Expected to launch later today, the Xbox Live music games stores will make browsing the latest releases for games like Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero much more convenient. Rather than having to scroll through an endless list of tracks, you'll be able to search, sort, and preview clips, much in the same way you can from inside each individual game, only without having to actually spin it up.

Games benefitting from the dedicated music stores include Guitar Hero 5, Guitar Hero World Tour, Band Hero, Lips, Lips: Number One Hits, Lego Rock Band, The Beatles: Rock Band, and everything else Rock Band. Sorry, Rock Revolution fans. I guess it just wasn't meant to be.

As number one hits tend to be, the Lips sequel is filled with nothing but the safest of safe pop songs. Excellent stuff if you're a die hard fan of Aqua and Kanye West, but even if your tastes swing wildly toward the Pet Shop Boys and Dr. Dre, you'll be well served.

The full list is after this, an international mix that the kids are sure to love.

• "California Love" by 2Pac feat. Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman (U.S.)
• "Don't Matter" by Akon (U.S.)
• "Barbie Girl" by Aqua (Denmark)
• "The Tide is High (Get the Feeling)" by Atomic Kitten (U.K.)
• "Loser" by Beck (U.S.)
• "Don't Phunk With My Heart" by Black Eyed Peas (U.S.)
• "Heart of Glass" by Blondie (U.S.)
• "Love Generation" by Bob Sinclar (France)
• "Don't Worry, Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin (U.S.)
• "Bubbly" by Colbie Caillat (U.S.)
• "Viva la Vida" by Coldplay (U.K.)
• "Karma Chameleon" by Culture Club (U.K.)
• "(I Just) Died In Your Arms" by Cutting Crew (U.K.)
• "Hey Baby" by DJ Ötzi (Austria)
• "More Than Words" by Extreme (U.S.)
• "Big Girls Don't Cry" by Fergie (U.S.)
• "She Drives Me Crazy" by Fine Young Cannibals (U.K.)
• "Broken Strings" by James Morrison feat. Nelly Furtado (U.K.)
• "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz (U.S.)
• "Heartless" by Kanye West (U.S.)
• "Just Dance" by Lady Gaga (U.S.)
• "The Fear" by Lily Allen (U.K.)
• "Around the Way Girl" by LL Cool J (U.S.)
• "Touch My Body" by Mariah Carey (U.S.)
• "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye (U.S.)
• "U Can't Touch This" by MC Hammer (U.S.)
• "How You Remind Me" by Nickelback (Canada)
• "Always on My Mind" by Pet Shop Boys (U.K.)
• "Hey There Delilah" by Plain White T's (U.S.)
• "Disturbia" by Rihanna (Barbados)
• "Millennium" by Robbie Williams (U.K.)
• "The Look" by Roxette (Sweden)
• "Oh, Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison (U.S.)
• "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" by Scissor Sisters (U.S.)
• "Push the Button" by Sugababes (U.K.)
• "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears (U.K.)
• "I Get Around" by The Beach Boys (U.S.)
• "Lovefool" by The Cardigans (Sweden)
• "Apologize" by Timbaland feat. OneRepublic (U.S.)
• "Ready, Set, Go!" by Tokio Hotel (Germany)

The figure comes courtesy of market research firm Interpret, who can also tell us some other fun facts about music game players, like:

- People who play music games buy 67% more CDs than the Average Joe

- They're twice as likely to legally download a song

- Music game players are more likely to watch music videos online than the Average Joe (29% vs 15%)

- They're also more likely to listen to music via a social network than Average Joe (45% vs 32%)

So, there you have it! Music game players like music.

25 million US gamers played music games in April [GI.biz]

With support recently introduced for both Guitar Hero: Metallica and Rock Band 2, the wireless microphone double-packed with copies of Microsoft's karaoke game Lips are rather conveniently little devices, and they'll be much more convenient this fall, when they are released as standalone products. The fall release has them hitting store shelves just in time for Lips: Number One Hits and The Beatles: Rock Band, both of which will support the wireless device.

