Thanks to advances in technology, singers don’t have to be technically perfect singers any more: they can rely on things like autotune and backing tracks to make their voices sound good. There are some, of course, who sound just as good singing live as they do on the single or album, but then there are some who need as much help as they can get to sound good when performing live. Here are 11 videos that show what singers actually sound like.
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Britney Spears
Here’s a compilation of clips showing off Britney’s ‘real’ live singing voice – as you can tell, she sometimes sounds quite different from how she’s meant to be sounding. She’s got a reputation for miming, but would you rather she mimed and sounded good or sang live and sounded like she does in this video?
2. Lana Del Rey
A video showcasing Lana’s studio vocals and pitting them against her live vocals. The singer doesn’t have the best of reputations for singing live since she got slaughtered by the critics for her live performance of ‘Blue Jeans’ on Saturday Night Live.
3. Justin Bieber
This video showcases Justin Bieber’s natural, autotune-free singing voice. Make of it what you will.
4. Bruno Mars
Whereas this one does the same for Bruno Mars. The all-round entertainer is known for being able to hold a note while dancing, something not every singer is capable of doing.
5. Mariah Carey
Even singers known for hitting the so-called ‘dog whistle’ notes don’t always have perfect live vocals, as is shown here. Though Mariah Carey has earned much critical acclaim for her vocal performances on her albums and singles, her live performances sometimes don’t live up to the expectation.
6. Beyonce
A look at some of Beyonce’s worst live vocals and some of her best as well. She’s known for delivering some pretty powerful performances, but just like any other singer she doesn’t hit the high notes all the time.
7. Chris Brown
Here’s what R&B singer Chris Brown sounds like without autotune. Does it sound better with or without autotune?
8. Famous singers with their vocals isolated
This video shows what happens when a singer is performing live and you take away all the support, i.e. the backing tracks and whatnot. What you’re left with is the singer’s raw, natural vocals…sometimes they sound good, sometimes they don’t sound good at all…
9. Famous singers with and without autotune
A look at what some of the world’s most successful singers sound like with and without autotune.
10. Worst female live vocals
A look at some of the worst live vocal moments by some big female artists such as Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, Madonna, Kesha and Selena Gomez. While these singers have given lots of great live performances, it’s always going to be the not-so-good ones that get people talking.
11. male singers live vocals with/without autotune
And a look at some of the worst live vocal moments by some big male artists such as Jason Derulo, Maroon 5’s Adam Levine, Michael Buble and John Legend.
