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3%% Additionally, musical examples are alphabetized within genre categories. Please keep this in mind.
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5[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Auto_Tune_box_3792.jpg]]
6
7->''"That's Auto-Tune, son! It lets you sing... even if you can't sing!"''
8-->-- '''Thugnificent''', ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'', "Bitches to Rags"
9
10Auto-Tune is a pitch correction software suite offered by Antares Audio Technologies. While neither the only software of its kind on the market nor the first method of pitch correction, its high flexibility and ease of use quickly shot it to such prominence that it may qualify as a BrandNameTakeover.
11
12Auto-Tune was conceived in the mid-nineties not by an audio engineer, but a seismic analyst working for Exxon named Andy Hildebrand. When asked at a party if he could use his software to modify a singer's pitch, he developed Auto-Tune. The first version of the software was released in 1997.
13
14Auto-Tune was originally intended as a way to correct notes sung flat or sharp by less than a semi-tone (a small musical example of FixItInPost), but [[NotTheIntendedUse it was discovered to create a distinctive robotic sound when driven much further and combined with abrupt pitch shifts]]. The first (successful) usage of this style was on the 1999 #1 Music/{{Cher}} single "Believe", but because this method was kept as a trade secret at the time, it took a couple years for other artists such as Music/DaftPunk to discover it.
15
16The act of distorting vocals for a robotic effect is not new in and of itself, having been used since the 1970s with the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocoder vocoder]], but this was mostly relegated to funk and electronica, both niche markets. Using Auto-Tune for a similar effect didn't become prominent until the arrival of Music/TPain in 2005. Unlike other artists that relegated it to subtle uses or genres aiming for a digitalized sound, T-Pain used it obviously and flagrantly on nearly all of his releases. His huge success led to a [[FollowTheLeader slew of imitators]] within pop, R&B, and hip-hop. Within a very short period, Auto-Tune distortion became the norm rather than the exception.
17
18With the wide adoption of Auto-Tune, the technique quickly became a source of controversy both within and in discussion about the music industry. The major criticism is how the program strips all the personality and subtle harmonics from a performer's voice, leaving those who utilize it sounding near-identical with each other. This ties in with the criticism that it is inherently lazy and dishonest: because the software ensures perfect pitch, the actual capabilities of the singer are a moot point. These arguments exclude artists who use it primarily to distort their voices into the aforementioned robotic sound, but ''they'' catch their own flak for their (perceived) [[FollowTheLeader unoriginality]]. Auto-Tune is such a source of backlash that in many circles, it's actually used as a general insult against singers regardless of context.
19
20Still, with the majority of the best-selling singles and albums utilizing the method, it's unlikely to fade away any time soon.
21
22See also the LoudnessWar, the other major controversy within the music industry.
23
24Compare SyntheticVoiceActor.
25
26'''Please remember that Administrivia/TropesAreTools and not to use this as a TakeThat page.'''
27----
28!!Examples of artists, albums, and songs using Auto-Tune as a method of distortion include:
29
30[[foldercontrol]]
31
32[[folder:Advertising]]
33* Brian the robot's voice in British commercials for [=Confused.com=].[[note]]Replacing the cartoon ads based on the song "YMCA", to the disappointment of many.[[/note]]
34* Used extensively in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMtBKApXMx0 this]] Wendy's ad.
35* Oreo's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFsZ6BO4LU0 Wonderfilled ad campaign]] is fairly obviously auto-tuned, though it's downplayed in the later ads.
36[[/folder]]
37
38[[folder:Alternative Rock]]
39* Music/JarsOfClay used autotuned backing vocals on the song "Headphones" (from ''The Long Fall Back to Earth'').
40* Music/{{Lifehouse}}: Used on "Wrecking Ball" and "Here Tomorrow, Gone Today". Jason's used it in some live performances.
41* Quietdrive's cover of Cyndi Lauper's "Time after Time" uses it subtly but noticeably, as does Ashley Tisdale's version.
42* Music/{{Radiohead}}
43** Used twice on their album ''Amnesiac''. In "Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box", Auto-Tune set to extreme settings was used to distort the vocals into a vaguely unsettling robotic melody (the BrokenRecord lyrics don't help), and on "Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors", Thom spoke the lyrics instead of singing them and then ran them through Auto-Tune, producing crazy pitch-shifts that fit well with the already very ParanoiaFuel music.
44** On "TKOL RMX 1234567," two songs feature Auto-Tune; like on ''Amnesiac'', it's used for artistic purposes. "Codex (Illum Sphere RMX)" and "Little By Little (Caribou RMX)" use it to alter the melody of the original song into an entirely new one.
45** "Kid A" (the song, not the album) features an Auto-Tune or vocoder effect that distorts the vocal part and makes it entirely incomprehensible. This was done because, while the lyrics on the face of it are simply enigmatic and rather unsettling, they reportedly represent something truly horrific to [[CloudCuckooLander Thom Yorke]], and he wanted to separate himself from it. He's never confirmed what exactly that horrific thing is, but considering the pied piper imagery and the disturbing lyrical outtakes that can be found on the Radiohead website, it looks rather like it's about rape or pedophilia. Other theories include mind control and the first human clone. The song was written while Yorke was [[CreatorBreakdown regularly hallucinating and having out-of-body experiences, among other things.]]
46* The Music/TheyMightBeGiants song "Bastard Wants To Hit Me". For... some reason. It is also used more seriously (ha) on most of their following album, ''The Else''.
47** "Bastard Wants to Hit Me" is more of a stealth parody. As for its use on ''The Else'', it surprisingly was NOT used on "I'm Impressed". WordOfGod says the vocals are strange in that song, due to the fact that demo for that song ended up on the final product, with the demo itself being captured on a very lo-fi mp3 file.