Great news for music game lovers, but the price isn't all that nice. With the current Lips bundled retailing at $49.99 with two microphones, the standalone product's $50 price tag really only means one thing...you should probably run out and buy that Lips bundle.

The Royalty Network - a site cataloguing the latest licensing and royalty deals in the world of music - has made mention of a video game tentatively titled "Lips Uno". Now, the Royalty Network is no GameStop. There's no platform information, no publisher info, no word on a developer (the original was done by iNiS), nothing. Just the title "Lips Uno", and the fact it's licensing Timbaland's "The Way I Are".

Still, the fact it's got the word "Lips" in the title suggests it's got something to do with Microsoft's series, though whether it would be an expansion or a full-blown sequel remains unclear. Maybe it works with the existing Uno, and replaces the original's stylish videos with depictions of your avatar crooning its little heart out.

We've contacted Microsoft for comment.

The Royalty Network reveals Lips Uno, Guitar Hero 5 tracks, and a few new DDR licenses! [BRU]

No, there's nothing wrong with your line. The New Edition Song Pack for Lips is coming on the 15th of May, adding three of 80's group's biggest hits to the Xbox 360. "Cool it Now", "Mr. Telephone Man", and "If It Isn't Love" are three songs that are in the blood of any child of the 80's. Listening to them you can almost forget that Bobby Brown is a jerk and Bell Biv Devoe was a really stupid name for a musical group.

Other artists contributing to this month's Lips DLC include Good Charlotte, The Black Crowes, John Denver, Snow Patrol, and Billy Ray Montana, whose "Achy Breaky Heart" never fails to make drunken people laugh uncontrollably. Check out the full list of May DLC below!

Available on 1st May:
Dance Floor Anthem (I Don't Want To Be In Love) – Good Charlotte
Why Does It Always Rain On Me? – Travis
Hard To Handle – The Black Crowes

Available on 8th May:
You Get What You Give – The New Radicals
Turning Japanese – The Vapors
Clocks – Coldplay

Available on 15th May:
Take Me Home, Country Roads – John Denver (Europe only; already included in U.S. version)
Mr. Telephone Man – New Edition
Cool It Now – New Edition
If It Isn't Love – New Edition
New Edition Song Pack – Mr. Telephone Man, Cool It Now, If It Isn't Love

Available on 22nd May:
Lollipop – Mika
Achy Breaky Heart – Billy Ray Cyrus
100 Years – Five For Fighting

Available on 29th May:
I Miss You – Blink-182
Life Is A Rollercoaster – Ronan Keating
Chasing Cars – Snow Patrol

Tethering a music game singing virtuoso to a console is a sad, sad thing, especially since the cords are never long enough to allow for the sort of microphone acrobatics perfected by The Who's Roger Daltrey. The wireless microphones from Lips for the Xbox 360 solved this issue, but up until now only supported Lips, which is a game you play secretly, while no one is watching.

Now those wireless mics are a great deal more useful. Microsoft has officially announced that Guitar Hero Metallica supports the wireless singsticks, and a title update this summer will add the functionality to Rock Band 2 as well. Singers rejoice! Now if only Guitar Hero World Tour would get in on the act. *eyes Activision*

In celebration of the microphones being compatible with other games, Microsoft has also released a list of the April song additions for Lips, just in case people would rather just stick with their game instead. Check out the full song list below!

