Systems and methods are described herein for selective playback of portions of audio at normal speed during a fast-forward operation. Upon receiving a command to perform a fast-forward operation, a current playback position is identified, as well as a plurality of portions of audio of the content item that will be subject to the fast-forward operation. A subset of the audio portions that will be subject to the fast-forward operation are selected. The fast-forward operation is initiated, and video of the content item is played back at the increased speed while the selected portions of audio of the content item are played back at normal speed.