Smule Blog

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Smule is not only a great place to sing karaoke, it’s also a great place to connect. Really connect! In the past few years, we have seen people meet on Smule, fall in love, get married, and even have babies together (we call them our Smule babies here in the office) -- and it’s amazing to see. We wanted to get a closer look into the life of one couple who recently had a Smule baby last year. We would like to introduce you to Juan and Jennifer, who shared their beautiful experience with us!

As part of our Smule Stories program, we send our studio crew out to a Sing! user and interview them about their Smule related story. No matter where you live in the world, if you feel like you or someone you know has a great story to share, please email us! Please be as specific as possible with your story: [email protected].

About their experience with the Smule Stories crew:

1) How did you overall experience go?

It was amazing! We loved every second of it. We wish it could've been for longer. Maybe not forever, just another 2-3 years, lol jk. (Not really :p)

2) What was it like to create a video around your family?

I felt blessed that Smule and the staff were interested in our family. Yes, we have a wonderful story, but it's not just our history. We are still living the moment and the week they were here just solidified that feeling.

3) What were your take-a-ways/highlights?

The absolute best moments were actually just knowing the team. Of course #1 was the surprise visit from Kathy, but the behind the scenes.. the knowing that Smule is seeing its "customers" as actual representatives of what Smule is about... That is bewildering to me!

4) Most challenging thing in the process?

The most challenging part of the process actually was coming to terms that it was only for that short amount of time. We honestly hope to see you all again.

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#SmulePickCountry is this weeks theme

Happy Friday, Smuleans!

Smule Picks is a curated playlist of Smule’s favorite performances from the Sing! community based on a theme every week. Any community member can add the weekly Smule Picks hashtag to their recording description for a chance to be featured in this playlist, which we publish every Friday. And since today is Friday, it’s time to unveil a brand new playlist and announce next week’s theme!

First, we present this week’s Featured Smule Picks playlist, which was based on the theme: Slow Jams. Check out the playlist right now on Smule Nation or open up the Sing! Karaoke app and tap on the Hot Performances screen.

This coming week’s theme is: Country! Here’s what you have to do for a chance to be featured in the Smule Picks playlist next week:

Create & upload you favorite country song! 

Add the hashtag #SmulePickSlowCountry to your recording description (not the comments section).

Upload your recording by the deadline on March 31st at noon PST.

It’s that easy! Each Friday we’ll post a new theme, giving you the chance to be featured in the Smule Picks playlist and on our social sites! :)

[smule]

#SmulePickSlowJams Is This Week’s Theme!

Happy Friday, Smuleans!

Smule Picks is a curated playlist of Smule’s favorite performances from the Sing! community based on a theme every week. Any community member can add the weekly Smule Picks hashtag to their recording description for a chance to be featured in this playlist, which we publish every Friday. And since today is Friday, it’s time to unveil a brand new playlist and announce next week’s theme!

First, we present this week’s Featured Smule Picks playlist, which was based on the theme: Harmony. Check out the playlist right now on Smule Nation or open up the Sing! Karaoke app and tap on the Hot Performances screen.

This coming week’s theme is: Slow Jams! Here’s what you have to do for a chance to be featured in the Smule Picks playlist next week:

Create & upload you favorite slow jams! 

Add the hashtag #SmulePickSlowJams to your recording description (not the comments section).

Upload your recording by the deadline on March 24th at noon PST.

It’s that easy! Each Friday we’ll post a new theme, giving you the chance to be featured in the Smule Picks playlist and on our social sites! :)

[smule]

Sing “Unsteady” with X Ambassadors!

Last fall we partnered with the X-Ambassadors bringing you alternative rock into the Partner Artist program with their hit song “Renegades.” Renegades was released on their most recent album, VHS, which gathered over 18 million views on YouTube, and played over 3 million times on Smule.

Today on Sing!, we release another hit song from their VHS album, “Unsteady.” They created this song about the feelings brought about by uncertainty and change within a family, but that feeling applies to any life changes, really. And we all know change can be a scary thing-- you don’t quite know what will happen once you leave your comfort zone. Sometimes things don’t happen the way it was planned, sometimes you’re a little unsteady. :)

Sing “Unsteady” with X Ambassadors!

[smule]

Smule Spotlight: Adrianna

Adrianna has been apart of the Smule Community for a year and has already created over 1,600 performances. She has become well known in our community for her amazing voice and contributes to many collabs with her group, known as The Voices! Her incredibly upbeat attitude has made such a widely felt positive impact within the community. :)

Learn more about Adrianna below!

