Cat Power’s new album Sun dropped earlier this week, and the fact that she uses Auto-Tune on the track “3, 6, 9” has generated almost as much interest as the album itself. For an ostensibly innocuous pitch-correction effect, Auto-Tune has generated a heap of controversy over the last decade, ever since Cher introduced it to the world during the chorus of “Believe.” Much of the opprobrium directed at the use of the software is entirely justified (Hi, Eiffel 65! Hi, Chris Cornell!), but that’s not to say that every Auto-Tuned track is a priori awful — so we’ve set ourselves the challenge of finding 10 tracks that use its sound in creative or interesting ways. And for clarity’s sake, we’re discussing Auto-Tune as an audible pseudo-vocoder effect here, not as a production tweak to correct an errant vocal — otherwise every chart song since the turn of the millennium would be eligible. Anyway, let us know if we’ve missed anything. First person to suggest “Believe” or anything by T-Pain gets a lump of coal for Christmas.
Best Female Singers (Auto Tune Not Invited) Well that's Lady Gaga out then considering she used Autotune on a few of her live perforances. And I don't rate her voice or artistry at all considering she shouts and has ripped off so many. 'Believe' departed from Cher's pop rock style of the time for an upbeat dance-pop style. It featured a pioneering use of the audio processing software Auto-Tune to distort Cher's vocals, which became known as the 'Cher effect'. The lyrics describe empowerment and self-sufficiency after a painful breakup.
Daft Punk — “One More Time”
Two years after “Believe,” Daft Punk proved that Auto-Tune didn’t have to be a novelty effect used to stink up an already dreadful song. The artificial vocal tones the effect produced on this track were a perfect fit for the band’s robotic persona, making this a fine example of using Auto-Tune for a reason, rather than just whacking it on whoever’s singing the hook because that’s what everybody else is doing.
Chromatics — “These Streets Will Never Look the Same”
And indeed, the problem with Auto-Tune over the last decade hasn’t so much been the effect itself — after all, it’s just a sound. Rather, it’s the fact that it’s been slathered on vocal hooks as a matter of course, most likely because it was seen as some sort of pop-tastic philosopher’s stone after the success of “Believe.” Here, the effect is just the opposite — instead of being used to create pop thrills, it lends Ruth Radelet’s voice an otherworldly quality, enhancing the song’s inherent sense of disconnection and alienation. (As an aside, someone really needs to do a mash-up of this track with “Streets of Philadelphia.”)
Kanye West — “Love Lockdown”
It’s really “pick your favorite moment from 808s and Heartbreak here,” since Auto-Tune was all over that record — “Heartless,” “Amazing,” and various other tracks are largely defined by their use of the sound, but unlike some of his contemporaries, West never uses it without a reason. Its effect here is not unlike that on “These Streets Will Never Look the Same” — it creates a disconnected, late-night ambience that reflects the track’s subdued nature.
Aphex Twin — “Funny Little Man”
Richard D. James has never seen an effect he didn’t like, so it’s no surprise that Auto-Tune would turn up on one of his tracks sooner or later. It’s also no surprise that he makes it sound weird as hell, running a faintly sinister vocal sample through the software to make it sound, well, even more sinister.
Sufjan Stevens — “Impossible Soul”
And similarly, since this 25-minute track contains not just the musical kitchen sink but the entire damn kitchen, it’d feel wrong if Auto-Tune didn’t surface at some point. Sure enough, from about 10 minutes, Stevens’ voice gets Auto-Tuned to within an inch of its life, creating a radical alteration of his vocals that’s somehow curiously compelling.
Frank Ocean — “Novacane”
Ocean’s Nostalgia, Ultra made fascinating use of Auto-Tune, a use that the singer himself sets out on “Novacane,” as follows: “Can’t feel nothing/ Superhuman/ Even when I’m fucking Viagra popping/ Every single record Auto-Tuning/ Zero emotion/ Muted emotion/ Pitch corrected/ Computer emotion.” It’s both clever and self-referential, and makes for another fine use of the effect as a metaphor for drug-fueled digital-era alienation.
Polica — “Dark Star”
Unless you’re trying to achieve a specific sound, subtlety is generally the way to go with any sort of effect, vocal or otherwise (a fact that’s largely lost on the T-Pains of this world, unfortunately). So it goes with this track, which gives Channy Caselle’s voice a light dusting of Auto-Tune on the chorus to rather pleasing effect.
