Free Taylor Swift App Garners Critical Raves

Country sensation Taylor Swift is no stranger to rave reviews, and now the superstar can add her own iPhone app to her list of success stories. The new Mix Me In2 app gives listeners the ability to play or sing along with Swift, and, from the NY Times to US Magazine, critics are lining up to praise this latest manifestation of Swift-mania.

The app comes with two of Swift’s hits (“Love Story” and “You Belong With Me”). When you open the program mini avatars of Swift and her band appear as the music begins. Users can then tap one of the band members to open a second screen and adjust the mix or even remove particular vocals or instruments and add their own. There’s also a Record button that lets users replace Swift’s voice. The company is offering a special cable to connect a guitar.

Originally priced at $2.99, the manufacturer, Atlanta-based Fried Green Apps, is now offering the Taylor Swift app for free “to thank fans for making Taylor’s new single, “Mine” the #1 song in the iTunes store.” Only the first 10,000 fans to download the app will get it for free. Also, Swift will reportedly be launching a special contest involving the game in just a couple weeks. She will also act as a judge in the contest.

User-customized mixes can be posted online on the company website  (mixmein.com) or on Swift’s official site (www.taylorswift.com). Additional Swift songs will be available for $2.00 each, and the company says that it will be adding songs from other groups in the coming months.

Of course, Swift isn’t the only pop sensation getting into the app game. A similar app themed around the popular TV show Glee takes that show’s pop song obsession to new heights. It comes with backup band and vocals for three songs from the show ( “Rehab,” “Somebody to Love” and “You Keep Me Hanging On”). The app sells for $1.00 and additional songs (“Imagine,” “Lean on Me,” “Can’t Fight This Feeling,” etc.) are available for $1.00 each.  To guarantee that the user sounds like a star, the software uses a version of auto-tune (the recording effect that adjusts notes to the correct pitch) and includes reverb and other effects.