Top 10 Autotune Artists Who Can Actually Sing
#10: Charli XCX
If you’ve ever wandered into Charli XCX’s world, you know it’s built out of neon lights, glitchy beats, and vocals that sound like they were soaked in layers of digital processing. On records like Pop 2 and her lockdown opus How I’m Feeling Now, Charli treats Auto-Tune like a sparkly fashion accessory. But the “she can’t sing” crowd clearly missed her earlier era. Go spin “Boom Clap,” her 2014 top-10 hit, and tell us that isn’t a real voice. Or better yet, watch her rip it live—no studio wizardry, just attitude, stamina, and that raspy belt she’s honed since touring tiny clubs and Paramore support slots. Charli doesn’t need effects… she just has the taste to use them fabulously.
#9: Ty Dolla $ign
Ty Dolla $ign is the Swiss Army knife of modern R&B: singer, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, harmony machine. Because his vocals on tracks like “Paranoid” and “Blase” glide like butter, people assume the computer fairy blessed them. Not true. Long before he was the king of hooks, Ty was singing guide tracks and building stacks of harmonies from scratch in studios across Los Angeles. When he dropped Free TC in 2015—a heartfelt tribute to his incarcerated brother—his natural tone was right there in the mix. And if you really want proof, hit his 2021 NPR Tiny Desk. No smoke, no mirrors, no twelve-layer vocal chains. It’s just Ty, and a tone so warm you could toast marshmallows on it. Auto-Tune doesn’t lift him—it keeps up.
#8: Post Malone
Posty might look like a man genetically engineered to live inside a recording booth, but underestimate him at your peril. Sure, his chart-toppers like “Rockstar” and “Better Now” use Auto-Tune to smooth his honey-rasp tone into radio gold. But the minute he steps onstage, the truth jumps out. And don’t forget his 2020 Nirvana tribute livestream, performed from his home in Utah with Travis Barker, which raised millions for COVID relief and proved he can belt grunge like it’s built into his DNA. If Auto-Tune is the special sauce, Post Malone is the perfectly seasoned steak underneath.
#7: Drake
Drake may be known for sad-boy Instagram captions come to life, but somewhere between the late-night vibes and the meme-worthy dance videos, people forget the guy can actually sing. When So Far Gone hit in 2009 and tracks like “Best I Ever Had” climbed the charts, Drake’s melodic delivery practically rewired hip-hop. Yes, “Hotline Bling” and “Passionfruit” drip with silky pitch-enhancement. But the voice underneath is steady and surprisingly tender. Drake doesn’t belt like a diva—his magic is control, phrasing, and turning heartbreak into a melody you’ll hum for eight years straight. Auto-Tune gives his voice mood lighting. His pipes set the tone.
#6: Frank Ocean
When Channel Orange hit in 2012 and Blonde arrived in 2016, everyone fell in love with those dreamy layers and subtle pitch twists swirling around Frank’s voice. But take away the studio haze and you get something even more impressive. Frank’s 2012 SNL performance of “Bad Religion” is still the mic-drop moment: spare, soulful, and so precise it feels like time slows down just to listen. His falsetto on “Thinkin Bout You”? Untouchable. Even without production flourishes, he can slide from intimate whisper to spine-tingling high note with impossible control. Autotune doesn’t fix Frank’s voice—it’s another shade of blue in the palette he paints his universe with.
#5: Justin Bieber
Few pop stars have had their every vocal wobble broadcast to the world, but Justin Bieber survived puberty, tabloid chaos, and his own superstardom—and came out a legitimately great vocalist. Early hits like “Baby” came with a light helping of pitch polish, because his voice was still figuring out what it wanted to be. By the mid-2010s, that question was answered. His “Love Yourself” acoustic performances, the Purpose world tour medleys, even late-night drop-ins like Carpool Karaoke, turned skeptics into believers. On Changes (2020) and Justice (2021), he moves between falsetto sweetness and laid-back R&B grit like it’s nothing. Auto-Tune makes sure he fits neatly into radio’s shiny pop universe—but the raw talent is his own.
#4: Kesha
Kesha’s early singles came roaring out of the party-pop era like glitter-bombs with drum machines attached. Songs like “TiK ToK” felt almost android-coded—half rap, half chant, all distortion and attitude. Plenty of folks assumed she leaned on effects because she had to. Then came Rainbow in 2017, and more importantly, the ballad “Praying.” Her performance of it at the 2018 Grammys—backed by female powerhouses like Camila Cabello and Cyndi Lauper—was a straight-up spiritual event: soaring belts, raw emotion, not a hint of processing. Her voice cracked, trembled, recovered, and soared again—because she was singing in real time. By then the secret was out: Kesha had range, grit, and a war cry of a voice all along. Auto-Tune was the costume.
#3: Bon Iver
Bon Iver—aka Justin Vernon—is the case study teachers should use in “Auto-Tune Isn’t Cheating 101.” His debut, For Emma, Forever Ago was recorded in a secluded Wisconsin cabin in 2006–07, and it’s almost aggressively unprocessed, showcasing a falsetto so pure it feels windswept. Then he got curious. By 22, A Million in 2016, Vernon was twisting his vocals into shapes that barely sounded human. But whenever you strip the effects away, you’re left with one of indie’s most controlled, expressive voices. Vernon isn’t hiding behind technology. He’s challenging it to keep up with him. Auto-Tune, vocoders, harmonizers—they’re all toys. The singing underneath is the real magic trick.
#2: Cher
Cher walked into the recording booth in 1998, laid down “Believe,” and unintentionally rewired 21st-century pop. The producers turned Auto-Tune’s response rate to zero and—bam—the robot diva era began. But Cher had been working with nothing but lungs and charisma since “I Got You Babe” topped charts in 1965. With that unmistakable contralto—smooth as velvet, deep as midnight—she carried hits through every decade: “Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves,” “Dark Lady,” “If I Could Turn Back Time.” Her Vegas residencies and globe-straddling tours show that even into her seventies, Cher can hold a note longer than most people can hold their breath. Auto-Tune didn’t make her a legend. Cher made Auto-Tune legendary. Mother didn’t need help—she just knew a trend when she heard one.
#1: T-Pain
From his “Rappa Ternt Sanga” debut in 2005 through “Buy U a Drank” and “Bartender,” T-Pain made Auto-Tune unavoidable in hip-hop and R&B. Then people assumed he had something to hide. Cut to the now-legendary 2014 NPR Tiny Desk: no Auto-Tune, no backing track, just T-Pain’s buttery tenor sailing through every run like it was child’s play. Internet: stunned. Critics: quiet. His “Masked Singer” Season 1 win in 2019 was further validation: anonymous, unprocessed, and judged solely on talent. Then he doubled down by releasing “On Top of the Covers” in 2023. T-Pain didn’t adopt Auto-Tune because he needed it. He used it because he could—and in doing so, he changed pop music forever.
Which singer do you think uses Auto-Tune most creatively? Are there any Auto-Tune stars we missed? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!