48[[/folder]]
49
50[[folder:Country]]
51* Music/GeorgeStrait frequently employs Auto-Tune or other forms of pitch correction to make his voice sound better in studio. It's most noticeable on "It Just Comes Natural", where he flubs a note on the line "tumbleweeds roll" and not even the Auto-Tune covers it up. He also used it for deliberate effect on his recording of Rodney Crowell's "Stars on the Water", and his final live album, ''The Cowboy Rides Away: Live from AT&T Stadium'', had it used to egregious effect.
52* The pop mix of "The Way You Love Me" by Music/FaithHill has Auto-Tuned backing vocals.
53* The end of "Stuck Like Glue" by Music/{{Sugarland}} has Jennifer Nettles singing Auto-Tuned backing vocals [[SelfBackingVocalist over herself]].
54* "Merry Go Round" by the [=JaneDear=] girls.
55* "Top Down" by Fast Ryde. The label sent out an alternate mix without it.
56* The opening to "Keep Your Distance" by Music/PattyLoveless ("If I ''cross'' your ''path'' again"). This is particularly notable as Loveless usually went out of her way to avoid studio trickery on her voice.
57* Joe Nichols uses it for the entirety of his album ''Old Things New''. It's especially noticeable on "Gimmie That Girl".
58* Practically a trademark of Joey Moi's production style when working with CountryMusic artists. It's most noticeable with Music/FloridaGeorgiaLine, but he has also done it on songs by Music/JakeOwen, Music/MorganWallen, Chris Lane, and Dallas Smith. The remix of Florida Georgia Line's "Cruise" featuring Music/{{Nelly}} drowns the whole song in it, and "May We All" also applies it liberally to duet partner Music/TimMcGraw's voice.
59* Music/TimMcGraw's 2014 single "Looking for That Girl" was originally recorded with Auto-Tune, but an alternate mix was also sent out with it removed.
60* The verses of "Drink to That All Night" by Jerrod Niemann.
61* Music/ShaniaTwain's 2017 single "Life's About to Get Good" really does a number on her voice. Justified in that a combination of functional dysphonia and Lyme disease had impacted her ability to sing.
62[[/folder]]
63
64[[folder:Electronic Music]]
65* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISZJom-VeVo 2 Girlz]] is what you get when you apply Auto-Tune to the Cascada "hands-up" style.
66* Not necessarily Auto-Tune, but Assemblage 23's "Automaton" uses a robotic vocoder, which is fairly uncommon for him.
67* ATC's "Around the World (La La La La La)" didn't originally use Auto-Tune, but Auburn's "La La La", which samples that song, uses it to excess.
68* Music/{{Cascada}} themselves use it in "Evacuate the Dancefloor" and many others on the album of that name and ''Original Me''.
69* Caramell of "JustForFun/{{Caramelldansen|Vid}}" fame.
70* Music/{{Covenant}} and Necro Facility's "Lightbringer" uses a T-Pain-like vocoder on the verse vocals.
71* Cylab, in the bridge section of "Greys".
72* Music/DaftPunk
73** The album ''Discovery''. Guy and Thomas also employed other voice processing tactics such as vocoders and talkboxes. The ''entire point'' of the band is to sound like robots. The band themselves were once asked what they thought about Auto-Tune, and Thomas Bangalter compared the opposition to it to a near-panic in France when they were children, where some musicians attempted to ban synthesizers.
74* Dune -- [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pzzz7xcCyo "Dark Side of the Moon"]].
75* Electric Valentine, especially "Automatic" and "Chasing the Sun". They also frequently use vocoders. Averted by their live performances.
76* Not even the Eurobeat genre is safe:
77** April's "Hanami" and "The Magic I Feel".
78** David Dima's Eurobeat remake of Music/DuranDuran's "Save A Prayer".
79** Jay Lehr's "Little Little Star".
80** Lilly -- "You Got the Power" and "Back into the 80s", a rare use of Auto-Tune by Hi-NRG Attack.
81* [[https://youtu.be/mW7EV33kRJA?si=0BiF31tQx0Tfgq1u "If I"]] by Fiori.
82* Genki Rockets, the band of Tetsuya Mizuguchi, creator of ''VideoGame/{{Lumines}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Rez}}'', and ''VideoGame/ChildOfEden''. Most notably in "Breeze".
83* Groove Coverage used it in the chorus of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2k6A6VZ3KWE "A Million Tears"]], and a few other songs.
84* Hot Chip uses this occasionally, although they mostly avoid it.
85* {{Music/INNA}} uses it in "Wow", "Club Rocker", "More Than Friends", and many other songs on ''I am the Club Rocker'' and ''Party Never Ends''.
86* Jana's [[https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=yJlzYhHU-uQ&si=LU70gch5dObpLoz7&feature=xapp_share "Ooh Baby Baby" (dance remix)]], during the prechorus.
87* Kandystand's "Black Pearl" and "Disco Queen" blatantly feature Auto-Tune.
88* Music/{{Lights}}, especially in "Saviour".
89* Little Boots in "Remedy". Most of her other songs avoid it or use it more subtly.
90* Unusual for {{darkwave}}, Midnight Resistance used it in "Wastelands".
91* mind.in.a.box's "Unknown" uses it alongside other vocoder effects that make the male singer's vox [[CrossDressingVoices sound female]]. Also used in "Second Reality".
92* Just about all Nu Italo does this. It's a defining feature (and depending on [[http://techno.org/electronic-music-guide/ who you ask,]] not necessarily bad). Examples:
93** Eiffel 65 -- "Blue"
94** Kim Lukas -- "All I Really Want"
95** {{Music/Sarina Paris}} -- "Just About Enough".
96* "Mayhem of Life" by Oscalator and Rogard.
97* Oscillator X, particularly "Party People All Night Long", "Dynamo", and "Safety Net".
