Section headers and performers

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.

Song parts open with bracketed headers

Genius staff guidance

Use song part headers

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—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
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

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
Flagged example
```
[Verse]
Second voice
```
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 — 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 & B]
Second voice
```
See trigger and fix

Order voices by prominence or arrival

Genius staff guidance

Use song part headers

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
Flagged example
```
[Chorus: A, B & C]
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, B & C]
Line
```
See trigger and fix
Markup that is not italic or bold
Flagged example
```
[Verse]
Voice
```
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 & B]
Voice
```
See trigger and fix
A styled voice missing from the legend
Flagged example
```
[Verse: A]
Voice
```
The styled lyrics mark a distinct voice the header does not identify. The formatting itself is worth keeping — 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 & B]
Voice
```
See trigger and fix
A legend slot the section never uses
Flagged example
```
[Verse: A & B]
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 & B]
A sings
B sings
```
See trigger and fix
The same voice reopened line after line
Flagged example
```
[Verse: A & B]
First
Second
```
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 & B]
First
Second
```
See trigger and fix

Group unison voices with ampersands

Genius staff guidance

Use song part headers

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, B & Both]
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, B, A & B]
Line
```
See trigger and fix

Parentheses sit outside voice formatting

Editor-reviewed Genius annotation

Performer formatting and parentheses

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
Flagged example
```
[Verse: A & B]
A (Second voice)
```
The reviewed guide styles only the words of a parenthetical and leaves both parentheses plain — 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 & B]
A (Second voice)
```
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
Flagged example
```
[Verse: A, B, C, D & 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, B, C & D]
Line
```
See trigger and fix
A performer named on the lyric line
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

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

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

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

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

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

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
An English name for a localized part
Flagged example
```
[Bridge]
En natt
```
The Genius international section-header source recognizes “Bro” as the Norwegian term for “Bridge”. Using the reviewed header keeps the transcription aligned with the selected language pack.
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
An English name for a localized part
Flagged example
```
[Bridge]
En natt
```
The Genius international section-header source recognizes “Bro” as the Norwegian term for “Bridge”. Using the reviewed header keeps the transcription aligned with the selected language pack.
Accepted by this check
```
[Bro]
En natt
```
See trigger and fix

One blank line between song parts

LyricLint advisory

Use song part headers

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
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
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

Check a transcription in the workbench