Username:

Adrianna_TV 

Favorite Performance:

Gosh this one is hard... I would have to say "Like I'm gonna lose you" by me and @MikeScott_Tv :)

Fun Fact about you:

Hmm.... I have one tattoo! It's on my wrist and it says "Sempre Cantare" which is Italian for "Always Sing"

What makes you excited to Sing:

What makes me the most excited to sing is when I see other people singing. I believe it's the best way to relieve stress, or worry, or heartache, but also the best way to express positive emotions as well. I sing when I'm happy and excited! When I see the same passion in someone else while they're singing, that's what makes me excited to do it.

If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?

I would want to either be invisible, or be able to read people's minds. I'm a creeper. I want to know everything LOL

Who is your biggest inspiration? 

Christina Aguilera!!  

[smule]

SmuleFest 2016

Last year, we held our first SmuleFest where we came together to celebrate our love for music and community. It was a special time for Smule as we hosted over 700 people to enjoy an evening of music, singing and dancing with T-Pain, Tony Lucca, and Todd Carey. Check out our recap video!

This year, we are proud and excited to announce we our hosting our SECOND SmuleFest  - SmuleFest 2016, featuring performances by multi-talented superstar Jason Derulo and Smule community’s own Tom Bleasby! The event will be held at Public Works in San Francisco. Tickets are free while they last and the first drink is on us if you’re early. So make sure to RSVP to get your ticket here!

Tom Bleasby:

Tom Bleasby has been a Smule user since 2012. Outside of the Smule community, he is known  for his video duet with Jessie J, which quickly went viral and landed him a guest spot on Ellen. Tom was also a contestant on X Factor 2015. We are excited for him to be our first community member to be featured at SmuleFest!

Jason Derulo:

Yup. You read correctly. We are absolutely thrilled that Jason Derulo will be performing at SmuleFest 2016! Singer, songwriter, dancer, Jason Derulo now has eleven career platinum singes, and you can come see him live at SmuleFest! Read more about Jason here or sing with him on Smule here!

[smule]

#SmulePickHarmony Is This Week’s Theme!

Happy Friday, Smuleans!

Smule Picks is a curated playlist of Smule’s favorite performances from the Sing! community based on a theme every week. Any community member can add the weekly Smule Picks hashtag to their recording description for a chance to be featured in this playlist, which we publish every Friday. And since today is Friday, it’s time to unveil a brand new playlist and announce next week’s theme!

First, we present this week’s Featured Smule Picks playlist, which was based on the theme: Just Do It. Check out the playlist right now on Smule Nation or open up the Sing! Karaoke app and tap on the Hot Performances screen.

This coming week’s theme is: Harmony! Here’s what you have to do for a chance to be featured in the Smule Picks playlist next week:

1) Create any audio or video recording in harmony.

2) Add the hashtag #SmulePickHarmony to your recording description (not the comments section).

3) Upload your recording by the deadline on March 17th at noon PST.

It’s that easy! Each Friday we’ll post a new theme, giving you the chance to be featured in the Smule Picks playlist and on our social sites! :)

[smule]

We are excited to say we are featuring our friends who host “World Series of Smule” (#WSOS16) on our app. Their event started on January 3rd and goes until March 12th. The idea behind this is to create and collaborate with a group based on a certain theme, carefully crafted into 9 themes throughout the 3 months. Each group creates 9 performances with 9 to 12 members in each group. Over the course of the the #WSOS16, there have been 95 registered groups.

During each “inning” or round, the judges critique each group performance based on creativity, teamwork, vocals, arrangement and staying within theme. Feel free to check out the winners of previous rounds on the app under “Hot Performance.” Below are a few that sparked out of the #WSOS16!

[smule]

#SmulePickJustDoIt is This Week’s Theme!

Happy Friday, Smuleans!

For newcomers, Smule Picks is a curated playlist of Smule’s favorite performances from the Sing! community based on a theme each week. Any community member can add the weekly Smule Picks hashtag to his or her recording description from Smule’s Songbook for a chance to be featured in this playlist, which we publish every Friday. And since today is Friday, it’s time to unveil a brand new playlist for this past week’s theme and announce the next one!