The-Dream — “Right Side of My Brain”
So it goes with this track, too — again, we have Auto-Tune as an evocation of emotional distress and heartbreak. The-Dream, however, is pretty shameless about his use of the software for purely aesthetic reasons, deploying it to sugar-coat a voice that’s pretty sweet to begin with. The result is a world away from Cher and T-Pain, and shows that even the most reviled effects can be just fine if they’re not abused.
Future feat. Drake — “Tony Montana”
But then, compare and contrast with this track — given that Auto-Tune’s original raison d’être was to prettify vocals, its use to distort the hook here is both clever and innovative. The track itself is hideously catchy, too — we dare you to listen to it and not find yourself singing “Tony Montaaaaaana!” for the rest of the day.
Bon Iver — “Woods”
And good grief, has it come to this? We’ve not exactly been big fans of Bon Iver’s work over the years, but we do have to admit that The Bearded One has a fine voice, and that his creative and unconventional use of Auto-Tune here does a pretty fine job of capturing the ambiance of this song’s setting (even if it does occasionally sound a bit like something that might be buzzing around your head as you sit around the campfire).
The Top Ten Singers that Use Autotune but Can Sing Without It1T-PainFaheem Rashad Najm, better known by his stage name T-Pain, is an American recording artist and music producer from Tallahassee, Florida.he's great Shes great He's amazing and one of a kind The king of r&b don't need no auto-tune! - RnBLover
4Jamie FoxxEric Marlon Bishop, known professionally by his stage name Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, singer, songwriter and comedian.
5Lady GagaStefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. ..read more.
Agreed. She's got a nice powerful voice and it shows in some of her live performances. - cjWriter1997 Her vpice is oncredoble and doesn't need to use all the autotune she uses for her songs, come on have you heard her? She is incredible! - DaisyandRosalina Shes okay She is truly an amazing singer. If you've listened to her performance at the Sound of Music celebration, this is an unquestionable fact. Bedroom producer autotune for windows. Shes awesome and better than Beyoncé in my opinion.
7Ne-YoShaffer Chimere Smith, better known by his stage name Ne-Yo, is an American R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer and actor.
8Jason DeruloJason Joel Desrouleaux, better known by his stage name Jason Derulo (an alternate spelling of his surname), is an American singer, songwriter, and dancer. He is best known for his singles such as 'Whatcha Say', 'Ridin' Solo', 'In My Head', 'What If', 'Wiggle', 'Talk Dirty', 'Trumpets' and 'Want To Want ..read more.
He sounds so much better without, his voice actually doesn't sound good with auto-tune. - DaWyteNight he's okay9P!nkAlecia Beth Moore known professionally as P!NK, is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. Shes okay but hardly ever uses auto-tune She hardly ever had bad performances. - DaisyandRosalina She is PERFECTION. literally everything about her, voice, personality, charm. SHE IS AN ABOLUTE LEGEND GODDESS QUEEN. - Twixx Female Artist From England That Sing Auto Tune 201710Zayn MalikZain Javadd Malik, born on 12 January 1993, who records mononymously as ZAYN, is a British singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Bradford, ZAYN aspired to pursue a career in music from a young age leading him to audition as a solo artist for the British reality television music competition The X ..read more.He's the one of the rarest voices rather than many stupid singers and his highnotes sound much better live. The Contenders11Camila CabelloKarla Camila Cabello Estrabao, or professionally Camila Cabello (born March 3, 1997) is an American-Cuban musician. Camila was best known for being part of the girl group Fifth Harmony. Fifth Harmony are known for songs like Worth It, Work From Home, All In My Head (Flex), Bo$, and Sledgehammer. Camila ..read more.Can't possibly sing without heavy autotune on everything. The only song she used autotune on was. And that was for effect! Watch her Fallon performance. Underrated and overhated by critics and fans. She can sing really well live (her solo X-factor audition got 4 yes-es). Even if she tries a bit too hard with the emotion and high notes, she's still a good singer.12BeyoncéBeyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter, is an American singer and actress, who started out in the popular pop/r&b girl group Destiny's Child. They had multiple top 5 hits such as 'No, No, No', 'Say My Name', 'Bills, Bills, Bills', 'Survivor', 'Independent Women', 'Bootylicious', and 'Jumpin', Jumpin' from ..read more. Overrated? Yes. Overrated? Yes. Um she is amazing. She is inspiring and she has amazing vocals. She doesn't need autotune. - Jass1 Her voice isn't anything too amazing or groundbreaking with it or without it to be honest. Her annunciation is horrible, her high notes are shrill and annoying and she sounds (and looks) like a little girl. She's just a Mariah Carey wannabe anyway. Ariana grande sucks - RnBLover Her angelic voice does not need any support, she still great without using autotune. - DaisyandRosalina14Bruno MarsPeter Gene Hernandez, professionally known by his stage name Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and choreographer. ..read more. He has one of the best voices of our generation - DaisyandRosalina He doesn't really use auto-tune
15Shreya GhoshalShreya Ghoshal is an Indian playback singer. She has received twelve National Film Awards, twenty Filmfare Awards and eight Filmfare Awards South to date.
