EvilLyrics

Pros

• Integrates with multiple media players
• Lightweight and non-intrusive
• Offline lyric caching
• Karaoke mode for sing-along sessions
• Additional song and album related features

Cons

• Lyric accuracy depends on correct MP3 ID tags
• 'Search Again' function can be unreliable
• Limited karaoke database
• Some compatibility issues with certain media players

Enrich Your Music Experience with Lyrics

EvilLyrics serves as a convenient tool to supplement your music enjoyment by displaying song lyrics in real-time as you play your favorite tunes on your PC. This software stands out as a useful companion especially for those passionate about singing along or gaining a deeper understanding of their favorite songs.

How it Operates

As a fairly lightweight plug-in, EvilLyrics requires an active internet connection to perform its primary function of presenting lyrics. Upon installation, it seamlessly integrates with your preferred media player and launches automatically each time your media player is opened. Designed initially for Winamp, its capability has expanded to support a variety of players such as Windows Media Player, Foobar2000, and Sonique.

User Interface and Functionality

The interface displays in a compact browser-esque window that is comfortably nestled beside your media player. It doesn't intrude into your multimedia experience but offers the option to minimize it to the system tray if desired.

Apart from displaying lyrics, the window provides additional functionalities such as links to Google searches, Amazon album profiles, song translations, offline lyrics storage, and other related song or album information.

Compatibility and Performance

Despite being tailored for Winamp, EvilLyrics works well with several other players although there have been some noted compatibility issues with Media Player XP. When it comes to performance, the plug-in is impressively light on resources, ensuring that it doesn't impact the performance of other applications.

Lyric Accuracy and Caching

The reliability of EvilLyrics in fetching the correct lyrics is generally quite good, with a success rate in the region of 80%. However, much of this is contingent upon the accuracy of the ID tags of the MP3 files. Incorrect or incomplete tags lead to less accurate results, but there is a 'Search Again' button that attempts to locate the next closest match, albeit with varying levels of success.

Lyrics are cached, allowing you to enjoy and review your lyrics even when offline. There's also a karaoke feature that finds karaoke versions of lyrics, but note that this database is more limited than the standard lyric database provided.

Karaoke Mode and Customization

For karaoke enthusiasts, EvilLyrics presents a dedicated mode where lyrics are shown in a larger, eye-catching font, perfect for hosting karaoke sessions. Although the karaoke feature can be quite enjoyable, its database is not as extensive, which might limit song choices.

Downsides and Limitations

Despite its utilities, EvilLyrics is not without its shortcomings. Accuracy is not guaranteed, and the success of the secondary 'Search Again' function can be hit-or-miss. Additionally, in the case of Winamp, minimizing and restoring the EvilLyrics window in sync with the audio player is not an option.

Additional Features and Updates

The most recent update brought along iTunes & RealAudio support, a new compact mode, a handy popup menu, automatic karaoke checking, poster search, and a toggle between online/offline modes to enhance user experience.

Pros

• Integrates with multiple media players
• Lightweight and non-intrusive
• Offline lyric caching
• Karaoke mode for sing-along sessions
• Additional song and album related features

Cons

• Lyric accuracy depends on correct MP3 ID tags
• 'Search Again' function can be unreliable
• Limited karaoke database
• Some compatibility issues with certain media players