It all started with Cher’s commercial hit, Believe. Autotune hit mainstream. In the decades since, music listeners have been guided by subtle “guard rails” in the form of pitch correction. Since around 2002, autotune has smoothed out vocal recordings on most of the music you hear. Now, many concert goers can expect the same technology in real-time.
Much like AI-generated content today, the technology works behind the scenes, helping artists deliver a flawless performance while keeping the listener blissfully unaware. Also like AI, many “purists” continue to reject the technology, particularly in marketing and writing.
There are still a few famous holdouts who champion completely natural vocals. Powerhouses like Adele and Celine Dion, whose recordings are widely regarded as some of the most technically flawless in modern music, refuse to use Auto-Tune. Rock musicians like Jack White and Dave Grohl similarly stick to traditional, unaltered recording techniques. Yet, for most listeners today, the soundscape is a blend. We now hear a mix of subtly altered and purely natural performances, typically without knowing the difference in either live or recorded music.
Yet, even with the technology of perfection at our fingertips, we have not outright rejected flawed performances. Even the most talented artists of the 1970s occasionally went “a little pitchy, dawg.” Biopics like Bohemian Rhapsody, Elvis and Rocketman reminding us that vocal wiggles and other less-than-mechanical imperfections didn’t detract from the mainstream appeal. In recent years, many older tracks continue to survive, endure, and feel timeless as they gain a second life in soundtracks and on social media reels. Stranger Things drove a wave of 80’s nostalgia, bringing some tracks that weren’t even mainstream in their era into the public conscious. These tracks recorded without sophisticated correction tools don’t feel out of place 40 years later in a completely different recording landscape.
For now, we may still notice the occasional extra finger or toe in AI-generated images, or stumble over the occasional awkward sentence in AI-written articles. These relics are as over the top as Cher’s warble-y Believe delivery. But just as pitch correction quietly became a normal part of the music we consume, AI-produced media will soon blend seamlessly into our daily experiences, with human expression shining through no matter the source.