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Can They Really Sing Like That? How They Trick Us With Auto-Tune

by bhoughton on February 13th, 2008

Ever hear a note come over your headphones that just didn’t sound natural; or after hearing a singer live just KNOW it wasn’t them hitting that note on the recording. For years now producers have been using a little computer trick called Auto-Tune to “fix” a singer’s lousy vocals. In fact they use it so often that your ears probably tune it out.

Here courtesy of HomeTracked are some of the worst examples of AutoTune abuse.

• Dixie Chicks - The Long Way Around - Noticeable on “parents” and “but I.”
• T-Pain - I’m Sprung - Especially obvious on “homies” and “lady.”
• Avril Lavigne - Complicated - Listen to “way,” “when,” “driving,” “you’re.”
• Uncle Kracker - Follow Me. The whole vocal sounds strained, but especially the word “goodbye.”
• Maroon 5 - She Will Be Loved - Listen for “rain” and “smile.”
• Natasha Bedingfield - Love Like This - “Apart” and “life.”
• Sean Kingston - Beautiful girls - “OoooOver” doesn’t sound human.
• JoJo - Too Little Too Late - Appropriately, “problem” stands out.
• Rascal Flatts - Life is a Highway. Every vocal, foreground and background, is treated, but “drive” in particular.
• New Found Glory - Hit or Miss - “Thriller”, and every time Jordan sings “I.”

Listen to samples of the songs here.

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