5 Times Auto-Tune Made Songs Better & 5 Times It Ruined Them

#5: Made It Worse: “Lollipop” (2008)

Lil Wayne feat. Static

Earning a Grammy Award and diamond status, this 2008 track helped launch Lil Wayne onto the top of the pop charts. The Auto-Tune here is clearly an artistic choice, and “Lollipop” helped popularize its use in rap music at large. It made it more radio-friendly, but the sound also flattened out the rapper’s vocal track. His sound is buried under a squeaky, robotic tone that feels very dated now. It didn’t hurt the song’s chances on the charts obviously. However, it remains a divisive piece of Lil Wayne’s discography, especially among fans who preferred his more realistic and less digitally-altered work.

#5: Made It Better: “Vroom Vroom” (2015)

Charli XCX

If there’s one thing that’s consistent across the catalog of the artist behind Brat Summer, it’s the high-energy, high-tech sound behind it. Charli XCX’s brand of hyper-pop always feels sleek, polished, and almost machine-like. “Vroom Vroom” feels cohesive. The use of vocal distortion doesn’t stand out because everything sounds inorganic, electronic, and overexaggerated. This is also a great match for the artist herself. Charli XCX’s casual, straightforward approach to music fits within the broader soundscape of the entire production. When it’s altered, it feels just like the pounding bass and the outrageous hooks. The voice is just another instrument being manipulated.

#4: Made It Worse: “Life Is a Highway” (2006)

Rascal Flatts

Originally by Canadian act Tom Cochrane, the initial recording of this country-rock hit has a bluesy and grittier early 90s sound. Cochrane’s voice is world-weary and authentic. It feels like a song you could hear in a dive bar. Rascal Flatts covered it for the soundtrack of Disney Pixar’s “Cars” in 2006, and it has a very different vibe. But one notable negative is the pitch-correction on the vocal tracks. Most noticeable in the choruses, the smoothness of Auto-Tune robs the song of any credibility. When you compare it to the previous version, it’s far more sanitized and soulless.

#4: Made It Better: “Blame It” (2009)

Jamie Foxx feat. T-Pain

No one would ever accuse the actor and singer of not being able to carry a tune. Released at the height of obvious Auto-Tune in popular music, “Blame It” is a smooth party anthem that employs vocal distortion to add to the overall atmosphere. This is a song about alcohol and nights out at the club. Foxx’s voice is given a slick, digitized tone. It brings home the themes and even mimics the perception-altering effects of certain substances. One reason it probably sounds great is because T-Pain made his name on blending Auto-Tune and pristine production.

#3: Made It Worse: “T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)” (2011)

will.i.am feat. Mick Jagger & Jennifer Lopez

The Black Eyed Peas were no strangers to Auto-Tune. But founder will.i.am continued to experiment with the technology in his solo career. His collaboration with Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger and Jennifer Lopez was so badly panned it was left off his next album altogether. “The Hardest Ever” is a mess from start to finish. No one liked the raunchy lyrics or the confusing fusion of styles. But the Auto-Tune just made the entire song sound lifeless, especially when you compare it to Jagger’s voice. Making this song worse seems like a tall order, but somehow, they did it.

#3: Made It Better: “One More Time” (2000)

Daft Punk

The French duo are legendary for their mysterious stage persona and their dedication to boundary-pushing electronic music. Daft Punk’s skill with processed sounds and mix of human and digital instruments is a huge part of their art. These talents were at their height with “One More Time.” Released in 2000, it’s a perfect Y2K track. Featuring a leading vocal track by American DJ and producer Romanthony, there’s no pretending this is a fully human voice we’re hearing. His contribution is heavily altered, manipulated like an instrument all its own to form the song’s overarching melody.

#2: Made It Worse: “Friday” (2011)

Rebecca Black

There wasn’t much anyone could do to make this one sound worse. But the highly condensed and extreme use of pitch-correction drew a lot of criticism. The Auto-Tune took Black’s voice and made it sound like a yowling cat. Critics and listeners reasoned that if she was using this much Auto-Tune, Rebecca Black must not be able to sing. She was dragged all over the Internet for the track, with the prevailing opinion being that she was completely untalented. Since then, though, she’s developed a dedicated audience for her genuinely good voice and energetic DJ sets.

#2: Made It Better: “Hide and Seek” (2005)

Imogen Heap

While a lot of people use them interchangeably, this one’s not quite Auto-Tuned. “Hide and Seek” is actually an example of the vocoder, which was originally developed to synthesize speech. Heap actually recorded it this way out of necessity. Her computer lost power, and she lost her recordings. So she decided to plug in the vocoder and see what happened. The result is the sound that makes her biggest hit so iconic after all these years. “Hide and Seek’s” electronically distorted harmonies feel like a bunch of sounds fighting against each other. It stands out due to the rest of the song’s sparse instrumentation.

#1: Made It Worse: “Whatcha Say” (2009)

Jason Derulo

Sampling a song is risky business. If you don’t completely reinvent the song, you have to at least match the quality of the original. Jason Derulo’s “Whatcha Say” borrows heavily from Imogen Heap’s “Hide and Seek,” but doesn’t come close to its greatness. Where Heap’s song is complex and mournful, Derulo’s song repurposes the chorus for a song that isn’t nearly as deep. Derulo’s own vocals are heavily massaged in a way that feels inhuman without any emotion. Given how striking the “mmm whatcha say” refrain is in the original song, it feels like a huge waste.

#1: Made It Better: “Believe” (1998)

Cher

Widely considered the first song to use Auto-Tune in an overt way, this 1998 breakup anthem was a major success. Cher’s voice is given a rich and variable tone by the software. Some lyrics are more distorted than others, making it even more distinctive. But the stroke of genius is that the chorus is mostly left alone. Warner Bros. music division actually argued against the effect on the song, but they were dead wrong. “Believe” was such a hit that the distortion on Cher’s vocals was copied in other songs, giving name to the “Cher effect.” It gave her a comeback and, for better or worse, it gave rise to a movement in popular music.

Do you agree with our picks? Tell us in the comments.