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Think auto-tune is just a crutch for singers who can't hit a note? Think again. Join us as we explore the incredible vocal talents behind some of music's most iconic digitally-processed sounds. These artists prove that sometimes, technology isn't about hiding flaws, but about enhancing a unique artistic vision. Get ready to have your ears—and your opinions—recalibrated as we showcase the true voices that define an era, proving that raw skill often lies beneath the shimmering surface.
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00:00I know everybody's wondering where the auto-tune is gonna come from. It's okay. I got it in my pocket. It's totally fine
00:05Welcome to Ms. Mojo and today we're counting down our picks for the singers who don't need auto
00:10tune but choose to use it for thrilling artistic effect
00:15Your sound
00:19Number
00:20Number 10 Charlie XCX
00:25If you've ever wandered into Charlie XCX
00:30You know it's built out of neon lights, glitchy beats, and vocals that sound like they were soaked in
00:35layers of digital processing
00:36On records like Pop 2 and her lockdown opus How I'm Feeling Now
00:40Charlie treats auto-tune like a sparkly fashion accessory
00:42But the she can't sing crowd
00:45I clearly missed her earlier era
00:47Boom, clap, the sound of my heart
00:49The beat goes
00:50Goes on and on and on and on and on and boom
00:52Boom, clap, you make me feel good
00:54Come on
00:55Come on
00:57Go spin boom, clap, her 2014 time
01:00Top 10 hit and tell us that isn't a real voice
01:02Or better yet, watch her rip it live
01:04No steal
01:05Studio wizardry
01:06Just attitude
01:07Stamina
01:08And that raspy belt she's honed since touring tiny
01:10Clubs and Paramore support slots
01:12Charlie doesn't need effects
01:13She just has the taste
01:15To use them fabulously
01:17Rollercoaster ride
01:18In the fallest lane
01:19Go through
01:20Move down
01:21Kiss me hard enough
01:22For a lane
01:23Number 9
01:24Ty Dolla Sign
01:25Girl gotta work for me
01:26Work for me
01:27Can you make a clap?
01:28No one ask for me
01:29Take it to the ground
01:30Pick it up for me
01:31Look back at it all
01:32I'm for me
01:33Ty Dolla Sign is the Swiss
01:35Army Knife of Modern R&B
01:36Singer
01:37Songwriter
01:38Producer
01:39Multi-instructor
01:40Instrumentalist
01:41Harmony Machine
01:42Because his vocals on tracks like Paranoid and Blaze
01:45Slide like butter
01:46People assume the computer fairy blessed them
01:48Not true
01:49Long before he was
01:50The King of Hooks
01:51Ty was singing guide tracks and building stacks of harmonies from scratch in studio
01:55Across Los Angeles
01:56When he dropped Free TC in 2015
01:59A heartfelt tribute
02:00To his incarcerated brother
02:01His natural tone was right there in the mix
02:03And if you really want proof
02:05Hit his 2021 NPR Tiny Desk
02:10Oh
02:11Oh
02:12Oh
02:13Oh
02:14Yeah
02:15No smoke
02:15No mirrors
02:16No 12 layer vocal chains
02:18It's just Ty
02:19And a tone
02:20So warm
02:21You could toast marshmallows on it
02:22Auto-tune doesn't lift him
02:24It keeps up
02:25But it works like my time sheet
02:27She ride it like a 63
02:29I'm a
02:30Nobody knows
02:31Celine
02:32Number 8
02:33Post Malone
02:34All my brothers got that guess
02:35And they always be smoking like a rock star
02:38Posty might look like a man genetically engineered
02:40To live inside a recording booth
02:41But underestimate him at your peril
02:43Sure
02:44His chart
02:45Toppers like rock star
02:46And better now
02:47Use auto-tune to smooth his honey rasp tone into radio gold
02:50But the minute he steps on stage
02:52The truth jumps out
02:53Hey
02:54Hey
02:55Hey
02:56Hey
02:57Hey
02:58Hey
02:59Hey
03:00Hey
03:01Hey
03:02Hey
03:03Hey
03:04Hey
03:05Hey
03:06Hey
03:07Hey
03:08Hey
03:09Hey
03:10which raised millions for COVID relief and proved he can belt grunge like it's built into his DNA.
03:15If auto-tune is the special sauce, then Post Malone is the perfectly seasoned steak.
03:20Underneath.
03:20Cocaine on the table, like a porn, don't give a damn, dude, your government is no good.
03:25Number 7, Drake.
03:29I don't give a...
