Call it a resuscitation, but auto-tune isn’t D.O.A. after all. (Sorry, Jay-Z.)
The developers at Smule have teamed up with rapper T-Pain to create I Am T-Pain, which gives users access to the same Anatares auto-tune technology that Mr. Pain uses in the studio. That means you, average Joe or Jane, can sound like T-Pain, too. The technology is also used by Kanye West, as Stephen Colbert so aptly demonstrated on his show.
I Am T-Pain comes with five songs–including “Bartender” and “I’m N Luv (Wit a Stripper)”–that feature karaoke style built-in lyrics. There are also three background tracks and a blank freestyle mode for you to craft your own songs. You can purchase additional songs within the app, including “Good Life” and “Buy U a Drank,” for 99 cents each. You can use T-Pain’s tuning, customize your auto-tuning or turn it off completely.
To get started, select your beat, sing and save. You then have the option of renaming your track, playing it back, deleting it (I did this often), sending it via email or uploading it to MySpace, Facebook or Iamtpain.smule.com, where you might be featured and perhaps made fun of. I don’t know any T-Pain song well enough to keep up with the lyrics, but freestyling is fun and it’s hilarious to listen to other people give it try.
Users are encouraged to sing into the standard iPhone headphones for the best results, or to plug in external speakers. You can sort of tell how much the app is auto-tuning when you have headphones in, but can’t at all if you’re just singing into the phone body. I Am T-Pain is available for the iPod touch, but requires the use of an external mic and the 3.0 update.
Everything sounds better auto-tuned, right? I downloaded this app for its potential humor and fun aspect and I can say I’ve already gotten my $3 back in laughs.
And if you care to hear what Jay-Z thinks, well, click here.