16AkonAliaume Damala Badara Akon Thiam, better known as Akon, is an American-Senegalese singer, rapper, songwriter, businessman, record producer and actor.
17Demi LovatoDemetria Devonne 'Demi' Lovato is an American singer, songwriter and actress. After appearing on the children's television series Barney & Friends as a child, she received her breakthrough role as Mitchie Torres in the Disney Channel television film Camp Rock and its sequel Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam. ..read more.
'That's why you use auto-tune and I don't' Shes a good singer but tends to oversing to the point where it sounds like yelling. She is talented even if she oversings sometimes. - DaisyandRosalina18Jojo Siwa Jojo Siwa sucks at singing, so she just uses autotune. Generate random number in dev c++.19Miley Cyrus Female Artist From England That Sing Auto Tune FreeMiley Ray Hemsworth (born Destiny Hope Cyrus), known as Miley Cyrus, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was born on November 23, 1992, in Franklin, Tennessee, to Tish Cyrus and Billy Ray Cyrus. Her voice type is Mezzo-Soprano and has 4 octaves. She became a teen idol starring as the ..read more.Hate her all you want but she still can sing. - DaisyandRosalina No, she can't.20Avril LavigneAvril Ramona Lavigne is a Canadian–French singer-songwriter and actress. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain; by 16, she had signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records worth more than $2 million. As a rock singer, she is good. - DaisyandRosalina She has a fantastic voice.
21Neha KakkarNeha Kakkar is an Indian playback-singer. She competed on the television reality show Indian Idol season 2 in 2006. In 2008, she launched the album Neha The Rock Star with music composed by Meet Brothers.
22Billie EilishBillie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell, known professionally as Billie Eilish (born December 18, 2001) is an American singer and songwriter, best known for her songs 'When the Party's Over', 'Bury a Friend' and especially 'Bad Guy'.
She doesn't use it on her voice, but rather uses it on background effects that use her voice. Hate her music all you want, that girl sounds amazing live w/o autotune. Like all artists, she might use it for the effect and to perfect her recordings. She's only 17 and has amazing control of her voice.
23UsherUsher Terry Raymond IV is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. Born in Dallas, but raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee was where he lived until moving to Atlanta, Georgia at the age of 12 where his mother put him in local singing competitions all over the city.
Female Artist From England That Sing Auto Tunes
24Sunidhi ChauhanSunidhi Chauhan is an Indian playback singer. Born in Delhi, she began performing in local gatherings at the age of four and made her career debut at the age of 13, with the film Shastra.
25Chris BrownChristopher Maurice 'Chris' Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actor. Born in Tappahannock, Virginia, he was involved in his church choir and several local talent shows from a young age. He is most well known for his physical assault towards the singer Rihanna in ..read more.
I hate him so much. way too much autotune Female Artist From England That Sing Auto Tune OnlineYeah.. no.
26Brendon UrieBrendon Boyd Urie, more commonly known as Brendon Urie, was born April 12, 1987, in St. George, Utah. He is an American singer, songwriter, musician and multi-instrumentalist. He is best own as the lead singer of the American pop-rock band Panic! At The Disco. He is the only original remaining member. ..read more.
