This good the bad the ugly and the uglier.

I have 8,750 followers founded a singing groups (note: there are many singing groups where we use the app line). Singing groups we form friendships, have activities such as group songs etc, and we support one another, and I have used the app for over a year, so now my analysis.

Best value is to purchase the annual subscription, much cheaper then doing it monthly. When you are a paid subscriber you are called VIP

1) The good

A) almost any song you can think of is there either uploaded by SMULE or another member. SMULE songs are by far the best in that the timing is there and accurate for singers although even I tend to avoid VIP-exclusive songs (unless I need help with timing) even though I am VIP member because you will have fewer joiners since there are a lot of non-VIP members. I will use one of the uploaded songs by one of the members, and I will use one that is rated highly by SMULE since uploaded songs vary in quality. But there are a lot of good uploaded songs. Dont believe SMULE adds songs every day - they dont.

2) Very addictive. If you like singing you will find yourself engulfed in this app. Your singing ability will also improve.

2) The bad

A) Good luck trying to get customer service to get back to you. They get back to you if they feel like it. When you have a complaint, you send in an email, immediately you will receive a boiler plate email with a bunch of useless links, if you reply, theoretically they are suppose to get back to you. Sometimes they might get back to you. On one occasion, they were very good when there was a bug in their software. Orher times like the last time and what prompted me to write this review, they will just completely ignore.

B) SMULE is known for updates that totally make the functionality of SMULE to not work. The last one being you were kicked out of groups for no apparent reason, the SMULE glitch causing you to think someone removed you, but you were still there, SMULE removed you. The only way for you to get back in was to have someone remove you and reinvite you. It always takes the two or three updates to fix a problem. Always wary about doing an update until forced to, because I usually find the update makes it worse. Oh, another the update made it so you couldnt read your KK covers (KK discussed below)

C) With Facebook when you go from Ipad to Iphone, It is seamless, you see the same information from one device with the other, not so with SMULE. Yes all your songs are there but not in the groups or messages. If someone messages you on the iPhone, it doesnt transfer over to the IPad, theoretically if you pull it down, it supposed to appear it doesnt. Same with groups. I have seen groups disappear on one device but is still on the other device, and there is no way to bring it back unless you clear the cache and reinstall SMULE which I have so far done more than any other app. Its a SMULE glitch. One update was suppose to fix it. It did not.

D) Blind loves. SMULE is infamous for changing its entire policy and the way it operates without informing its subscribers. The best way to demonstrate this is through the use of blind loves. Blind loves are loves you give to a song without actually listening to it. You used to be able to give blind loves without actually clicking play. They took that ability away, that was fine no problem with that. The reason for blind loves was to get you to Killer Karaoke, where you are displayed. KK was not really based on talent although there were a lot of good singers, but it became more of a game to see how many loves you could get in a short amount of time with plays kept at a minimum. Getting on the KK board was a badge of honor to many.

SMULE created a new messaging system and a new group system that facilitated groups to be formed for the sole purpose of supporting each other with blind loves but it became more than that. Friendships were also formed and it was also a place we could join each other songs because of the limitations of the group size, a person would need 10-20 groups to get enough loves for killer karaoke. Blind loves were the basis of some contests also. Blind loves were especially important among the Asian and Latin cultures. Westerners tended to frown upon it although some westerners also engaged in it as did I, a Westerner.

A small contingent of anti-blind loves people complained about blind loves. Note that the US only represents 10% of SMULEs subscription base. The majority of SMULEs subscription are based in Asia where Karaoke is extremely popular, so much so that SMULE groups have been formed all over Asia where singers can meet personally yet SMULE listened to the few people who were against blind loves, but thats not the worst part.

No one was told. We were going crazy trying to figure out why our loves were not sticking. A couple of people finally received an email telling them not to post the email publicly that in order to love a song you had to listen to the entire song. Say what? I dont even do that with auditions to my group.

That made the group concept useless, and people started leaving the groups in droves. But thats not the end. I listen to the entire song, and my loves still dont stick. I always listen to the entire songs of people who join me also, and half the time those loves dont stick, and once you try to love once, the app wont let you love again. I even had one person say you didnt like our duet you didnt love it in which I replied "I tried.

I also know five people accounts who have been hacked where they couldnt enter their accounts and had to create entire new accounts. That should not happen.

Epilogue

SMULE has a lot of potential but I have to wonder about the people who run it.

Subscri about Smule: Sing & Record Karaoke, v5.0.7