98* Music/OwlCity uses Melodyne, a program similar to Auto-Tune, with the result (especially on his older songs) sounding like [=GLaDOS=] from VideoGame/{{Portal}}.
99
100* Nearly every song by Robin Fox, with the exception of [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness her early material]].
101* Music/{{Vaniru}} heavily uses it for effect.
102* Most of Music/WoodenToaster's songs use a vocoder, but the chorus of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUptKs5Fccw "Tough Luck"]] just goes for straight Auto-Tune.
103[[/folder]]
104
105[[folder:Hip Hop]]
106* Music/BlackEyedPeas. While the guys use it frequently, in a song Fergie opted to go with a robotic voice so different from her normal sound that it was unmistakably Auto-Tuned but really hard to tell that it was Fergie.
107** You can hear it a bit when will.i.am sings [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyVzjoj96vs "What I Am"]] on ''Series/SesameStreet''.
108* Music/KanyeWest's album ''808s & Heartbreak'' features nothing but Auto-Tuned vocals, apparently because West [[RuleOfFun thinks Auto-Tuners are the funnest things ever]]. Judging by the weirdness of the video for "Love Lockdown", the album's first single, the sterility was a desired effect.
109-->'''[[ActorAllusion Kenny West]]:''' Alright, alright, I know, you think you're so hot, question is: ''[[WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow can you sing like a robot?]]''
110** OlderThanTheyThink, though: Kanye actually first used Auto-Tune in his 2004 debut album to modify John Legend's voice on a track.
111** Kanye has also used Auto-Tune for rapping (like on T.I. and Jay-Z's "Swagga Like Us") and in combination with distortion and other processing for more dramatic effects (like the coda to his song "Runaway", where he sounds like a guitar solo).
112* Other than Music/KanyeWest, a few rappers have used this as a one-time thing (either to try something different or an attempt to get on the pop charts), examples being "Lollipop" by Music/LilWayne (which had West on the remix) and "Sexual Eruption" by Music/SnoopDogg ([[OddFriendship the remix of which featured]] Music/{{Robyn}}).
113* Hip-hop/R&B artist Music/TPain is the TropeCodifier, though arguably different than most usages since he uses it blatantly to sound like a robot and not just to make it sound like he can sing. He stated that [[http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/2011/06/t_pain_vocal_effect_Auto-Tune.php he wants to move on from using Auto-Tune]] and instead start using different vocal effects called the "T-Pain Effect."
114* Flex Entertainment is an American record label founded in 2018. Many of their signed artists abuse Auto-Tune for comedic effects, making them sound like incomprehensible robots. Flex's worst offenders include Submarine Man, Lil Meerkat, and Footye North.
115* ''WebVideo/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory'' uses this for Creator/StephenHawking rather than the program the real Hawking uses to speak. This is because if you've ever heard Stephen Hawking speak, you know you can't ''rap'' with that program.
116* Music/{{BTS}} (especially SUGA) have used this for stylistic purposes in their rap verses (as well as vocals - see the Pop folder below for more). Examples include SUGA's verses in "Come Back Home" and ''especially'' the more experimental "Outro: Tear" (and its pre-chorus), where he uses autotune to combine the complex, angry, self-loathing lyrics with a feeling of drowning, adding to the oppressive feeling of the song overall.
117* Music/SelfInsert is an experimental hip-hop group that uses autotune as a way of identifying with machines, something outside of themselves. Sebastian Hedge stated in an interview that he "wanted to channel thoughts about music from a detached standpoint, like talking into a microphone" as a basis for the art.
118* Music/{{Eminem}}:
119** Eminem has self-declared as an Auto-Tune hater, though his reason for hating it is more because everyone just uses it because it's cool rather than because he hates the sound. (See this lyric from 2010's "Cold Wind Blows" -- "''Rap is a landfill... you try to diss me, I'll slaughter you -- I put that on everything, like everyone does with Auto-Tune.''")
120** Slim uses it from time to time, usually to mock styles of rap he dislikes or occasionally to make himself [[CuteButCacophonic even more annoying]].
121*** In "My Mom", he sings "I can't even write a rhyme without you in it", putting a slight stutter on the consonant so it [[MondegreenGag sounds like]] "with Auto-Tune in it", then starts singing in Auto-Tune - "''My Valium, my Vaalllaaallliiiuuuum!!''"
122*** His feature on Music/SkylarGrey's "C'mon Let Me Ride" displays him using it most purely to irritate - singing lyrics from "My Bicycle" by Music/{{Queen}} in both Auto-Tune ''and'' the [[Series/PeeWeesPlayhouse Pee-Wee Herman]] voice he used on his abrasive novelty single "Just Lose It".
123*** The conceit of "Tone Deaf" is that Slim Shady [[IgnoringBySinging sings badly in Auto-Tune at all of the haters saying things that get him down]], including [[CriticalDissonance music critics]] saying he makes bad music, other rappers who make bad music, people telling him to stop fighting with other rappers because he's embarrassing, or his manager asking him [[PulledFromYourDayOff if he can have Christmas off]].
124** He's also one of the few pop artists who doesn't always pitch-correct his out-of-tune singing vocals, with many of his producers (Dre and the Bass Brothers in particular) finding his slight tunelessness to be part of his {{Adorkable}} charm, though this is a controversial topic.
125** Unironic pitch correction is also audible on a few songs where he's pushing at the limits of his ability, like the PatterSong "I'll Hurt You" or his attempts at soaring R&B/rock vocals in "The Hills (Remix)" and "Twisted").
126[[/folder]]
127
128[[folder:Indie Music]]
129* Many songs from Disko Warp Records, including their remix of Melody & Mezzo's "I Wanna Be Your Star".
