“Heartless” (2008) is a music piece of West’s that falls under the genre of pop while also drawing influences from R&B and hiphop. The song’s R&B influence can be distinctly heard through the song’s moderate tempo and the prominent baseline. Throughout the song, one can also hear the use of the piano and synthesizers. West also employs the use of synthesized vocals in order to enhance the melody of the composition.
From the opening of “Heartless” (2008) by Kanye West, it can be clearly heard that autotune was heavily employed within the musical production of this piece. This musical piece begins with 2 distinct vocals, with one of them positioned in the forefront and the other serving the purpose of supporting the principal vocals and thickening the texture. Very distinctly heard within the vocals at the forefront was a rather robotic timbre, which was achieved through heavy use of autotuning technologies. Similarly to how drugs produce feelings of separation and disconnectedness, this robotic timbre immediately instilled within listeners a feeling of severance between mind and body. Furthermore, this feeling that was incited within listeners immediately pulls them into experience of Kanye as “he lost his so to a woman so heartless”. During the chorus, layered behind the principal vocals were elongated, autotuned melodies that possessed a very smooth, instrument-like timbre. These background vocals served the purpose of transforming this piece into one that was more melodic, and thus separated it from the genre that Kanye is most well known for, which is rap. Additionally, Kanye’s autotuned vocals within the chorus of the song produced an echo, which further contributed to the feeling of his heart disconnecting from his entire being.
Moreover, the purpose of these voice effects can be more thoroughly understood through an analysis of its music video. To begin, the music video for “Heartless” (2008) can be characterized as one that is both narrative and artsy. One element of the music video that is worth noting is the use of color. At numerous points throughout the video, Kanye is at the forefront of the video while an abstract collage of colors, like blues, purples, and pinks, occupy the backdrop. Furthermore, we most commonly see the use of these abstract colors as representations of space and distanced galaxies. Thus, the coupling of the robotic timbre of Kanye’s vocal performance with the representation of this distanced, altered reality, in a way, proves that his employment of autotuning technologies can be seen as authentic.