    Consecutive ordinary spaces between words are mechanically detectable formatting residue. Genius does not state an exact one-space rule, so LyricLint treats this as a text-hygiene suggestion.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    Two words

    See trigger and fix

  • Whitespace you cannot see
    How to Add Songs to Genius (opens in a new tab) Index of lyric accuracy and formatting guidance. Verified 2026-08-17.
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    A lyric 

    Trailing spaces survive a copy into Genius without ever being visible in the editor. Removing them changes nothing a reader can see, and the parser already treats a whitespace-only line as a blank one, so no section boundary moves.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    A lyric

    See trigger and fix

Punctuation and symbols

Questions always end with a question mark

Genius staff guidance Question and exclamation marks (opens in a new tab) Punctuation for questions and exclamations. Verified 2026-08-10.

Every question ends with a question mark, even though lyric lines never take terminal periods or commas.

Incorrect
Where do we go from here
Correct
Where do we go from here?

Exceptions and context

The linter flags only openings that are unmistakably interrogative; whether the rest of a sung line asks a question is a judgment about delivery that only the transcriber can make.

What LyricLint checks

  • A question with no question mark
    Question and exclamation marks (opens in a new tab) Punctuation for questions and exclamations. Verified 2026-08-10.
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    Where are you

    The line begins with a strong question construction. Punctuation can still depend on delivery, so insertion is preview-only.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    <i>Where are you?</i>

    See trigger and fix

  • A period at the end of a line
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    A lyric line.

    Apple Music lyric guidance explicitly excludes commas and periods at line endings. The current Genius guide separately requires question marks for questions and uses exclamation marks for excitement, but does not state the same blanket ban. Removal is preview-only so quotations, abbreviations, and intentional delivery remain reviewable.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    A lyric line!

    See trigger and fix

Exclamation marks only mark excitement

Genius staff guidance Question and exclamation marks (opens in a new tab) Punctuation for questions and exclamations. Verified 2026-08-10.

An exclamation mark records excitement in the delivery; a line performed without it does not take one.

One exclamation mark at a time

Genius staff guidance Question and exclamation marks (opens in a new tab) Punctuation for questions and exclamations. Verified 2026-08-10.

Doubled exclamation marks are never kept: where several arrive in a row, all but one are removed.

Incorrect
Turn it up!!
Correct
Turn it up!

Exceptions and context

Mechanically checkable, so a candidate for a linter rule, which this entry would then name as checking it.

Never double a brand name's own mark

Genius staff guidance Question and exclamation marks (opens in a new tab) Punctuation for questions and exclamations. Verified 2026-08-10.

A line that would take a question or exclamation mark of its own (from its grammatical structure or its apparent excitement) and ends on a brand name already carrying one (Guess Who?, Yahoo!, Chips Ahoy!) does not take a second: the name's single mark holds for the line.

Incorrect
Have you ever played Guess Who??
Correct
Have you ever played Guess Who?

Quotes mark titles, speech, and mentions

Genius staff guidance Quotation marks (opens in a new tab) When lyric text uses quotation marks. Verified 2026-08-12.

Quotation marks serve three jobs in a lyric: a song title the words name, a passage the artist explicitly performs as something said elsewhere, and a word the line refers to as a word.

Correct
She said, "Meet me where the river bends"

Exceptions and context

The linter checks only the glyphs: typewriter quotation marks, never curly; whether a passage is quoted speech, a named title, or a mentioned word is the transcriber's reading.

What LyricLint checks

  • A non-typewriter quote or apostrophe
    Typewriter quotes (opens in a new tab) Use straight apostrophes and quotation marks. Verified 2026-08-12.
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    “Hello”

    The exact curly quote can be replaced mechanically. Lines containing unsupported markup are excluded so the fixer never rewrites uncertain markup.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    "Hello"

    See trigger and fix

Nordic lyrics quote with guillemets

LyricLint advisory Typewriter quotes (opens in a new tab) Use straight apostrophes and quotation marks. Verified 2026-08-12.

In a Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Icelandic, or Faroese transcription, quoted speech, titles, and mentioned words stand between « and » rather than straight or curly double quotes; single marks stay the straight apostrophe.

Incorrect
Hun sa "kom hit"
Correct
Hun sa «kom hit»

Exceptions and context

This is the Nordic communities' convention as reported to LyricLint, not yet backed by a registered Genius page, so the claim carries LyricLint's name. While a Nordic language is selected the linter turns every other double quote into a guillemet, previewing the straight ones because they carry no direction.

What LyricLint checks

  • A non-typewriter quote or apostrophe
    Typewriter quotes (opens in a new tab) Use straight apostrophes and quotation marks. Verified 2026-08-12.
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    “Hello”

    The exact curly quote can be replaced mechanically. Lines containing unsupported markup are excluded so the fixer never rewrites uncertain markup.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    "Hello"

    See trigger and fix

Hyphenate scatting and stutters

Genius staff guidance

Hyphens join rapidly spoken non-lyrical vocalization (scatting) and the repeated fragments of a stuttered word; a stutter produced artificially, by effects, sampling, or scratching, may be left out.