03:30If you love me, I don't give a...
03:32If you like me, ask me, how did it feel?
03:35Can't say it didn't surprise me.
03:37Drake may be known for sad boy Instagram captions come...
03:40But somewhere between the late night vibes and the meme-worthy dance videos, people forget the guy...
03:45can actually sing.
03:46Cause she holds me down every time I hit up, when I get right up...
03:50I promise that we gonna live it up...
03:52When So Far Gone hit in 2009 and tracks...
03:55like Best I Ever Had climbed the charts, Drake's melodic delivery practically rewired hip-hop.
04:00And I say the same thing every single time.
04:02I say you, then you the best.
04:04You, then you the best.
04:05Yes, Hotline Bling and Passion Fruit drip with silky pitch enhancement, but the...
04:10voice underneath is steady and surprisingly tender.
04:13Drake doesn't belt like a diva, his magic...
04:15He is control, phrasing, and turning heartbreak into a melody you'll hum for eight years straight.
04:20Auto-tune gives his voice mood lighting.
04:22His pipes set the tone.
04:25He tries to feel hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot.
04:30He tries to feel hot.
04:31He tries to feel hot.
04:32Number 6.
04:33Frank Ocean.
04:34My girl made him way to the...
04:35House of the night.
04:36Hit you with the...
04:37You know it's mid-ride.
04:40When Channel Orange hit in 2012 and Blonde arrived in 2016,
04:45everyone fell in love with those dreamy layers and subtle pitch twists swirling around Frank's voice.
04:50But take away the studio haze and you get something even more impressive.
04:54Frank's 2012...
04:55SNL performance of Bad Religion is still the mic drop moment.
04:58Spare.
04:59Soulful.
05:00And so precise it feels like time slows down just to listen.
05:03Never make a...
05:05Never.
05:06Never.
05:07Never.
05:08Never.
05:09Never.
05:10His falsetto on thinking about you?
05:12Untouchable.
05:13Even without production flourishes.
05:15He can slide from intimate whisper to spine-tingling high note with impossible control.
05:19I don't...
05:20This tune doesn't fix Frank's voice.
05:22It's another shade of blue in the palette he paints his universe with.
05:25Oh, do you not make so far ahead?
05:30Oh, do you want to?
05:31Only without gasp.
05:32You're the only one who is.
05:33Not the one who is.
05:34No.
05:35Yes.
05:36No.
05:37No.
05:38No.
05:39No.
05:40No.
05:41No.
05:42No.
05:43No.
05:44No.
05:45No.
05:46No.
05:47No.
05:48No.
05:49No.
05:50No.
05:51No.
05:52No.
05:53No.
05:54No.
05:55No.
05:56No.
05:57No.
05:59No.
05:35Number five, Justin Bieber.
05:40I get my weed from California, I took my chick up to the north, yeah.
05:45Few pop stars have had their every vocal wobble broadcast to the world, but Justin Bieber survived.
05:50Puberty, tabloid chaos, and his own superstardom, and came out a legitimately-
05:55a great vocalist.
05:56Early hits like Baby came with a light helping of pitch polish because his voice-
06:00was still figuring out what it wanted to be.
06:01Just if you like the way-
06:05You look that much, oh baby, you should go and love yourself.
06:10By the mid-2010s, that question was answered.
06:13His Love Yourself acoustic-
06:15performances, the Purpose World Tour medleys, even late-night drop-ins like Carpool Karaoke-
06:20turns skeptics into believers.
06:21On Changes and Justice, he moves between falsetto-
06:25sweetness and laid-back R&B grit like it's nothing.
06:27Auto-tune makes sure he fits neatly into-
06:30the radio's shiny pop universe, but the raw talent is his own.
06:33The way I breathe-
06:35It's the texture of your skin-
06:39Number 4
06:40Kesha
06:40Ain't got a care in the world, but got plenty of beer, ain't got-
06:45No money in my pocket, but I'm already here.
06:48Kesha's early singles came-
06:50Roaring out of the party pop era like glitter bombs with drum machines attached.
06:54Songs like TikTok-
06:55felt almost Android-coded. Half rap, half chant, all distortion and attitude.
07:00You build me up, you break me down, my heart is-
07:05Five pounds, yeah you got me-
07:07Plenty of folks assumed she leaned on effects because she had-
07:10Then came Rainbow in 2017, and more importantly, the ballad-
07:15Plenty of people were praying.
07:16Yeah!
07:17I hope it's so good!
07:18Yeah!
07:19Yeah!
07:20Yeah!