Available April 3:

Wish You Were Here – Incubus

Sugar, We're Goin Down – Fall Out Boy

Bad Moon Rising – Creedence Clearwater Revival

Available April 10:

Ne-Yo Song Pack – Closer, So Sick, and Hate That I Love You by Rihanna feat. Ne-Yo

Coldplay Song Pack – Speed Of Sound, The Scientist, and In My Place

Looking Out My Back Door – Creedence Clearwater Revival

Closer – Ne-Yo

So Sick – Ne-Yo

Available April 17:

Creedence Clearwater Revival Song Pack - Looking Out My Back Door, Bad Moon Rising and Who'll Stop the Rain

Kryptonite – 3 Doors Down

All My Life – K-Ci & Jo Jo

Sing – Travis

Available April 27:

Love Today – Mika

Ocean Avenue – Yellowcard

Linger – The Cranberries

As a proud owner of Lips, I've often felt the game has given me far too much credit for my vibrato. I mean, I can vibrato as well as the next guy, but Lips thinks I'm some kind of vibrato machine. Hopefully that error will be fixed in the early March Lips title update, which promises to improve the game's scoring system, tweak vibrato detection, and launch global leaderboards, allowing me to see how much better everyone else in the world sings. Joy!

The update is scheduled for early March, ideally before the March 13th release of the Coldplay track pack, featuring three songs from the Grammy-award winning band: "The Scientist", "Speed of Sound", and "In My Place."

Below you'll full list of downloadable songs heading to Lips leading up to the Coldplay track pack, from this week's "How to Save A Life", The Fray's tune that Scrubs always uses when it wants to be serious, to March 6th's addition of Metro Station's "Shake It", quickly becoming the most annoying song of the decade.

Available Now!

Speed Up – Funkerman

How To Save A Life – The Fray

Swing Life Away – Rise Against

Available on 2/27

The Adventure – Angels and Airwaves

Amber – 311

In The Shadows – The Rasmus

Available on 3/6

Hook Me Up – The Veronicas

Lips of an Angel – Hinder

Shake It – Metro Station

Three new tracks drop for Lips on February 13th, celebrating the holiday of love with the songs such as Avril Lavigne's "My Happy Ending" and "Buttons" from The Pussycat Dolls, with a special appearance by Snoop Dogg. While I'm sure both of these songs are quite nice, by far the most exciting entry is Olivia Newton John's 1980 song "Magic" from the soundtrack to the film Xanadu, which cast Olivia as a muse that inspires an album cover artist to open a disco. God I love the 80's.

The song was actually one of Olivia Newton John's biggest hits, and honestly not a bad tune. For those of you who'd like to refresh your memory, there's an excellent YouTube video available that highlights just how spectacular Xanadu was.

As for the downloadable versions of "Magic" and friends, they should be magically available tomorrow on Xbox Live for 125 points a piece.

Nine new songs are headed to Lips this month, beginning on January 16th when we'll finally be able to recreate the bar scene from Top Gun with The Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Loving Feeling." As far as I am concerned that's the only song on the list I shall ever need, but I suppose The Cardigans' "Erase/Rewind" and "When I Grow Up" by The Pussycat Dolls might have a few fans as well.

Other songs being released this month include Jet's "Look What You've Done", Fall Out Boy's "Thnks fr th Mmrs", and Water Runs Dry from "Boyz II Men". All songs are priced at either 160 or 180 Microsoft points. Check out the release below to find out what's what while I prepare for my daily getting down on my knees for you, baby baby.

New “Lips” PDLC Means the Party Will Play-on in 2009

Lips catalogue surpasses 70 songs only two months after the game’s launch

“Lips,” the newest singing party game from Microsoft and iNiS exclusively for Xbox 360, is keeping fans singing with nine new songs available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace and the “Lips” Get Music store starting January 16. The new tracks offer an eclectic selection for singers of various tastes and generations, and continue to expand the party game experience available on Xbox 360.

Single songs, including hits from Fall Out Boy, The Pussycat Dolls and The Cardigans will be available for purchase for between 160 and 180 Microsoft points each. The new offerings will boost the number of songs available on “Lips” to well over 70 by the end of the month. Fans can expect the title’s library to continue to expand throughout 2009 with new songs, videos and content announced regularly – just because the holidays are over, doesn’t mean the party has to stop!