130* Music/{{Fun}}'s ''Some Nights'' album. Between the gratutitous, overall {{Narm}}-y-ness of Auto-Tune, [[NewSoundAlbum and the album's generally more mainstream sound,]] the resulting BrokenBase was no surprise.
131* Music/ImogenHeap makes creative use of vocal processing, both in her solo work and with Music/FrouFrou. Averted by her breakout solo hit [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHk2lLaDzlM "Hide and Seek"]], which used a keyboard vocoder instead of Auto-Tune.
132* Rediscover is a case of a band with terminal Vocoderitis; seriously, they can't go through at least one song without the thing.
133* Music/BonIver uses Auto-Tune in the songs "Wolves" and "Beth/Rest". Taking it even further, "Woods" is nothing ''but'' Auto-Tuned vocals, layered one on top of another. The vocals to the album ''22, A Million'' are processed almost entirely through Auto-Tuning.
134* Music/TayZonday uses it on "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaID5S1Psa8 Roll Your Dice]]".
135* Music/SufjanStevens uses it extensively on ''Music/TheAgeOfAdz'', although mainly for aesthetic purposes.
136[[/folder]]
137
138[[folder:Metal]]
139* Music/{{Babymetal}}'s lead singer Suzuka "Su-Metal" Nakamoto is Auto-Tuned on some songs for a robotic effect. Fans mostly don't take issue with it in those cases, but ''do'' often complain about the tendency of studio albums to over-correct her vocals since she's known even amongst the music press to be a highly skilled live singer.
140** Su's voice is Auto-Tuned on "Kingslayer", her collaboration with Music/BringMeTheHorizon, a deliberate choice to fit with the lyrics referencing a malfunctioning computer system (metaphor for life). Oli Sykes's voice is even more absurdly over-processed near the end.
141* Music/{{Galneryus}} vocalist Masatoshi Ono/Sho uses Auto-Tune effects on both studio recording and in live performance. The results receive mixed reviews, although the sound is reminiscent of what would happen if someone created a Music/{{Vocaloid}} based off of [[Music/ToshimitsuDeyama Toshi]]. Fans of Yama-B (who sang without autotune) are generally not pleased.
142* Unusual for IndustrialMetal, Helalyn Flowers' "Frozen Star" has autotuned verses.
143[[/folder]]
144
145[[folder:Musical Theater]]
146* Discussed and Invoked by the character Mischa Bachinski in the 2008 musical ''Theatre/RideTheCyclone''. Mischa is an aspiring rapper (he goes by the name "Bad Egg" on his youtube page) who idealizes the wealthy, bad-boy lifestyle of famous HipHop artists as the antithesis to his unhappy circumstances in the tiny Canadian town of Uranium, Saskatchewan. His signature song is a BoastfulRap that makes gratuitous use of autotuning, parodying the "the last bastion of pure strength and masculinity in society: self-aggrandizing commercialized hiphop" of the 2000's.
147--> '''Mischa''': I feel the rage. And when I rage, I rap about money and auto-tune. Auto-tune will never die!
148[[/folder]]
149
150[[folder:Pop Music]]
151* Ark Music Factory's entire output applies heavy doses of Auto-Tune. The most infamous of these is Music/{{Friday}}.
152* In the aftermath of the 2010 disaster in Haiti, many pop stars released a cover of USA For Africa's Anvilicious yet still well-made and popular collaborative hit, "We Are The World". Unfortunately, since they were primarily ''modern pop artists'', they couldn't record it without [[HateDom auto-tuning it until everybody hated them]].
153* The Music/{{Cher}} single "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbXiECmCZ94 Believe]]" is the TropeMaker. The song opened the floodgates and made EDM the reigning genre for 17 years (and counting).
154** Parodied by [[Series/HarryHillsTVBurp Harry Hill]] who "performed" the song with a Cher-styled ventriloquist doll. When it got to the bit in the song which is clearly studio-enhanced, he did the classic ventriloquist's trick of seemingly drinking a glass of water while the doll "sang" on, in lip-sync to the song.
155* Music/BritneySpears either caused or inspired the trend of electronically making your voice robotic (along with Cher) with her album ''Blackout'', specifically the song "Piece Of Me".
156-->'''[[http://dlisted.com/2015/04/09/open-post-hosted-by-these-two-messes-shooting-a-video-together/ Michael K.]]''': Because the music industry is run by the Illuminati and they get off on hearing our blood-curdled screams as our eardrums melt, they paired Music/IggyAzalea with Brit Brit Spears for a new song called [[strike:“Pretty Messy”]] “Pretty Girls”. The song hasn’t been released yet, but I’m guessing it’ll sort of sound like an auto-tuned chipmunk exorcism in a warehouse full of ponies Riverdancing on Casio keyboards.
157* F.L.Y. JustForFun/{{egregious}}ly uses it in {{Retraux}} synth pop/rock.
158* [[Series/TheHills Heidi Montag]] used an Auto-Tuner for her debut album ''Superficial''.
159* Darkchild's remix of Music/JenniferLopez's "If You Had My Love".
160* Music/{{Gackt}}, on almost ''anything'' studio recorded since around 2008. It has become harder to tell him and his Music/{{Vocaloid}} Gakupo apart due to this - a properly Auto-Tuned Gakupo sounds nigh-indistinguishable from post 2008 Gackt.
161* Music/JenniferLopez's cover of Shocking Blue/Music/{{Bananarama}}'s [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuuRR7-PGpA "Venus"]].
162* Kelly Rose (the American one, not the New Zealand one)'s "Stupid Memory" and "Head Turn". Also, the other KR's "Outta Sight".
163* Music/{{Kesha}}. In "Tik Tok", even the rap/spoken words are Auto-Tuned. Let's face it, most of her work is vocodered.
