After her first album, Billie Eilish started using autotune in the studio to shorten the production times. Nowadays, she uses pitch correction and Autotune effects in the studio to add effects and make her voice more smooth. Also, she uses autotune to a small degree in some of her live performances.
When and Why Billie Eilish Uses Autotune
Known for her soft whisper vocal stylings, Billie Eilish is one of the most exciting young stars of the era. On her debut album, which she recorded mainly in her brother’s bedroom, she did not use any kind of autotune effect. But, in her recent recordings, she started to use autotune to a certain degree.
For example, in the song “When I Was Older” from the soundtrack for “Music Inspired by the Film Roma,” she used a heavy autotune effect, mainly to add a more melancholy tune to the vocals. However, the song received harsh criticism, and ‘The Fader’ called the song an “autotune-drenched murmur.”
In her debut album, Billie Eilish chose the hard way and recorded her vocal tracks over and over again to reach perfection. But, when artists sign contracts with record labels, they lose the luxury of having enough time to record their albums. Therefore, they make use of autotune and pitch correction programs as a shortcut.
That is what exactly happened to Billie Eilish. She is a good singer with a unique, soft, breathy vocal style. She occasionally performs with just an instrument and no backing tracks, like in the case of her NPR performance, which is a joy to listen to. Her voice, without any effects, is pure and good enough.
But, especially in her recent productions, Billie Eilish used the help of autotune and pitch correction for several reasons. To add some effects to her vocals, smooth the rough edges of her singing, and, most importantly, record faster as the industry and record labels desire.
She prefers to use autotune to a small degree in her live performances. Also, she uses autotune for her pre-recorded backing vocal tracks, which helps her on the stage. Not in a very heavy way that it sounds robotic or unnatural, but she uses it on some particular songs. But, as said before, she sometimes performs without any effects and backing tracks with her beautiful natural voice.
Summary
Billie Eilish is an incredibly popular singer that has accumulated a large number of fans around the globe. Her singing style is unique, to say the least. She does use Autotune but to a certain degree to shorten studio time, smooth out her vocals, and in live performances to enhance the overall energy and song delivery.
Billie Eilish Featured Image by: Julio Enriquez from Denver,CO, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
