T-Pain has created positive outcomes for himself due to how he transformed auto-tune to create his own style, which has spread through the music industry and has led to more success with other artists as well. It has made him a better artist and it has helped him create diversity between all artist who us auto-tune. T-Pain was able to take his music and not only make it so diverse from other artists music by the auto-tune but has also been able to separate his own music and show people that he could truly be authentic with his music and talent. For example, one of his singles that he released in 2015 called “Say the Word (I’m Gone)” was recorded without auto-tune. It captured a feeling of sincerity and gave his music a more authentic sound. Although people were not sure if this song was about his career or a woman, people were still surprisingly pleased with T-Pain’s new image and how he was able to be limit the controversy of authenticity in his music.[1]
Although T-Pain proved that he can be true to his voice without using auto-tune and show people that he has a real, authentic voice, he was also able to take auto-tune and create a new sound with it. He used it to form a different type of rap and hip-hop genre while including his own virtual vibe to his music and albums but not to correct his vocals nor his pitch. T-Pain conquered the use of auto-tune as a creative aspect of music and differentiated his music compared to other artists as it was frequently used by others to fix their pitch but used differently when T-Pain used it.[2] What critics failed to understand was that T-Pain was not just using auto-tune to hide his talent, and he wasn’t just using it to create a different style of music. He has realized that since he has been using it, he has created a trademark for himself. He was never unfocused, untalented nor unable to create and produce music without auto-tune, but what he was doing with auto-tune has made other industries, labels and artists pay attention to him.[3]
T-Pain has widened his fan base by creating an app called “I Am T-Pain”.[4] This app was an app where you can speak into your phone and it automatically changes your voice using auto-tune. Creating this app had many benefits for T-Pain as it strengthened his fan base due to the pleasing sound of their own voices being changed. His app was even used by children that were not a part of his fan base but just liked to hear the sound of their voice through auto tune.
[1] T-Pain, “Say the Word (I’m Gone),” T-Pain, 2015.
[2] T-Pain, Epiphany, T-Pain. T-Pain, 2007.
[3] Kyle Kramer “The T-Pain Effect: How Auto-Tune Ruined Music… And Saved Hip-Hop,” Complex, October 20, 2016, Accessed February 20, 2018. http://www.complex.com/music/2014/04/the-t-pain-efffect-how-auto-tune-ruined-music-and-saved-hip-hop.
[4] “T-Pain Sues Auto-Tune Creator,” Rolling Out. July 30, 2011, Accessed February 20, 2018, https://rollingout.com/2011/07/29/t-pain-sues-auto-tune-creator/.