164* Music/LadyGaga, in portions of "Monster" and "So Happy I Could Die" and "Poker Face"
165** Justified in that she uses it to create weird vocal effects rather than to cover up bad singing.
166* Music/MileyCyrus in "Party in the USA".
167* The UrExample is ''Fragments of Life'' by one hit wonder Roy Vedas.
168* With her album, ''She Wolf'', especially the eponymous single, even Music/{{Shakira}} has acquired vocoderitis, [[LoudnessWar among other things]].
169* Jordin Sparks, notably in "S.O.S. (Let the Music Play)" and parts of "One Step at a Time".
170* Music/KatyPerry uses it in some of her songs, given the fact that she shared the same producer as Music/{{Kesha}}.
171* Music/MichaelBuble uses it sometimes. Very apparent on "Haven't Met You Yet" and his cover of "All I Want for Christmas is You."
172* Music/DavidGuetta uses for the distortion effect on Music/NickiMinaj on their song "Turn Me On". Ditto for the chorus of Minaj's "Starships".
173** and indeed most of the dance music Minaj is increasingly making
174* Music/{{Rihanna}} uses this in a few songs, notably "Disturbia" and her T.I. collaboration "Live Your Life". Justified in these two; in "Disturbia" it is used to create distortion to aid the dark atmosphere and vibe of the song, and in "Live Your Life" it's used only on the chorus, and there's a slight surprise when it's not used on her verse.
175** Played straight in "S&M"
176* The Madonna cover group Mad'House, especially on "Holiday".
177* Many acts in modern JapanesePopMusic. Notable examples include:
178** Music/{{Perfume}} is well-known for this, especially early on in their major career when the shtick was they were robots from the near-future. The effect has been toned back a lot since ''LEVEL 3''.
179** Music/KyaryPamyuPamyu. Not coincidentally, her music producer is also Perfume's (Yasutaka Nakata).
180** Music/{{Ladybaby}} used Auto-Tune on their studio tracks, rarely for effect. It's easy to tell when one compares how they sound in the studio versus at live shows – Ladybaby never lipsynced or used any live pitch-correction, so the different singing chops of each member was obvious. To their credit, they ''did'' continue improving until the final lineup disbanded in early 2020.
181** Music/PassCode uses some type of vocoder for effect on many of their songs, especially ones that use a lot of chiptune. This also crops up at live shows where even their ''speaking'' will sound robotic.
182* RitaOra's "I Will Never Let You Down".
183* Used for distortion effect in Music/{{NSYNC}}'s song "Digital Getdown". Especially justified since the song was about cybersex and invokes the dial-up tone.
184* [=BarlowGirl=] uses it, notably in "Never Alone" and on ''[[http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/products/BarlowGirl/Love__War/85789/ Love & War]]''.
185* Nick Festari never utilized Auto-Tune in his {{Eurobeat}} productions with Hi-NRG Attack, but his solo album ''This is Me... Slower and Faster'' has it all over the place.
186* Music/JessieJ most notably uses it in "Domino".
187* While often averted for their vocal-heavy songs, Music/{{BTS}} have used Auto-tune in some songs as a stylistic choice, such as in "DNA" (used subtly for a cosmic-like sound), and the pop-rap songs "Mic Drop (remix)" and "Dionysus".
188** "Shadow" and "Black Swan" heavily use autotune to convey feelings of drowning and loss of individuality underneath fame.
189* Farrah Abraham's album "My Teenage Dream Ended" is an unusual case. She decided to produce a form of audiobook, by reading extracts from her autobiography of the same name, and having a music producer autotune them and build pop-dance songs around them. The album is distinctively unmusical, and though poorly received by its intended pop audience, is considered an unintentional masterpiece by fans of avant-garde music.
190[[/folder]]
191
192[[folder:R&B Music]]
193* Jason Derulo frequently begins his songs by [[SingerNameDrop bellowing his name]] with heavy Auto-Tune.
194* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbC72UtNNGY&t=0m14s Akon]] uses it in many of his songs, though only as an accent. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFVYbJDHKwQ&t=0m36s His voice is pretty high to begin with]].
195* K-Ci and [=JoJo=]'s Crazy overloads on the Auto-Tune, mostly on the background choruses, but on the radio version, there's a LOT more Auto-Tune on the lead vocals.
196[[/folder]]
197
198[[folder:Rock Music]]
199* The 2007 Music/{{Maroon 5}} album ''It Won't Be Soon Before Long''. Maroon 5 in general. "She Will Be Loved" marked a point where Auto-Tune was used so excessively to create perfect pitch that it's often the song that initiates casual music listeners to be able to detect its use in other songs.
200* Among the strangest examples of this was Music/NeilYoung's largely forgotten experimental album ''Trans''. On several of the tracks (including a remake of "Mr. Soul"), the vocals were 'sung' using a Vocoder. According to Young, the album was in part inspired by the difficulty which his son Ben had trying to communicate; Ben has severe cerebral palsy and used the Vocoder to speak. Others feel that it was also meant as a reaction to the rather jangly synthpop coming out at the time, however. Regardless of the intended message, the album was a flop, though some critics saw it as a bold effort. A recent review suggested that Neil had been paying attention to Music/{{Kraftwerk}} as well.
201* Used for hauntingly beautiful effect on Safety Suit's album closer "Life Left to Go", a song about trying to keep a friend from committing suicide.
202* "Only God Knows Why" by Music/KidRock. {{Website/Cracked}} joked in one of their articles that Kid should receive a MedalOfDishonor for JustForFun/{{egregious}}ly abusing the effect in the song.
203[[/folder]]
204
205[[folder:Soundtracks]]
206* ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}} VI'' plays different versions of each civ's {{Leitmotif}} as they progress through the game's eras, and when the Zulu enter the Atomic Era, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSezPdwCm-w their theme]]'s traditional [=isiZulu=] vocals pick up some auto-tuning, in reference to contemporary African music's use of it.
