Calling all Gleeks! Fox Interactive has partnered with Smule – the team that brought us Magic Piano and I Am T-Pain – to bring the Glee experience to the iPhone and iPad.
The app [iTunes link], priced at $2.99 and available in the App Store, takes the best elements of Glee, I Am T-Pain, Rock Band Karaoke and Chatroulette and rolls it into one awesome experience.
This is how it works: You download the app and get access to a few songs that have been featured on Glee, like “Rehab” by Amy Winehouse. Then, on your iPhone or iPad (or iPod touch if you have a headset with microphones), you can sing along with the lyrics. You can choose to add pitch control or add pitch and auto-harmonizing, or just leave your voice as is.
Then you can sing along with the Glee voices. Your performance is recorded and you can then choose to share the tune with your Facebook friends or with other people in the Smuleverse. You can also record and share your own a cappella tracks.
This is where the app gets super cool. Using the global grid that Smule uses with its other titles, you can choose to listen to other people’s songs and add your voice to their performances. You can also create your own Glee clubs and invite others to join your performances. Using some highly optimized cloud-based algorithms, Smule works to harmonize and combine the vocal tracks together so that they sound aurally and spatially correct.
Check out the app in action here, with one of Smule’s engineers, Nick, embracing his inner-Chrissie Hynde:
I got a chance to talk to Ge Wang, the co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Smule yesterday about the app and how it was created. Wang told me that instead of simply repurposing I Am T-Pain, the app was built from the ground up — both for the iPad and the iPhone — to be a very social experience.
Smule’s app captures not only the Glee brand but also encompasses the company’s own style and sense of humor. The results are really terrific. I would include my own vocal recording of “Rehab,” but for the sake of your ears (and my ego), I’ll refrain until I get a better handle on the timing in the songs.
Every few weeks, more songs will be added to the app that you can buy for $0.99 a piece. Right now, three songs come with the app and you can purchase several more. One of the best features of the app is the ability to create virtual remixes and Glee clubs — we’re really looking forward to seeing what ends up getting developed.
The app has been designed for both the iPad and the iPhone and takes advantage of the interface of both platforms. The graphics, interstitial sounds and colors are totally in line with the show.
If you are a fan of Glee or singing in general, this is an app I can 1000% recommend. It’s fun, it’s inventive and it’s just Gleetastic!
What do you think of music apps coming to mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad?
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Tags: GLEE, ipad apps, iphone apps, music, Smule
