We were big fans of the original app, and we're happy to report that version 2.0 is just as much fun. The big, new feature is that users can compete with others from around the world.
Glee Karaoke now has a new feature called "starbursts." Starbursts are points you earn for doing things like singing a song, signing up for a username, adding your vocals to someone else's track -- that sort of thing. As you earn more starbursts you can move up to various levels and earn free songs to purchase within the app.
You can also earn a starburst value for each song you sing and share; then, you can see how you stack up against the rest of the world on the starburst leaderboard. You can also comment and become a fan of other users' performances.
This new competition layer actually adds a huge amount of replay value to the app. When your pitch and timing are better, you score more points. The app also gives you advice on how to improve your performance.
Every week, new music from the television show is added to the app and can be purchased for your sing-along pleasure. A very cool feature that Smule integrated into the app earlier this year is the ability to use songs you've purchased from iTunes or Amazon.com to sing along with. This option is really cool for users who buy the songs each week from iTunes, because it means you don't have to re-buy the track to use in Glee Karaoke.
The team at Smule made this video to show off what's new in Glee Karaoke:
Glee Karaoke is $0.99 in the App Store and is a free upgrade for existing app owners. There is a problem when the app uses the iPod touch 4G's built-in-microphone, and Smule has submitted a fix to the App Store, so it should be corrected soon.