Ne-Yo has been always known for sharing his opinions about several issues in the music industry regardless of how popular those view may seem. This time the ‘Closer’ singer has lashed out at artists who rely heavily on auto-tune in their music by telling them to “take the training wheels off”.

See what Ne-Yo had to say about the problem below:

Ne-Yo is annoying, his music is bland and boring, and he really doesn't have a spectacular voice himself to be talking about other artists with weak voices and how they should drop auto-tune.

ne-yo is dead on it..young artists use auto tune as a crutch because they know that have no talent and cant sing.i also blame music producers also on this because they feel it the "hippest "thing out now and everybody is doing it so why dont you.what music needs to do is get rid of the computers and auto tune and sampling and go back to basics just real music..a bass,rhythm/lead guitar,organ,real horns and strings and a good 4/4 beat without a sample and most of all a topic with a good storyline and not about the same thing we all hear..(sex,the party,the cars and women you like to get with)

at Neyo of all people trying to get on anyone's singing.

someone's afraid to get Chris Browned

It's no different than using any other form of vocal processing.

This guy is just SALTY because his shit flopped.

I'd say pitchshifters are quite different from other effects that are used for vocals. They alter the tone of your voice considerably. Of course, what has not gotten spoken about in public is not just how off-key some singers tend to be, but how all over the place they are dynamically as well. We've had compressors to take care of that for many, many decades. It's just that a few could tell that by simply listening to the recordings - unlike with autotune.

He's right with his comments, of course.

Y'all can comment on it, but he can't?

Ain't like he's wrong. We've been saying that forever lol

He's right, that mess is annoying.

Auto-Tune is just a phase in our musical history, much like Orchestra Hits were in the 80's. Remember how every four measures of damned-nearly EVERY song in the 80's was punctuated with an Orchestra Hit? So now it's Auto-Tune: This too shall pass. In the not-too-distant future, many will look back on Auto-Tune with nostalgia, not hate.

Ne-Yo is just fighting with everything he's got to stay relevant, lol.

armpit said:

Ne-Yo is annoying, his music is bland and boring, and he really doesn't have a spectacular voice himself to be talking about other artists with weak voices and how they should drop auto-tune.

4 sho.

midiscover said:

at Neyo of all people trying to get on anyone's singing.

My exact first thought.

Isn't Ne-Yo talking about Auto-Tune in the sense that some people have to use it for pitch correcting rather than the electronic filter on the voice if I'm not mistaken? There are a lot of singers who use it for that purpose. In that sense it's not just a passing fad. Shouldn't singers just continue to practice until they can get it right?

[Edited 2/18/11 7:14am]

I'd rather hear off key singing than an auto-tuned voice. It just sounds like shit. For the past 7 years, that's all you hear on the radio. Talk about a played out fad. But it's been in use forever. Take a listen to Shania's Forever and for Always or Maroon 5's She Will Be Loved. They both got help because they can't sing in tune, apparently not even after countless vocal takes.

MidniteMagnet said:

I'd rather hear off key singing than an auto-tuned voice. It just sounds like shit.

I don't know about that. When someone is completely off-key it gets really unbearable. I'd rather listen to the voice gone through a digital filter. It hides it much better.

I guess you'll need to have used the software / harware units yourself to fully understand what Ne-Yo is criticizing here. His primary criticism is how people are relying on it for singing live and them getting too comfortable with it.

The "robotic" voice is the result of the program having to use a pitch shifting algorithm to correct the pitch of the singer to a considerable degree (+/- 2 semitones will already sound very unnatural in most cases). If you want that effect all you have to do is to sing the melody of the song without caring about at all whether or not you hit the notes associated with the scale the program is set to (you can use a MIDI file as well). So when it has also become a "contemporary standard" that those autotuned notes appear here and there on songs it has also lead to the situation that the singers don't care whether they're singing correctly or not. In that sense, there is no clear distinction whether people are using it for "pitch correction" or as "an effect", because the pitch correction has become the effect that is also sought out for many tracks.

If some .orgers feel that I am just stating the obvious above then I apologize for their wasted time. Seems like far too many people don't really understand what's at stake here.

[Edited 2/18/11 8:57am]

Most of all I'd just like to hear someone who can sing in tune. Even if it is just a semi-interesting fad, you gotta wonder - can this person actually sing?

mwilli said:

ne-yo is dead on it..young artists use auto tune as a crutch because they know that have no talent and cant sing.i also blame music producers also on this because they feel it the "hippest "thing out now and everybody is doing it so why dont you.what music needs to do is get rid of the computers and auto tune and sampling and go back to basics just real music..a bass,rhythm/lead guitar,organ,real horns and strings and a good 4/4 beat without a sample and most of all a topic with a good storyline and not about the same thing we all hear..(sex,the party,the cars and women you like to get with)

A lot of bitter people on this forum! He has every right to comment on this because he is way more successful than any of you losers will ever be, more talented than you.

Why are some of you dissing him? When he is speaking 100% truth.

Miserable pricks!!!

novabrkr said:

I guess you'll need to have used the software / harware units yourself to fully understand what Ne-Yo is criticizing here. His primary criticism is how people are relying on it for singing live and them getting too comfortable with it.

The "robotic" voice is the result of the program having to use a pitch shifting algorithm to correct the pitch of the singer to a considerable degree (+/- 2 semitones will already sound very unnatural in most cases). If you want that effect all you have to do is to sing the melody of the song without caring about at all whether or not you hit the notes associated with the scale the program is set to (you can use a MIDI file as well). So when it has also become a "contemporary standard" that those autotuned notes appear here and there on songs it has also lead to the situation that the singers don't care whether they're singing correctly or not. In that sense, there is no clear distinction whether people are using it for "pitch correction" or as "an effect", because the pitch correction has become the effect that is also sought out for many tracks.

If some .orgers feel that I am just stating the obvious above then I apologize for their wasted time. Seems like far too many people don't really understand what's at stake here.

[Edited 2/18/11 8:57am]

Oh no I'm glad you put that out there. It seems people rather have something to correct their vocals rather than have a vocal teacher coach them where to go. It's telling for sure.

midiscover said:

at Neyo of all people trying to get on anyone's singing.

trueiopian said:

midiscover said:

at Neyo of all people trying to get on anyone's singing.

That's what I'm saying.

Despite what his album sales are doing, he is telling the truth as many see it.

neyo has more rights to speak on it than anyone on this site is a singer songwriter and producer so his points r valid im sick of auto tone they need more of just voice glee is a main point too much

Given the qualifications he calls out, I think he issues a sensible challenge.

cbarnes3121 said:

neyo has more rights to speak on it than anyone on this site is a singer songwriter and producer so his points r valid im sick of auto tone they need more of just voice glee is a main point too much

Respectfully, this must be in Twitter-ese.

Agreed, despite his luke-warm albums, he is an actual musician, song-writer, and producer. His point is valid and stands....