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Female Artist From England That Sing Auto TunersRihannaRobyn Rihanna Fenty is a Barbadian-American pop singer. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, she first entered the music industry by recording demo tapes under the direction of record producer Evan Rogers in 2003. She ultimately signed a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings after auditioning ..read more.She can't sing with or without auto-tune, she's just a bad singer. Just listen to her covering Hero by Mariah Carey and you'll know. She may have improved over the years but she is still not very good and doesn't deserve her fame. It's an insult to actual talented singers to call rihanna a good singer. You can like her catchy pop songs, but a good singer she is not. - RnBLover Underrated by critics and fans, she can sing some songs nearly like the original, in others she put emotions in. She is lazy but she can sing. - DaisyandRosalina Rihanna can't sing and auto-tune is her best friend. - DaWyteNight Look..I love Riri and her pop music but she honestly could use some auto-tune from time to time. Have you heard her song 'Higher? ' Two words..no Bueno. His singing really isn't anything too special, most people can sing like he can. He's no Usher or anything. - DaWyteNight He can sing without auto tune.. He is decent singer - Nandani Trash I can't belive it.. but he can.. - DaisyandRosalina29KeshaKesha Rose Sebert (formerly known as Ke$ha) was born on March 1st, 1987 in Los Angeles, United States. She is best known for her hits like Timber, Tik Tok, and We R Who We R. ..read more. Say what you want about her but the autotune actually sounds pretty good when it's used for effect. And even then she's definitely a better singer live than Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, Katy Perry, and Selena Gomez. Okay umm..I love Kesha and all but she really does need a bit of autotune now and then. - Twixx30Selena GomezSelena Marie Gomez is an American actress and singer. She is best known for songs like 'Come & Get It', 'Good For You', 'Same Old Love', and 'It Ain't Me'. Selena Gomez's voice is mezzo-soprano but she usually sings in alto. She is best known for her role as Alex Russo in Wizards of Waverly Place. She doesn't sing, she just whispers. - DaWyteNight I'm dead serious, watch her sing Same Old Love live on Ellen. it is GOOD. I'M NOT ON DRUGS, Then you can whine to me about how she 'can't sing.' Because then you'll be wrong. She has improved A LOT. A LOT. She even lowered the autotune in Same Old Love.
31Priyanka ChopraPriyanka Chopra is an Indian actress, singer, film producer, philanthropist, and the winner of the Miss World 2000 pageant.
33Lata MangeshkarLata Mangeshkar is an Indian playback singer and music director. She is one of the best-known and most respected playback singers in India.
Lata doesn't use auto tune because in her era auto tune was not invented - Nandani34HalseyAshley Nicolette Frangipane, known by her stage name Halsey, is an American singer and songwriter. She was born on September 29, 1994 in New Jersey. She started her career by releasing songs on SoundCloud, and now she is a well-known pop singer with hits like Bad at Love, and Now or Never. She had originated ..read more. I listen to her stripped songs and they’re so much better than the studio versions, that’s why I can’t wait to see her in concert!
35Kelly ClarksonKelly Brianne Clarkson is an American singer, songwriter and children's book author. She rose to fame in 2002 after winning the inaugural season of the television series American Idol, which earned her a record deal with RCA Records. Clarkson's debut single, 'A Moment Like This', topped the US Billboard ..read more.
36Alessia CaraAlessia Caracciolo, born on July 11th, 1996 is professionally known as Alessia Cara, is a Canadian singer and songwriter.
37Neeti MohanNeeti Mohan, also credited as Neeti, is an Indian singer. She was one of the winners of the Channel V show Popstars and as such, became a member of the Indian pop group Aasma with the other winners of the show.
38Iggy AzaleaAmethyst Amelia Kelly, born June 7, 1990 known professionally as Iggy Azalea, is an Australian rapper, singer, songwriter, and model.
40Eric BellingerEric Bellinger, Jr., born March 26, 1986, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Los Angeles, California.
41Melanie MartinezMelanie Adele Martinez is an American singer and songwriter. Melanie Martinez auditioned for the American television vocal talent show The Voice and became a member of Team Adam.
Related ListsTop Ten Pop Singers that Sound Better Without AutotuneTop 10 Songs With the Most Obvious Use of AutotuneWorst Songs That Use AutotuneTop Ten Worst Music Genreswhich Use AutotuneTop Ten Singers with Too Much AutotuneList StatsTop Remixes
1. T-Pain
2. Nicole Scherzinger 3. R. Kelly DaWyteNight
1. Lady Gaga 2. Beyoncé 3. P!nk DaisyandRosalina Error ReportingFemale Artist From England That Sing Auto Tuner
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