Correct
D-d-don't say it twice

Exceptions and context

The em-dash half of the dashes annotation (a dash for a dropped word or line, never followed by a comma) is checked by the linter outright.

What LyricLint checks

  • A comma straight after an em dash
    Hyphens and em dashes (opens in a new tab) Dropped words and punctuation around em dashes. Verified 2026-08-12.
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    A word—, then silence

    The comma directly after the em dash is mechanically detectable, but the punctuation change remains preview-only.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    A word—then silence

    See trigger and fix

Capitalization

Capitalize only what convention requires

Genius staff guidance Conventional capitalization (opens in a new tab) Lyric-line capitalization with contextual exceptions. Verified 2026-08-12.

Beyond the start of every line and of a parenthetical, capitals belong to proper nouns, religious titles (God, Him), acronyms (TBH), geographical regions (West Coast), and the title casing of works (The Life of Pablo); outside those, words stay lowercase.

Exceptions and context

The linter checks the line starts, the parenthetical openings, title-cased runs of lyric, and the standalone lowercase i; whether a word is a proper noun is the transcriber's call.

What LyricLint checks

  • A line starting in lowercase
    Conventional capitalization (opens in a new tab) Lyric-line capitalization with contextual exceptions. Verified 2026-08-12.
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    the night is young

    Conventional capitalization suggests an uppercase line start, but stylization and continuation can be valid; review the preview in context.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    The night is young

    See trigger and fix

  • A line capitalized like a title
    Conventional capitalization (opens in a new tab) Lyric-line capitalization with contextual exceptions. Verified 2026-08-12.
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    This Is The Way We Live
    Every Single Word Starts Uppercase

    Lyrics use conventional sentence capitalization rather than capitalizing every word. Review this manually because names, acronyms, and intentional styling can look similar.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    This is the way we live
    Every single word starts normally

    See trigger and fix

  • A lowercase ad-lib in parentheses
    Ad-libs (opens in a new tab) Parenthesize and capitalize ad-libs. Verified 2026-08-12.
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    (yeah)

    This is a short recognized ad-lib inside parentheses. The suggestion is contextual and requires preview.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    (Yeah)

    See trigger and fix

  • A lowercase “i” for the pronoun
    Conventional capitalization (opens in a new tab) Lyric-line capitalization with contextual exceptions. Verified 2026-08-12.
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    you and i

    Capitalize the standalone pronoun and its initial letter in contractions such as “I’m,” “I’ve,” “I’d,” and “I’ll.”

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    you and I

    See trigger and fix

Write brands conventionally, not stylized

Genius staff guidance

A brand name takes its conventional form over its own stylization (Chanel, not CHANEL; Adidas, not adidas; Macy's, not macy★s), with no trademark marks and no decorative characters, unless the name is an acronym normally written in capitals (GEICO, IMAX); CamelCase stays where the name itself carries it (YouTube, iPhone, eBay), as does a symbol that is genuinely part of the name (H&M, su:m37°), and a brand that has become a generic word may be lowercased (band-aid, popsicle, jet ski).

Incorrect
New GLOCK in my jeans
Correct
New Glock in my jeans

What LyricLint checks

  • A symbol standing in for a word
    Symbols and special characters (opens in a new tab) Omit trademark and decorative symbols; spell out ampersands and degrees outside brands. Verified 2026-08-12.
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    You & me

    Genius writes this symbol as “and” in lyric text, while preserving it inside brand names. The surrounding spaces make this look like a word rather than a compact brand, but the replacement still needs review.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    You and me

    See trigger and fix

Earth is capital only as the planet

Genius staff guidance Conventional capitalization (opens in a new tab) Lyric-line capitalization with contextual exceptions. Verified 2026-08-12.

Earth takes a capital only when it names the planet; as the material (dirt, soil), it stays lowercase.

Capitalize regions, not directions

Genius staff guidance Conventional capitalization (opens in a new tab) Lyric-line capitalization with contextual exceptions. Verified 2026-08-12.

North, south, east, and west take capitals where they designate a definite region or belong to a name (the Deep South, the Eastern Seaboard), and stay lowercase as mere directions, like westerly winds or a northern winter.

Numbers

Spell numbers out

Genius staff guidance Number spelling (opens in a new tab) Spell out numbers with exceptions. Verified 2026-08-12.

Numbers are spelled out rather than written as digits, and a multiple of 100 is spelled as it is pronounced: a hundred, or hunnid where that is what is sung.

Incorrect
I got 5 of them waiting on me
Correct
I got five of them waiting on me

Exceptions and context

The linter reviews only small standalone digits outside its known digit contexts; everything larger, and every exemption call, is the transcriber's.