207* Used in Paz's ImageSong "Love Deterrence" in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid Peace Walker'', possibly for deliberate AnachronismStew effect since the game is set in TheSeventies.
208[[/folder]]
209
210[[folder:Other Media]]
211* It's subtle in ''Film/{{Annie|2014}}'', but most prominent in "The City is Yours".
212* "Advertising/DontCopyThat2", the sequel to "Advertising/DontCopyThatFloppy", uses Auto-Tune on B Sheba's vocals during the bridge.
213* ''Series/{{Glee}}'' uses this by necessity, since TV production schedules don't allow them to do the number of takes that regular musicians would.
214* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR6qkN5plVI The background jingle]] in the Loquendo [[SyntheticVoiceActor text-to-speech]] demo has this.
215* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPoNpJ29bvE This]] fan-made remix of "[[Franchise/ToyStory You've Got A Friend In Me]]" auto-tunes Music/RandyNewman's voice, which, considering Newman isn't much of a singer to begin with, works surprisingly well,
216* WebVideo/SpaceHamster's opening jingle uses it.
217[[/folder]]
218
219!!Examples of Auto-Tune as a topic of discussion and within contexts other than music include:
220
221[[folder:Advertising]]
222* Fox Sports Midwest has a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wlx258D7OJY commercial]] with Joe Buck and Tim [=McCarver=], stating that they are going to start broadcasting entire baseball games using Auto-Tune. Joe Buck's reaction is priceless.
223* Used in a [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks Disneyland]] commercial spot.
224* Used in a commercial for Bud Light. With T-Pain.
225[[/folder]]
226
227[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
228* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiowSqMhgF4 A version of]] "Dragon Soul" from ''Anime/DragonBallZKai'' has some rather noticeable spots where Auto-Tune is applied to Creator/SeanSchemmel's voice.
229* In ''Anime/SpaceDandy'', [[RobotBuddy QT]]'s actresses' voices were auto-tuned to sound more robotic. It's more subtle in the Japanese dub since intonation is important in that language.
230[[/folder]]
231
232[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
233* ''WesternAnimation/MrPeabodyAndSherman'': One trailer mentions that Peabody invented auto-tune, among other things.
234* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsRainbowRocks'': The villains of the movie are a trio of [[OurSirensAreDifferent sirens]] who use their beautiful CompellingVoice to sow discord among the student body. In the final battle against them, [[spoiler:the heroes shatter their magical amulets. The sirens are visibly horrified by this, and when they try to sing again, they sound horribly off-key and are booed offstage. Their amulets were not just the source of their powers, they were their auto-tune!]]
235* ''WesternAnimation/{{Rio}}'' uses Auto-Tune for its original purpose -- correcting pitch. You can faintly hear it on Raphael's one sung line in the grand finale--evidently, George Lopez can't carry a tune.
236%%* ''WesternAnimation/Rio2'': Nigel shows off his ability to mimic auto-tune.
237* ''WesternAnimation/{{Trolls}}'': Guy Diamond can Auto-Tune his voice at will, and does this randomly when he talks.
238* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouseMovie'': Very noticeable autotune in the singing, particularly with Lincoln.
239[[/folder]]
240
241[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
242* ''Film/LandOfTheLost'': The main characters discover a crystal that essentially does this to the voice of whomever touches it, netting a comment from Rick Marshall that you'd normally need to pay money for this kind of effect.
243* ''Film/SonicTheHedgehog22022'': Doctor Robotnik uses this deliberately [[spoiler: while demonstrating his new powers granted by [[MacGuffin the Master Emerald]]. He had no practical reason to do this; [[EvilIsHammy he's just goofy like that]].]]
244[[/folder]]
245
246[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
247* ''Series/{{Jeopardy}}'': PlayedForLaughs in a category [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te4E1cx2J44 from June 2010]]. You haven't lived until you've heard Alex Trebek sing "Go Down, Moses" with the help of Auto-Tune.
248* ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'': PlayedForLaughs in a sketch with host Kristin Wiig; an infomercial advertising a CD for socialites and by socialites entitled "Classy Sexy Elegnace" ([[TyopOnTheCover yeah, that's what it's called]]). Everything on that album is [[StylisticSuck haphazardly produced]], by their HUSBANDS, no less, (Except for one song in which [[ItMakesSenseinContext her husband Craig T. Nelson]] hires a black producer who "pretends to like her music..."), which results in HEAVY use of the Auto-Tune. The real payoff moment comes near the end, when all three women are singing one song using EACH OF THEIR RESPECTIVE AUTO-TUNE SETTINGS (in different keys and modes). The result is hilariously [[SensoryAbuse scary]]. Hell, EVEN THE ENDING ANNOUNCEMENT is auto-tuned!
249* Creator/HarryHill skewered AutoTune on one of his shows by using a Cher ventriloquist dummy to mime "Believe". When it got to the bits which are "enhanced" by AT, the doll mimed along to the vocals whilst Harry, playing the ventriloquist, made a big thing of drinking a glass of water. [[note]]This is a traditional ventriloquist illusion - the dummy carries on talking while the vent "drinks" the water, but the voice seemingly coming out of the dummy becomes correspondingly distorted[[/note]].
250* The ''Series/{{Leverage}}'' episode "The Studio Job" has Hardison attempt to pass Eliot off as a country music star by providing a real-time auto-tune effect for him. [[spoiler:He's horrified when he realizes it's not working, but it's okay: it turns out that ''Eliot doesn't need it''.]]