This week’s Featured Smule Picks playlist was based on the theme: Old School! Check out the playlist right now on Smule or open up the Sing! Karaoke app and tap on the Hot Performances screen.

This coming week’s theme is: Just do it! Here’s what you have to do for a chance to be featured in our Smule Picks playlist next week.

Get motivated, get out there and just do it. 

Add the hashtag #SmulePickJustDoIT

Upload your recording by the deadline on Thursday, March 10th, at noon PST.

It’s that easy! Each Friday we’ll post a new theme, giving you the chance to be featured in the Smule Picks playlist and on our social sites!

[smule]

Sing “Firestone” from Kygo ft. Conrad Sewell

If you aren’t familiar with it yet, you really need to check out this lyrically beautiful song written and sung by Conrad Sewell and produced by Kygo. For many fans worldwide, this was the theme song of summer last year, reaching over 197 million views on YouTube and 350 million views on Spotify by year’s end. “Firestone” sat happily in the top 10 in countries across Europe, reaching #1 in several.

Conrad Sewell is an Australian singer and songwriter from Brisbane. While he is best known for “Firestone,” he also released single “Start Again” in March of 2015. “Start Again” is the first song to climb the charts under his own name, hitting number one in Australia and winning “Song of the Year at the ARIA 2015 music awards.

Today, you can sing “Firestone” from Kygo ft. Conrad Sewell.

[smule]

#SingandTell Reminder

Hey Smuleans!

We wanted to remind you that you have less than a week to share your #SingandTell performances-- these performances could be acoustic, partner artist collabs, cosplay or anything in between. That’s the beauty of it, it’s really up to you! All you have to do is share on Facebook or Twitter with @Smule and #SingandTell!

Contest Ends: March, 7th 2015

The Prize: An iPad mini

[smule]

#SmulePickOldSchool is This Week’s Theme!

Happy Friday, Smuleans!

For newcomers, Smule Picks is a curated playlist of Smule’s favorite performances from the Sing! community based on a theme each week. Any community member can add the weekly Smule Picks hashtag to his or her recording description from Smule’s Songbook for a chance to be featured in this playlist, which we publish every Friday. And since today is Friday, it’s time to unveil a brand new playlist for this past week’s theme and announce the next one!

This week’s Featured Smule Picks playlist was based on the theme: ChillOut! Check out the playlist right now on Smule or open up the Sing! Karaoke app and tap on the Hot Performances screen.

This coming week’s theme is: Old School Here’s what you have to do for a chance to be featured in our Smule Picks playlist next week.

Sing something old school-- any genre, as long as it’s pre-2000′s. 

Add the hashtag #SmulePickOldSchool

Upload your recording by the deadline on Thursday, March 3rd, at noon PST.

It’s that easy! Each Friday we’ll post a new theme, giving you the chance to be featured in the Smule Picks playlist and on our social sites!

[smule]

Sing! “Ressuscita-me” with Aline Barros!

Joining us in Brazil where she is a household name is Aline Barros gospel singer and songwriter. In 2004 she became the first singer in Brazil to win the Latin Gammy and she has since won 5 more in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011 and 2012! GO ALINE! She is arguably one of the most popular singers in the country of Brazil, having received 40 awards in the past 10 years. Also an evangelical pastor, Aline has released 23 albums including 4 in Spanish, and 5 in Portuguese for children.

[smule]

Sing “Kill The Lights with Luke Bryan”

Welcome back, Luke!  Charismatic country superstar Luke Bryan is back on Smule with the title track single from his album Kill the Lights, which debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. By now you may have already sung with him on “Kick the Dust Up,” which he released on Smule the day of his album release. Or maybe you sang with him on crowd favorite “Play it Again.” Click here for more on Luke Bryan and “Kick the Dust Up” on Smule.

Sing “Kill the Lights” with Luke Bryan!

“Kick the Dust Up” Duets

“Play it Again” Duets

[smule]

#SmulePickChillOut is This Week’s Theme!

Happy Friday, Smuleans!

For newcomers, Smule Picks is a curated playlist of Smule’s favorite performances from the Sing! community based on a theme each week. Any community member can add the weekly Smule Picks hashtag to his or her recording description from Smule’s Songbook for a chance to be featured in this playlist, which we publish every Friday. And since today is Friday, it’s time to unveil a brand new playlist for this past week’s theme and announce the next one!

This week’s Featured Smule Picks playlist was based on the theme: Pop! Check out the playlist right now on Smule or open up the Sing! Karaoke app and tap on the Hot Performances screen.

