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Five 'American Idol' Contestants Who Could've Used The 'X Factor' Auto-Tune

Posted 8/24/10 5:00 pm EST by in Music


With news that producers on the British version of "X Factor" used Auto-Tune software to help sweeten the voices of a few contestants, I can't say I'm that surprised. Like "American Idol," Simon Cowell's "X Factor" aims to find the music industry's next big superstar. If the singers on "X Factor" and "Idol" are going to have to compete with contemporary pop acts — many of whom barely do an interview without a little audio sweetening in post-production — can you blame producers for a little tweaking here and there to polish their product?

In fact, I wonder if Cowell's old show might have gained a bit of shine from some tuning enhancements in the past. Here's my pick for five "American Idol" contestants who would have benefited from some minor pitch-correction.

Nikki McKibbin
If the stripy-haired single mom rocker had a little pitch help during the show's inaugural season, then her outlasting Tamyra Gray wouldn't have been so hard to swallow.

Sanjaya Malakar
Thanks to zany hairstyles and a strange ability to make pre-pubescent girls weep on command, Sanjaya was a pop culture force to be reckoned with during season six. While his less-than-stellar vocals helped make him fodder for late night talk show hosts, it would have been killer TV if he had been hooked up with ProTools the week he was eliminated. Manufactured drama is apparently what "X Factor" producers are after, so what would have been no better send-off than letting Sanjaya have the last laugh? (Even if said laugh was digitally enhanced?)

Danny Gokey
Don’t get me wrong: The season eight third-placer very rarely had pitch problems. But how badass would his "Scream On" moment have been if it was T-Pained out?
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Alex Trebek And Auto-Tune Make For Awesomely Awkward 'Jeopardy!' Moments

Posted 6/25/10 2:00 pm EST by in Music


By Mawuse Ziegbe

Just when you thought the Auto-Tune craze of the last few years was finally dead (didn't Jay-Z officially kill it off last year?), you can count on an old-school game show to dig up the trend. Venerable "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek recently tried his hand at livening up the grandma-favored trivia show with a new category called "Alex Meets Auto-Tune."

The category featured Trebek busting out some Auto-Tuned lyrics that contestants had to identify, (all while stifling their laughter, of course). But it wouldn't be "Jeopardy!" if the show didn't put its own AARP-friendly spin on things. So instead of hearing Trebek rock some blazin' hits from Kanye West or Akon, the lyrics were all from folk songs and standards like "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "Oh Susanna." If nothing else, these bizarre performances proved that these songs probably never needed to be Auto-Tuned in the first place.

Ever hotter than Trebek's chirpy rendition of "The Farmer in the Dell" might be the ultra-computerized beats that accompanied the lyrics, which ranged from glitchy, hyper disco to synthy muzak. Basically, beats that sound like a Casio keyboard being slammed against a wall.

But hey, maybe this is a good direction for the show. I mean, we are talking about it aren't we? And in what other world would "Jeopardy!" be newsworthy outside of your grandmother's sewing circle? Maybe Trebek should drop a mixtape. After all, Canadian MCs are all the rage nowadays.

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Exclusive: Jay-Z's Auto-Tuned 'D.O.A.' Remix — The Creator Speaks!

Posted 6/19/09 1:10 pm EST by in Interviews, Music


Last week, MTV News' James Montgomery waxed rhapsodic about "Combination Pizza Hut And Taco Bell," the viral hit by Das Racist that was remixed by Oakland group Wallpaper. This week, Wallpaper struck again with a remix of Jay-Z's "D.O.A." that mashes up that tune with Jigga's "99 Problems" and tosses in a bunch of Auto-Tune for good measure. The result is a manic, raucous track that culminates in the refrain "I got 99 problems but my pitch ain't one," and it has become an instant favorite here at MTV News.

"My remixes tend to be divisive," explains Wallpaper's Eric Frederic, the man responsible for both remixes. "But I've always thought the best way to win a war is to divide and conquer." He wants to make it clear that while he defends Auto-Tune, he's also a big fan of Jay-Z and the original message of "D.O.A." "I agree with Jay-Z in that I think that too many rappers use Auto-Tune."
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Jay-Z Can Knock Auto-Tune, But Singing Rappers Rule

Posted 6/9/09 11:12 am EST by in hip-hop, Music



A lot has been made of Jay-Z's hot new anti-digitally-enhanced-crooning track, "D.O.A." Jigga has thrown down the gauntlet to other rappers, wishing a pox upon the tone-correcting-and-distorting effect that has gone from an interesting twist on a Cher song to the defining sound of modern pop.

Artists like T-Pain, Lil Wayne and Kanye West (the track's co-producer) get a pass from Hova (because he says they use it "artistically"), but we think there are a number of other singers and rappers that use Auto-Tune effectively. A lot of the time, certain songs probably wouldn't exist without it (Soulja Boy Tell'em's "Kiss Me Thru the Phone" — an excellent song — seems to exist solely because of Auto-Tune). There is also the perception that only performers who can't otherwise sing use it, but plenty of people who have proven their skills have dipped into the Auto-Tune pool (like R. Kelly, whose new mixtape is full of Auto-Tune, especially the single "Tip the Waiter").

Jay's argument is that Auto-Tune makes rap softer and encourages more unnecessary crooning, but some of the best rap songs have come from singing that can easily be called "unnecessary." "Just a Friend" remains a hip-hop cornerstone, while nobody ever seems to complain about Ghostface's "crying" style. And did anybody protest when Ol' Dirty Bastard broke into spontaneous warbling — especially on his cover of "Sussudio"? Doubtful.

Here's the thing: Jay's right in the sense that Auto-Tune is way overused and doesn't always add anything to a track. And a lot of rappers have no business singing. But that doesn't necessarily make it a bad thing, and it's unreasonable to attack singing in rap. Just because an MC breaks into song doesn't make a track any less hard than "Can't Knock the Hustle."

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T-Pain Has A Giggle Fit In The MTV Newsroom

Posted 11/19/08 3:54 pm EST by in T-Pain


Me and Teddy P always have a good time. I have definitely grown to respect not just his work ethic but his talent. Pain has one of the best live shows in the business today, and you can't front on his songs. He keeps coming with the smash records. It's not just the Auto-Tune effect that's getting him over. He can write, and the boy knows melody.

It's great when you have an artist who's at the very top of his game, knocking out hit after hit, but still able to maintain his sense of humor. Pain always has jokes — I mean, look at those top hats! Whenever we have an interview, it's always loose (just check out the video where we helped him pick out the perfect VMA vehicle), and we never know which direction the talk will go. T-Pain stopped by the MTV newsroom recently to talk about putting an end to Auto-Tune, and his visit was as fun as always. We talked about everything, from my co-worker Whitney Benta hating on the fact that Teddy thanked me in the Thr33 Ringz album credits (What up, Roc!!!!!) to Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch to a special award he will be getting soon. Check out the tape here.


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