251* On ''Series/ThirtyRock'', Tracy is trying not to be seen acting badly at work while he's being filmed for his wife's reality show, which Liz uses to her advantage. Tracy then finds a loophole and starts singing everything to the tune of Music/BillyJoel's "Uptown Girl", because the show can't afford the licensing rights. Liz counters with Auto-Tune to make the melody incomprehensible.
252-->'''Liz:''' ''(flatly, into the Auto-Tuner)'' "Liz Lemon One, doo doo doo doo." That was me, singing Music/TheBeatles' "Here Comes the Sun" for free.
253* The storm surrounding its use during the auditions phase may be what finally kills the UK version of ''Series/TheXFactor''.
254* A subject of much contention on message boards devoted to the TV series ''Series/{{Glee}}''. Was even lampshaded in the first episode of Season 2.
255* In ''Series/ModernFamily'', after Phil gives an impromptu humiliating speech at Claire's political debate, the speech goes viral. At least one Website/YouTube user uses Auto-Tune to create a {{Sampling}} music video out of it.
256* Used in-universe on an episode of ''Series/DegrassiTheNextGeneration''. The Three Tenners want to record a song but one of them can't sing.
257* ''Series/{{Blackish}}'' features the kids using it for a performance of Carol of the Bells, in a scene that completely plays up how hideously unnatural it sounds.
258* In ''Series/TheNewEditionStory'', the majority of Woody [=McCain=]'s vocals are clearly heavily processed with Auto-Tune any time he sings one of Music/BobbyBrown's songs. This is partly justified since he was originally a dancer, not a singer, prior to being cast as Bobby Brown.
259[[/folder]]
260
261[[folder:Music]]
262* Music/JayZ released a song called "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)" as a criticism of the method. After half the hip-hop community went up in arms over him performing the song live with T-Pain, he elaborated that the message was to leave the Auto-Tuning to people who actually use it for an artistic effect, as opposed to just for cleaning up sloppy vocal tracks. This group includes T-Pain and Kanye, and apparently Music/LilWayne to a lesser extent. Whether his own ''blatant'' use of Auto-Tune on various tracks, including all of the sung parts on "Young Forever", counts as hypocrisy shall be left as an exercise for the reader.
263* Korean rapper Music/SanE deals a TakeThat to this, and to [[EarWorm "hook songs"]].
264* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSgiXGELjbc Glorious Dawn]] and the other [[http://symphonyofscience.com/ Symphony of Science]] songs Auto-Tune and set to music various related phrases said by scientists. Some of them are good, others less so.
265* Hip-hop group B.O.B.'s aptly-named "Autotune", which is a TakeThat to artists who use it as a cheap cop-out to make up for their lack of vocal talent.
266* Mentioned in a neutral context by an alternative rocker Zakhar May in "Main Problem of Music in Russia", the point being that even if an artist has a subpar voice, ther's always Auto-Tune and that it's not an excuse for producing crap records.
267[[/folder]]
268
269[[folder:New Media]]
270* Auto-Tune is part of the [=iPhone=] application "I AM T-PAIN". The backing tracks to a selection of T-Pain songs play and the user can sing along with their voice being distorted in the same style.
271[[/folder]]
272
273[[folder:Roleplay]]
274* On ''Roleplay/NoPixel'', Outto-Tune Tyrone, or OTT, had an auto-tuner installed into his vocal chords, and talks/sings in a constant Auto-Tune.
275[[/folder]]
276
277[[folder:Video Games]]
278* ''VideoGame/RockBand 3'' has this (in real-time) for vocalists as an optional feature.
279* {{Justified| Trope}} with "Still Alive" (''VideoGame/{{Portal| 1}}'') and "Want You Gone" (''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'') , since it's meant to sound like a computer is singing it. Not Auto-Tune, per se. There are lots of tutorials on the Internet showing the procedure Valve likely used for the [=GLaDOS=] voice effect (it comes VERY close, even with other voice actors).
280* The same applies to Music/KateBush's 2011 reworking of "Deeper Understanding", much for the same reason.
281* ''Videogame/SaintsRowTheThird'' has Zimos, a pimp who after getting a tracheotomy had Auto-Tune installed in his voice box. In addition to the effect, it tunes his voice randomly.
282* In ''VideoGame/GranblueFantasy'', this is how Jade's default voice sounds like.
283* ''VideoGame/LollipopChainsaw'' has Josey Jones, the Funk Zombie who speaks much likes Zimos. When Juliet first hears him however, she thinks he's imitating Stephen Hawking.
284* ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' features auto-tune in the second verse of [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure2 City Escape's]] Act 1 BGM. Justified as it's paying tribute to and trying to match the pitch of the [[VideoGame/Sonic3andKnuckles Endless Mine]] melody.
285[[/folder]]
286
287[[folder:Web Animation]]
288* ''WebAnimation/WebAnimation'': The titular faggot's "Eeeeh" is auto-tuned after he gets in trouble with school security.
289* In ''WebVideo/FriendshipIsWitchcraft'', Sweetie Belle has distinct RoboSpeak which is created by running all her lines through auto-tune with a limited number of pitches.
290* ''WebAnimation/TheNekciMenijShow'' has all of its characters speaking in various Auto-Tuned and Text-To-Talk voices, presumably because [[TakeThat about 90% of the singers being parodied on the show abuse Auto-Tune.]] On one side of the scale, [[Music/{{Kesha}} Keshir]] doesn't sound like a human being due to being so Auto-Tuned; on the other, [[Music/{{Adele}} Adole]] is the most natural-sounding of the singers.
291[[/folder]]
292
293[[folder:Web Comics]]
294* ''Webcomic/SweetBroAndHellaJeff'''s "movie" deliberately invoked it as part of the video's SensoryAbuse shtick, because [[StylisticSuck everyone hates gratuitous Auto-Tune]]. [[http://www.mspaintadventures.com/sweetbroandhellajeff/movies/SBAHJthemovie1.html WII-IIITH THEIR TOKEN BLAaAaAaAck FRIEND, GEeEeEeEeROOoOoOoOoOMYyYyY!!]]
