Does Childish Gambino Use Autotune?

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Childish Gambino 9

Childish Gambino is one of the most innovative artists in recent years. Not only is he recognizable by Childish Gambino, which is his stage name, many also know his acting work as Donald Glover. But for his singing, does Childish Gambino use autotune?

Here’s what I’ve learned:

Childish Gambino does use autotune in some of his songs, although he uses it sparingly and in such a small amount that it isn’t really noticeable. He naturally has a great voice and does not need autotune to sing on pitch.

But has he always used it? Does he use it on every song? And what about live performance? Let’s explore a little further.

Can Donald Glover sing?

Donald Glover, also known as Childish Gambino, has a great voice. He is unique because he is often considered a rapper and not a singer, but he does both very well. 

Donald Glover has become known as a pretty great singer over the years.

While he is not the first person people think of for hitting the biggest notes, he has a unique style of singing. Childish Gambino pushes himself as a singer to do different things with his voice.

One of the biggest examples of Childish Gambino being a great singer is in his song Redbone.

He gained a great deal of praise not only because of the recorded version but also because of his performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

In the performance, fans were exposed to the unique vocal tone used on the track, but he added to the notes. Childish Gambino made it clear he was singing live and that he was in his artistic element.

Childish Gambino has also performed live with Stevie Wonder to sing one of Stevie’s classics.

This shows the level of respect Childish has garnered over the years because Stevie Wonder is considered to be one of the greats. Not everyone can say they have performed with him.

Does Childish Gambino actually sing Redbone?

Childish Gambino is the singer on the song Redbone. Many people wonder about this because of his voice’s unique tone and texture in the song, but it is his voice.

As mentioned earlier, one of the best examples of Childish Gambino flexing his vocal ability is Redbone. This is one of the songs everyone points to when introducing others to Childish Gambino.

Despite this, there is some controversy.

Many people speculate that he either did not sing the song or that his voice is the result of an effect. This is because Childish took psychedelic soul and completely pushed it to a new level. The result is something different, and it makes people think it’s not humanly possible.

So yes, Childish Gambino did actually sing Redbone.

He has proven this in the live performances of the song, one example previously mentioned in this article. Each performance has been different, but it is clear that it is him singing.

He has addressed the speculation publicly. 

He has said in interviews that the song was pretty much the true result of the studio session. He told Australia’s Triple J Breakfast radio show, “And there was no vocal pitching on the album. I just sang differently”.

He is referring to “Awaken, My Love”, the album that contains Redbone.

Does Childish Gambino sing live?

Childish Gambino does sing live. He has been known to add to his songs when he sings live as opposed to singing the songs exactly as they are on the recordings.

Most modern artists have been known to lip-sync from time to time.

This is done for various reasons, and many fans have accepted it. Childish Gambino seems to be one of the ones who does not ever lip-sync.

Childish Gambino has gained a reputation for being a dynamic live performer. As an artist, he seems to enjoy bringing his art to life for his fans. As a result of this, he chooses to sing live when he hits the stage.

This is probably important to him because much of his music is experimental.

Artists who make this type of music can easily be confused with a person who would use vocal effects to achieve this sound. Again, think of Redbone.

If Childish Gambino had been caught not singing that song live, many would have assumed he didn’t do it in the studio either.

This is because many people already assume that a sound like that is artificial.

Does Childish Gambino lip sync?

Childish Gambino does not lip-sync when he performs live. He sings completely live and often adds to or improvises parts of his songs to make them unique from the studio recordings.

As mentioned earlier, Childish Gambino does not lip-sync when he performs. With many artists, a quick google search will reveal examples of them not singing live. However, this is not the case here.

Childish is an artist who truly cares about this craft.

This shows not only in his music but in everything else he does. He strikes us as a singer who would rather have a bad performance than lip-sync.

Childish Gambino cares about the relationship between himself and the live audience. 

This shows a level of vulnerability that is not displayed when artists choose to lip-sync. It proves that Childish is not afraid to get on stage and be human and possibly make mistakes.

Does Childish Gambino have perfect pitch?

Childish Gambino does not have perfect pitch, which is the ability to sing a note without backing music or a reference note. However, he is still a great singer. 

An artist having perfect pitch is one of the biggest bragging rights a singer can have. But with the type of singing he does, this is probably not a major concern.

Childish Gambino is not your average modern artist. 

Childish Gambino is not a traditional singer. He likes to do different things with his voice, make music that does not always sound like what would be on the radio, and is a disrupter.

Having perfect pitch is not necessarily in line with these things.

Childish Gambino - Redbone (Live From The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon)

Conclusion

Childish Gambino, also known as Donald Glover, is a multi-talented artist who shows no signs of slowing down.

Over the years, he has shown his growth as a singer and has pushed his music to new levels. He may not have perfect pitch, but people remember his music because it stands out.

Childish Gambino also has a reputation for being a true artist.

He sings live and even adds other elements to his music when he hits the stage. While he may have used autotune on some of his songs, it is not a widespread thing, and it seems he has not used it in more recent years.

But for me, I’ll just be over here hoping to get to see him play a young Lando Calrissian again!

Photo which requires attribution:

Childish Gambino 9 by Eli Watson is licensed under CC2.0 and was cropped, edited, and had a text overlay added.