Available on January 16

When I Grow Up – The Pussycat Dolls*
You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ – The Righteous Brothers**
Erase/Rewind – The Cardigans*
Available on January 23

Hate That I Love You – Rihanna feat. Ne-Yo**
Thnks fr th Mmrs – Fall Out Boy*
Look What You’ve Done – Jet*
Available on January 30

Sunday Morning – Maroon 5*
Take A Bow – Rihanna**
Water Runs Dry – Boyz II Men*
*songs available for purchase for 160 Microsoft Points
**songs available for purchase for 180 Microsoft Points

Yes, Bobby Brown. "Every Little Step", if you must know, though just which Bobby Brown it is shouldn't matter. All songs will go for $2.

December 19

* "Over My Head (Cable Car)" — The Fray
* "Every Little Step" — Bobby Brown
* "Prisoner of Society" — The Living End
* "Virtual Insanity" — Jamiroquai

December 26

* "New Shoes" — Paolo Nutini
* "What's Love Got To Do With It" — Tina Turner
* "What Is Love?" — Haddaway

January 2

* "Where Did Our Love Go" — The Supremes
* "Let's Groove" — Earth, Wind and Fire
* "Be Good Johnny" — Men At Work
* "Somethin' Stupid" — Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman

January 9

* Superstar — Jamelia
* People are People — Depeche Mode
* Suddenly I See — KT Tunstall

Lips DLC Schedule Outlined [IGN]

All you need to do is hop over to the site and fill out a form to enter. It looks like they're pulling the winners in early January. That's the good news. The bad news is that only three people are going to win, so it looks like your chances are fairly slim.

Win an Xbox 360

From intent to mechanics, the mission brief for the iNiS team was never “make an original, inspiring music title for the Xbox 360”. It was “do SingStar, but on the Xbox 360”. And that’s exactly how we’re going to assess the game.

So, does it “do” SingStar on the 360? Or even outdo SingStar on the 360? Let’s find out.

Loved
Slick – Oh boy is this game slick. Where SingStar is a cold, sterile affair, Lips is bursting with flair, from jazzy menu screens to OTT song ratings and a ridiculous levelling-up system.

iNiS – Which leads me to my next love. The iNiS touch. If Microsoft were looking for their karaoke game to be packed full of cute custom videos and game modes – including bringing two love birds together through song and defusing a bomb with your voice – that bring home the smiles, then they got what they were looking for.

Library Expansion – My 360 is linked to my PC via Media Centre, and Lips is able to instantly recognise songs shared via the service and import them into the game. Adding thousands of songs – all of them favourites of mine – to the game is a promising touch.

Hardware – The one area Lips really trounces SingStar. The game’s motion-sensitive, wireless mics are well-made, can be shook to simulate instruments when you’re not singing and, once synched to your 360, are easy to manage. Perhaps the neatest features are the fact their bases glow in time with the music, and idle mics need only be picked up and shaken to turn a solo song into a duet.

Hated
It Doesn’t Work – You know how SingStar (and Rock Band, and GH: World Tour) works? With the words displayed across the screen ahead of time? Yeah, Lips does that too. Except, instead of showing 10-15 words, it shows 3-4. Which means if you don’t already know the words (and timing) to a song, you’re totally fucked.

It Doesn’t Work – Importing thousands of my own songs was both easy and promising. Pity, then, they’re largely useless. You don’t get lyrics, you don’t get a music video, Lips won’t even use/download the song’s album art. It just plays the song, and asks you to sing along, scoring you on how you match the “sound” of the song. Making things worse, it can’t tell the difference between music and lyrics, meaning some game modes farcically require you to make the “waah waah” noises of a guitar to stay in the game.

It…You Get The Idea – The game’s scoring system is either lenient or broken. It’s hard to tell which, but going off the success iNiS have had with the rest of the mechanics, I’m assuming it’s the latter. Gentle humming can see you through most songs, while for high notes, the game seems almost random in deciding whether you're hitting them or not.

