It doesn't matter what Simon Cowell told you. 2008 was the year we learned that it one no longer needs be able to actually sing in order to have a hit single. Kanye proved that again (twice) last night on SNL.
Oh, don't get me wrong; West's "808's and Heartbreaks" is among my favorite albums of the year. It's just, the man can't sing. T.I. and T-Pain are other rappers who don't actually rap any more but don't actually sing either. It's all about the auto-tune.
It should be stated that though these artists are using auto-tune in a totally new way, hip hop is not the industry that most frequently employs the method. That would probably be country. They just don't make it as obvious. Whereas Kanye wants you to know he's using it, it's mostly live performance and the lack of auto-tune where it becomes (painfully) obvious that Taylor Swift depends heavily upon it in the studio.So, here I am - a guy who can actually sing. And who cares? Then again, maybe it never mattered. Rolling Stone just named Bob Dylan the 7th greatest singer of all time and I'd say that's pretty accurate.
P.S. There was some auto-tuning on my voice for the KNAPSACKHEROES! EP. I wasn't happy about that.