295[[/folder]]
296
297[[folder:Web Original]]
298* Using Auto-Tune in wildly inappropriate contexts (e.g. babies crying, cats meowing, normal conversation settings) has become something of a meme on Website/YouTube. The video series "WebVideo/AutoTuneTheNews" does this with various news clips for comedic effect. It's hit a popular zenith with the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMtZfW2z9dw "Bed Intruder Song"]].
299* WebVideo/ToddInTheShadows {{discuss|edTrope}}es Auto-Tune in his review of T-Pain's "5 O'Clock". Unlike most music critics, he doesn't mind it, calling it "a tool to be used well or used badly, just like anything else." He also Auto-Tunes the next two sentences of the review just for RuleOfFunny. At the end of the review, he makes his own verse about how the song would play out in real life, also done by him singing with Auto-Tune.
300** Also used for laughs in his review of Jason Derulo's "Talk Dirty": after a female backing vocalist states Derulo's name plainly, he points out that she pronounced it wrong, then imitates Derulo's SingerNameDrop.
301* Parodied by ''Website/CollegeHumor'' in "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JelGcEyS6Aw Sing Talk]]", a spoof of Music/{{Kesha}}'s song 'Tik Tok', which lambasts this style of music in general.
302[[/folder]]
303
304[[folder:WebVideos]]
305* In "[=JoJo=]'s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind WebVideo/ButReallyReallyFast", Polpo (and, by extension, his Stand, Music/BlackSabbath) are voiced entirely with Auto-Tune.
306* ''WebVideo/DontHugMeImScared''
307** Duck Guy speaks exclusively through this, making him an oddly disconcerting character even if he's by no means sinister.
308** This also applies to Colin The Computer, who's autotune voice can be taken to sharp extremes whenever he's mad. {{Justified|Trope}}, as he's a computer.
309* ''WebVideo/{{Jacksfilms}}'' parodied this in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vygiNAk8d9Y&t=105 Dubstep Solves Everything 3]] when AutoTune Jesus is called upon.
310* ''WebVideo/StarWarsUncut'': Used in the dialog between Han and Leia about R2-D2 carrying the stolen Death Star plans.
311* Creator/{{Voxus}}
312** ''Let's Read WebComic/{{Homestuck}}'' uses inconsistent autotune whenever any character references the in-universe comic ''Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff'' to present its StylisticSuck audibly.
313** The same uneven, sporadic autotune used for ''Webcomic/SweetBroAndHellaJeff'' is played straight in ''Let's Read Undertale," to highlight BigBad Flowey's demonic, inhuman nature.
314* [=ZdoggMD=] and a pediatrician named Dr. Harry poke fun at auto-tune in their video "Auto-tune Bad News." They use auto-tune singing to inform one patient that her fiance has been cheating on her and gave her gonorrhea, and another patient that they amputated the wrong leg. It's also used against them by a patient asking for opioid pain medications and disability forms.
315* Creator/DanielThrasher: [[{{Satan}} Stan]] speaks entirely in Auto-Tune
316[[/folder]]
317
318[[folder:Western Animation]]
319* In ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'', Finn swallows a computer, which enables him to distort his voice.
320* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'', a siren sings with an auto-tuned voice.
321** In the live-action episode, Frylock is played by T-Pain, and several of his spoken lines are (appropriately) distorted.
322* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', Bart, Milhouse, Nelson and Ralph get drafted into a BoyBand. The band depends entirely on computer wizardry to make their singing listenable.
323* Mentioned in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEgjgR4j2Mw an episode]] of ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks''. (About 1:47 in.)
324* All the songs from ''[[WesternAnimation/TotalDrama Total Drama World Tour]]'' are autotuned. Oddly, two of the songs you can download on their website lack the Auto-Tune, and everyone is ridiculously off-key.
325* Brutally spoofed in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Grojband}}'' episode "Helmet", where Kin builds an autotuning helmet to hide Corey's voice cracks, only for Trina to sabotage the helmet and transform it into a rampaging robot obsessed with making everything perfect.
326* On ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'', Darwin the fish sings two songs in the episode "The Words". The first one is Auto-Tuned, and the second is styled like a Creator/{{Disney}} VillainSong.
327* The second appearance of the Time Police in ''WesternAnimation/{{Superjail}}'' uses auto-tune for their sung lines, complete with some vocal distortion.
328* Used constantly by the boy band "Sev'ral Timez" in the ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' episode "Boyz Crazy", as part of an extended parody of boy-band music.
329* The titular character in ''WesternAnimation/FreaknikTheMusical'', played by the master of autotune himself T-Pain, both speaks and sings with autotune.
330* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': Used in the episode "The Mane Attraction". Coloratura (who is actually quite talented) has a manager that cultivates an "image" for her that involves auto-tune (produced via magic). Subverted near the end of the episode, where she fires the manager and performs two songs as herself without the auto-tune (showing her actual talents, to the delight of the audience).
331* A non-musical example in ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': when the family's dog builds himself a bipedal robot suit capable of translating his thoughts into flawless english, his lines are auto-tuned to make him sound more robotic.
332* Naturally, "Gay Fish" from ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' is sung with a heavy dose of auto-tune, as it's a parody of Kanye West's "Heartless." Trey Parker often relates a humorous story about having to sing badly on purpose just to make the effect sound right.
333* Say Wah from ''WesternAnimation/KuuKuuHarajuku'' did something to herself to make all of her speech auto-tuned in an attempt to get into [=HJ5=].
334* La Cucarocka from ''WesternAnimation/DNAce'' speak in an auto-tuned voice.
335[[/folder]]
336

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