What LyricLint checks

  • A digit where the word is sung
    Number spelling (opens in a new tab) Spell out numbers with exceptions. Verified 2026-08-12.
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    I need 5 reasons

    This small standalone number is outside the reviewed time, money, percentage, date, and compound-number exceptions. Delivery or naming can still matter, so the edit requires preview.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    I need five reasons

    See trigger and fix

Some numbers stay digits

Genius staff guidance Number spelling (opens in a new tab) Spell out numbers with exceptions. Verified 2026-08-12.

Digits are kept for proper nouns that carry them, model numbers including firearm and ammunition names, years, phone numbers, terms conventionally written in digits like 24/7, numerical slang for the police (5-0, 12), counts shortened with K that are not multiples of 100 (24K), and times.

Correct
Grinding 24/7 like it pays

Exceptions and context

A decade is one of the digit-kept forms, and the linter checks its written shape: the apostrophe stands in for the century before the digits ('90s), never after them.

What LyricLint checks

  • An apostrophe on the wrong side of a decade
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    Back in the 90's we had it all

    An apostrophe stands in for the dropped century, so it goes before the numerals ('90s); an age range or a plain plural takes none (90s). An apostrophe after the numerals reads as a possessive, which a line can genuinely mean, so check the reading before replacing.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    Party like it's the '90s

    See trigger and fix

Write times in digits

Genius staff guidance Number spelling (opens in a new tab) Spell out numbers with exceptions. Verified 2026-08-12.

A time is written in digits: a whole number on the hour (8 a.m.), a colon only where minutes are named (7:45 p.m.), and a digit before o'clock (6 o'clock); ante and post meridiem abbreviate to lowercase a.m. and p.m. with periods.

Incorrect
Meet me at 8:00 A.M. sharp
Correct
Meet me at 8 a.m. sharp

Non-English songs

Non-English songs may open with a header

Genius staff guidance Non-English song header (opens in a new tab) Optional bracketed title header for non-English songs. Verified 2026-08-12.

A song not in English may open with one extra bracketed header for findability (the word lyrics translated into the song's own language, the song's name, and any featured artists), and an English song never carries one.

Correct
[Letra de "Golondrina" ft. Avery]

Exceptions and context

Languages differ on the exact wording; the How to Add Songs page for the song's language documents its community's form. The linter accepts such a header as a song's first line instead of misreporting it as an unrecognized song part.

What LyricLint checks

  • A header no reviewed catalog knows
    Flagged example
    [Chor]
    En natt

    “Chor” is not in any reviewed section-header catalog. It may be intentional, but it could also be a typo. Confirm it manually; LyricLint preserves the text and does not guess a replacement.

    Accepted by this check
    [Refreng]
    En natt

    See trigger and fix

Romanized lyrics live on their own page

Genius staff guidance Romanized lyrics (opens in a new tab) Host romanized lyrics on a separate page. Verified 2026-08-12.

Romanized lyrics never join the song's primary page: they get a separate page credited to Genius Romanizations, titled with the artist's name, the song's title, and (Romanized), carrying the release date, audio links, and tags, and omitting featured artists, writers, producers, and every other role.

Translations live on their own page

Genius staff guidance Translations (opens in a new tab) Host lyric translations on a separate page. Verified 2026-08-12.

A translation never joins the song's primary page either: it is hosted on a separate page of its own, formatted per the How to Translate Songs guide.

More checks for this topic

These checks cover other patterns in this topic. Each explains its source, trigger, and suggested correction.

  • Lyrics not in the selected language
    LanguageDetect (opens in a new tab) Local statistical language recognition using bundled text profiles. Verified 2026-07-24.
    Flagged example
    [Verse]
    Je regarde la lumière du matin
    Et je sais que tu resteras avec moi ce soir

    Language recognition runs locally using statistical text analysis. Review the selected lyric language; short, mixed-language, and transliterated songs may be inconclusive.

    Accepted by this check
    [Verse]
    I see the morning light through every shadow
    And I know that you will stay with me tonight

    See trigger and fix

Sourcing lyrics

Never copy lyrics from another site

Genius staff guidance How to Add Songs to Genius (opens in a new tab) Index of lyric accuracy and formatting guidance. Verified 2026-08-17.

Lyrics are transcribed, never copied from another lyric website; that is plagiarism. The one exception is lyrics the artist or their team released themselves, on Bandcamp, a video description, press notes, or liner notes; official sheets still carry mistakes, so even those are checked for completeness and accuracy and reformatted to Genius standards before they stand.

A page follows the streaming version

Genius staff guidance Streaming version (opens in a new tab) The lyric page follows the streaming version. Verified 2026-08-12.

A song's page transcribes the streaming release, so lyrics only a video version carries go in the Q&A rather than into the words; where a video or an album cut differs substantially (different verses, say), it earns a page of its own, titled with (Video Version) or (Album Version) after the song's title.

Correct
Golondrina (Video Version)
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