This coming week’s theme is: Chill Out! Here’s what you have to do for a chance to be featured in our Smule Picks playlist next week.

Sing something that brings calmness to your life! :) 

Add the hashtag #SmulePickChillOut

Upload your recording by the deadline on Thursday, February 26th, at noon PST.

It’s that easy! Each Friday we’ll post a new theme, giving you the chance to be featured in the Smule Picks playlist and on our social sites!

[smule]

Hello Sing!ers,

You want to get the word out about your collabs. And, you want to know about ones you can join. This is why invites are so important, and we’ve heard from and talked to many of you about how to improve the invitation system.  Turns out there are many areas that needed addressing under the hood to make it easier for you to send and receive invites from people you care about.  

Today’s update addresses key frustrations that we’ve heard from you on how invites are sent and received.  This may be a big change for some of you used to the old system.  Don’t worry, we’re not done.  This is where we need your help - try the new invites system and let us know what you think.  Know that we will not rest until this new system is working even better than before.

Without further ado, here’s a quick look at the key changes.

One Invites List

Your “Invites” list under “Notifications” will show all the invites sent by people you are following.  We’ve consolidated all the invites from singers you follow and care about into one list.  You don’t need to switch between different invites lists any more.

People who you are not following can still invite you to join a collab.  However, those invites will show up in the “Others” tab on the “Messages” screen.  Remember, you can block users to stop receiving unwanted invites.

Easily Invite All Your Followers

Your followers want to hear about your new collabs to join.  Right after you finish a duet or group collab, easily invite all your followers with a switch.  Make sure your collab is set to public if you want to invite all your followers to join you.

Invites via Sing! Message

Sometimes you want to send a more personal invite to your close friends or to your group chat with more specific instructions to join the collab.  You can do that with Sing! Message.  It’s not only for chatting, it’s also a way to personalize your invites directly to specific people or groups of people and chat about how you are going to join the collab with each other!

We’re also addressing one of the most requested features - you can now quickly search from the list of people you’re following without having to scroll through a long list or worry about missing anyone.

Remember, if you are inviting people who are not following you, your invites will only appear in their “Others” tab.  Be cautious when you do this so your invites don’t get mistaken for spam as you make new friends!

Selective Push Notifications

Are you getting too many push notifications? You can turn on/off your Sing! Message push notifications from specific singers or groups.  

Alternatively, you can also disable all Sing! Message push notifications by going to your Settings and turning off “All Chat Notifications”.

Whew!  That’s it for now.  We hope this helps you connect with more of your friends and join more collabs.  Let us know what you think and stay tuned because we are going to make it even better.  Happy singing!

[smule]

#SingandTell Challenge

One of the best things about being a part of Smule is getting to see the most creative, fun, exciting, and inspiring videos that come out of our community - and we find ourselves constantly sharing them with others. They’re too good to keep to ourselves! In that vein, from February 17th - March 7th, we are running a contest to show off your videos on social media. Your friends get to enjoy your creations, and you get to show off your awesomeness (and maybe win a prize!).  It’s win-win!

How to Enter:

Enter your video, cover or freestyle by sharing it publicly on Facebook or Twitter with the hashtag #SingandTell and tag us @Smule - then, encourage your friends to share or retweet! Your post or tweet is your entry, not just the video.

Be creative-- you can upload a cover, a freestyle, a cos-play performance, a partner artist duet, or whatever cool ideas you come up with. The ball is in your court and we are excited to see the creative sparks fly!

Your performance must be recorded during the timeframe of the contest, February 17 through March 7, 2016. Check out the full rules below.

Look below for inspiration:

Dates:

Contest runs from Feb 17th to March 7th!

Winners:

2 winners will be selected based on a combination of creativity of the video and engagement (shares, retweets, comments) of the post - so get your friends sharing and talking!

Prize:

Two grand prize winners will receive a iPad Mini 2!

Rules:

Entries must be covers of Smule uploaded songs (green rings under the title) or originals.

Performance must be created during the time period of the contest.

- Entry (tweet or Facebook post) must be public (otherwise we can’t see it).

Entry must include #SingandTell and @Smule.

Only one prize per entry (post or retweet), even if multiple people are in the video or the video is uploaded multiple times.

The prize will be awarded to the person whose post or tweet has been selected as the winning entry.

You must be in the video to post or tweet.