Sonu Nigam admits even he uses auto-tune in 'certain songs', blames digitised recording: 'Voice sounds off if it's raw'

Sonu Nigam shared an honest assessment of the use of auto-tune in Indian music while appearing on The Game Changers podcast.

The debate over the use of auto-tune refuses to die down in the music industry. Over the years, the tool to correct singers’ pitch and voice has been used a bit too frequently, say critics. The argument is that it has enabled ‘lesser’ singers to fool audiences in a way by appearing more melodious. Now, Sonu Nigam, one of the most successful singers from India, has waded into the debate, but with a rather hot take. He admitted that he himself uses auto-tune in certain songs and said it is impossible not to, given the changed climate of song production.

Sonu Nigam spoke about the use of auto-tune in music.

Sonu Nigam on using auto-tune

Speaking with senior trade analyst Komal Nahta on his podcast, Game Changers: The Music Series, Sonu opened up about how technology has altered the recording process today. Sharing an honest perspective on the highly debated topic of pitch correction, the singer said, "The era of auto-tune has certainly brought a lot of changes. People say a lot of bad things about it, but I say ‘Jo bhi hua hai aacha hua hai (Wharever has happened is for the good)’. In earlier days, you had to sing without auto-tune, and we are lucky to riyaaz (practise) without it, and now we don't need it. But still, I would say I use auto-tune on certain songs of mine. Everything now is so 440; previously, everything was live. We had live sarangi; live strings, so somewhere our pitch didn't have to be perfect. Everything now is digitised; everything is going in a straight line, and your voice will sound off if it's raw. Previously, with live music, we used to adjust according to the live music, but now your song will stand out.”

But Sonu cautioned against the unchecked use of the tool, saying it cannot be used to create singers from scratch. “It's our responsibility that we don't use the resources to fix the voices of those who can’t sing. You give your 99% and bring it to 100% with auto-tune. Many actors use auto-tune for their songs, and it's absolutely fine if they use it to enjoy their dreams. But they cannot replace singers,” he added.

Sonu Nigam's recent work

Sonu most recently lent his voice to the song Tabassum from Batwara 1947. Composed by AR Rahman and written by Javed Akhtar, the song is picturised on Ali Fazal, Isha Sandhir, Karan Deol and Kanikka Kapur. Helmed by Rajkumar Santoshi, the film also stars Sunny Deol, Shabana Azmi, Preity Zinta and Abhimanyu Singh in key roles. The film is scheduled to release in theatres on August 14.

Meanwhile, Sonu is set to perform live at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre on August 30 as part of his Revolution Tour.