07:21Yeah!
07:22Yeah!
07:23Yeah!
07:24Yeah!
07:25Yeah!
07:25Yeah!
07:26Yeah!
07:27Yeah!
07:28Yeah!
07:29Yeah!
07:30Yeah!
07:31Yeah!
07:32Yeah!
07:33Yeah!
07:34Yeah!
07:35Yeah!
07:36That voice cracked, trembled, recovered and soared again because she was singing in real
07:41time.
07:41By then, the secret was out.
07:42Kesha had range, grit and a war cry of avoid-
07:46voice all along.
07:47Autotune was the costume.
07:49Fill me up, you're-
07:51You break me down, my heart is bound, yeah you got me-
07:56Number 3.
07:57Bon Iver
07:58I only understand that I have been-
08:01Left here in the reach.
08:03Bon Iver, aka Justin Vernon, is the case-
08:06study teachers should use in Autotune Isn't Cheating 101, his debut for-
08:11Emma, forever ago, was recorded in a secluded Wisconsin cabin in 2006-2007.
08:16And it's almost aggressively unprocessed, showcasing a falsetto so pure it feels win-
08:21swept.
08:22Oh, skinny love, just listen to me.
08:26Then he got curious, by 22 a million in 2016-
08:31Vernon was twisting his vocals into shapes that barely sounded human.
08:34But whenever you strip the effects-
08:36you're left with one of Indy's most controlled, expressive voices.
08:39And I told you to-
08:41You'll be patient, and I told you to be fine.
08:46Vernon isn't hiding behind technology, he's challenging it to keep up with him.
08:50Autotune, vocal-
08:51vocal-coders, harmonizers, they're all toys.
08:53The singing underneath is the real magic trick.
08:56And all I'm trying to do is get my feet up from-
09:01the creek.
09:02Yeah, yeah, yeah.
09:06No.
09:072.
09:08Share
09:09No matter how hard I try
09:11You keep pushing me aside, and I can't break through-
09:16Share walked into the recording booth in 1998, laid down believe and unintentionally
09:21rewired 21st century pop.
09:23The producers turned Autotune's response rate to zero-
09:26and bam!
09:27The robot diva era began.
09:28I can feel something inside
09:31But, like I said, I really don't think it's strong enough
09:36But Cher had been working with nothing but lungs and charisma since I Got You Babe topped charts.
09:41In 1965, with that unmistakable contralto, smooth as velvet, deep as.
09:46Midnight, she carried hits through every decade.
09:48Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves, Dark Lady, If I...
09:51Could Turn Back Time.
09:56If I could find a way
10:00Her Vegas
10:01Residencies and globe-straddling tours show that even into her 70s, Cher can hold a note
10:05long ago.
10:06Autotune didn't make her a legend. Cher made Autotune
10:11Legendary. Mother didn't need help. She just knew a trend when she heard one.
10:16Before we continue, be sure to...
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10:33Number 1
10:36T-Pain.
10:37Baby girl, what's your name? Let me talk...
10:41Let me tell you, let me buy you a drink and an empty pain. You know me...
10:46Can't be music...
10:48From his rap-a-turned...
10:51Senga debut in 2005 through buy you a drink and bartender, he made that shimmering robotic tone
10:56unavoidable in hip-hop and R&B. Then, people assumed he had something to hide.
11:01Like the bartender...
11:03Ooh, if you're looking for me...
11:05I met the...
11:06I met the...
11:07I met the...
11:08I met the...
11:09I met the...
11:10Cut to the now legendary...
11:112014 NPR Tiny Desk. No auto-tune. No backing track.
11:16Just T-Pain's buttery tenor sailing through every run like it was child's play.
11:20Let's get drunk and...
11:21Forget what we did...
11:23Burn your train...
11:25The...
11:26I'ma take you home with me...
11:29Internet?
11:30Stunned.
11:31Critics?
11:32Quiet.
11:33His Masked Singer Season 1 win in 2019 was...
11:36Further validation.
11:37Anonymous, unprocessed, and judged solely on talent.
11:40Then...
11:41He doubled down by releasing on top of the covers in 2023.
11:44T-Pain didn't adopt auto-tune.
11:46Because he needed it.
11:47He used it because he could.
11:49And in doing so, he changed music...
11:51Forever.
11:52Politicians, I get steps away.
11:56They only started to walk...
12:01Which singer do you think uses auto-tune most creatively?
12:04Are there any auto-tune stars...
12:06We missed?
12:07Be sure to let us know in the comments!
12:11See you next time!
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