So, a leaked version of Britney Spears singing “Toxic” without the aid of auto-tune angels just leaked… and the result is: well, not world-shatteringly bad. But not game-changingly good?
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We must be in the minority opinion, though. A.V. Club thinks her “sweet and sultry unaided vocals surpass the heavily orchestrated version with their vulnerable sincerity.” The usually bitchy Sun calls the performance “impressive.”
Maybe we’re the problem. At some points during the chorus, we could swear she sounds a bit like a balloon enthusiastically deflating. At other points, she’s a bit pitchy and manic and just sort of all over the place. But we have such doubts…
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See, the reliably scathing Twitter denizens are also really into the unaided vocals, making us just feel like total overly judgmental jerks and the worst, most disgusting and black-hearted people on the whole Internet.
Britney spears singing toxic with no autotune. OMG SO GOOD! ? pic.twitter.com/wpOi75ZzFx
— Tasneem (@tazekins) June 8, 2017
No auto tune needed! Britney Spears proves she has a flawless voice in unedited clip of her singing Toxic https://t.co/YOyDSa2LGc And whil…
— Maggiegal (@infoblogs) June 8, 2017
Who said she cannot sing ? Britney Spears absolutely nail 'Toxic' without auto-tune https://t.co/qJqmYPatx8 #leavebritneyalone
— Jérôme Habauzit (@JHabauzit) June 8, 2017
So basically, we’re monsters and there’s something wrong with us. But there’s nothing wrong with Spears’ sweetly unadorned dulcet tones… Right?
Listen:
https://youtu.be/-Ql61rIfNtk
What do you think? A triumph of talent over production techniques? A sad, sorry testament to the middling gifts of today’s pop divas? Something-in-between?
Sound off (but not off-tune) in the comments below.
Dymension
I must say, I am fairly surprised. Did not expect it to be so good.
MikeE
she CAN’T sing. She is just a breathy wannabe. That’s not “singing”.
absolutely anyone can do what she does, and I hear it every day in my work.
I actually hear FAR far better every day in my work.
Xzamilloh
While I can admit Britney doesn’t sound bad at all, I’m not apologizing for thinking she couldn’t sing especially when the majority of her performances, she’s lip syncing, including for the slow songs. Not to mention, for the amount of money she’s paid, her voice does not warrant that paycheck, but you go to see her for the full experience, so kudos to her.
dwes09
Even with production, she has a small voice so that is not unexpected. Were she not at least a little skilled she would never have been a mousekateer. But compared to other singers with similar range (Sara Bareilles, Kate Bush, Regina Spektor) who do not use a whole lot of autotune, do not lipsynch or use post production filtering, she does not standout any more than an average karaoke performer.
She is all choreography, costume, persona and production. An entertainer, not a vocalist.
dwes09
And I have to say her ex-mouse peers like Justin Timberlake and Miley Cyrus are much more accomplished vocalists (look for Cyrus’ “backyard sessions” on youtube where she covers classic country/bluegrass tunes she grew up with; she demonstrates a lot of skill).
Slash
Britney puts on a fun show. But she’s not a good singer and for sure is below average even amongst every day pop singers. That being said, she sounds better than I would have expected in isolated vocals. So for me she is outperforming expectations on this and that is more than I could have hoped for.
michel_banen
At first it’s okay but when the higher notes come…. then my ears hurt. I still wonder who REALLY sings on her records…. always expected another Milli Vanilli scandel….
Orgoglio Masch
So good? Are you tone deaf?
Terrycloth
Never heard this song before as I’m not a fan… especially. Of most pop artist these days flick of the control switch anyone can sing. Never thought she was much of a singer /dancer but apparently enough have to make her famous..
jorgecruz
Britney is an entertainer and I like her pop songs as much as anybody else. Now lets be real. This is not one take- these are the best takes of each part of the song edited together. Even with that she goes flat at the chorus and is flat for the remainder of the song, which means there were no better takes. She knows how to sing in a specific style but she will never be a great vocalist -and I am not sure I care. Her stuff is still fun and queens still sing along in the bar every time one of her songs play. She has been involved in some great pop songs so i just enjoy her for what she is. On a side note, I would like to see her go back on the MTV awards and do a kickass version of Piece of Me. She seems to have her stuff together and it would be fun to see her fix that.
therealzam
I’ve always thought the use of auto-tune was an artistic decision for the song. By that I mean the technology is integral to it as a work of art and intentional. The use of the technology was not at all hidden. Thus, auto-tune was used not to “correct” Brittany’s vocal weakness. Anyone who sings “Toxic” without it will sound weird and even jarring, especially Brittany herself (because we are used to hearing her voice with the artificial alterations).
I’m not saying she has the best voice in pop or is even that great, but I’ve never felt her vocals were the strongest part of her act. Look, she’s no Tina Turner and makes no effort to hide that fact. Even her decision to use pre-recorded tracks for her songs isn’t unusual. In fact, it’s standard for choreographed songs where singers struggle to keep their breath. Again, she doesn’t hide this fact either as she often sings and improvises over her recorded voice.
In short I offer the following advice to those who dislike her: vote with your ears and don’t listen to her and don’t attend her performances. In the current world of subscription music services, you decide which artists are paid by voting with your ears and the ‘thumbs down’ feature. No artist deserves to be attacked or overly criticized for no real benefit, especially one with her history of mental health issues.
Yes, the tech has been abused to hide vocal imperfections, but there are many examples where
With that in mind, she actually sounds pretty good.