Auto-Tune Abuse in Pop Music (10 Examples)

Pitch correction software has applications from restoration and mix-rescue to outright distortion of a voice or instrument. I'll discuss some of the more tasteful uses of these auto-tune tools (whether the original from Antares, or a variant like the free GSnap) below. But first I thought I'd highlight their misuse to illustrate the effects we usually try to avoid.

If you're unfamiliar with Auto-tune, and especially if you listen to much pop and rock, you might not hear it initially. When overdone, the effect yields an unnatural yodel or warble in a singer's voice. But the sound is so commonplace in modern mainstream music that your ears may have tuned out the auto-tune!

The songs in this clip, in order, and the phrases most affected by auto-tuning to help you spot them:

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."