Look, Lips, you tried. You’re charming, you look nice, your initial song selection is surprisingly great and your wireless mics are fantastic. Your heart was in the right place. But you just can’t work as a karaoke game when your mechanics are as broken as they are. See, karaoke games are for parties. There are all types of folks at parties. And if you need to know every word and every piece of timing for a song, it’s useless, because the average person doesn’t know that.

Maybe next time – if the market affords you a next time – spend more time copying what SingStar did right (the nuts and bolts of scoring a karaoke session…ie, the important stuff) instead of what it did wrong (its cold presentation, which really, doesn’t matter), because as it stands, it’s hard to recommend Lips in the state it’s in, whether someone has access to a Sony console/SingStar franchise or not.

Lips was developed by iNiS and published by Microsoft Games Studios, released in North America on Nov. 18 for Xbox 360. Retails for $69.99. Played all songs in both single and multiplayer, either in co-op or vs mode.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

Kicking things off right we have that old standard, "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year", performed by Andy Williams, which your grandparents are bound to sing along to. For those seeking a soulful lip-curl with their holiday music, there's "Blue Christmas" by Elvis Presley, which just about begs for a microphone stand to lean on while you sing. Finally, representing the party people who celebrate for 8 days straight, we have "The Dreidel Song", performed by Sister Hazel? Well at least you guys got a song.

The three tracks are now available via Xbox Live Marketplace for 180 points a pop.

Lips Holiday Music [Xbox Live's Major Nelson]

For AUD$329 (USD$214), you get an Arcade 360, a copy of iNiS' Lips, a copy of Sega Superstars Tennis and...A Pussycat Dolls DVD. Oh, and a Pussycat Dolls album as well. I promise you, this is a real, genuine product.

Scoff all you want - and I know you're scoffing - but while scoffing, bear in mind that AUD$329 is AUD$71 cheaper than a Wii.

If I really know the song, I can score literally millions of points. I score three or four million points on some of these songs, and that's great for the person that is very confident in his vocal capabilities. But, for the person who might not be, or if you're just drunk, it's just like you don't even care.

But you just want to jam to the song, and you're [warbles incoherently], and it's all this crazy stuff. But, you're still getting a score, right? And that's really important, because at the end of the song, you're drunk and you're still saying, "Ha! I scored better than you!" or whatever, right?

And that is really enough to carry the experience. People don't even question it. [They don't say], "Oh, yeah! It's not ending prematurely." I would even say that a lot of people that don't normally play games even think about that. If anything, it's the reverse. "Why did the song end prematurely? I want to enjoy the song." That's what we're giving them.

I'm glad to know that the needs of drunken karaoke singers enters into design decisions. Nice interview on an interesting subject, from the perspective of a company that has worked exclusively on music titles since their founding.

More Than Just Lips: Keiichi Yano On Music Game Innovation [Gamasutra]

Starting in on December 5, Lips will start getting holiday music by a number of artists including Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley and Gene Autry. The songs all start at 160 Microsoft Points a pop, or about $2.

Here’s the breakdown of this and next weeks songs:

November 21
Adele – Chasing Pavements
Estelle – No Substitute Love
Jason Mraz – The Remedy (I Won’t Worry)
Coldplay – Violet Hill

November 28
Supertramp – Give a Little Bit
Smash Mouth – All Star
Vanessa Carlton – A Thousand Miles

Microsoft is aware that Nintendo is the company that "puts more smiles on more faces," so it doesn't bother trying to compete on the happy front. Instead, the company wants to invade your nightmares, filling them with hollowed out heads and disembodied mouth creatures. The company's newest creative torment is for the iNiS developed Xbox 360 singing game Lips, in which a man is haunted by a stalking pair of sentient, lyric-forgetting lips. The mouth beast travels across harsh terrain and unfavorable weather conditions to force the man to do his bidding — to sing A-Ha's "Take On Me" for the sadistic ambling maw's delight. The horror....