Does Melanie Martinez Use Autotune?

Written by Jeff Campbell in Solo Artists,Pop Last Updated November 17, 2022

Melanie Martinez autotune lg

Melanie Martinez is one of the brightest young stars in the music industry today. And since she first gained national attention when she was a contestant on The Voice, we assume she can sing really well, right? But does Melanie Martinez use autotune?

Here’s what I discovered:

Melanie Martinez does use autotune to help create her signature sound, which some fans refer to as the crybaby effect, named for her debut album. However, her use of autotune is not to correct poor singing but instead to alter her tone to be a little more child-like and strange sounding.

Although Melanie did not win the season of The Voice that she was on, she made it to the top six of the competition.

Over the years, Melanie has built quite a reputation for herself. She has created a persona that many people love but that others do not understand. This extends to her voice as many people have questions.

In order to understand more about Melanie Martinez’s singing, I did some research. I wanted to dig into her use of autotune, her time on The Voice, and if she’s underrated.

Here’s what I found about this young singer that’s pushing boundaries in music.

What type of voice does Melanie Martinez have?

Melanie Martinez has a voice classified as a soprano, although some consider her a mezzo-soprano which has a slightly lower range. But Melanie has a rather unique voice that is soft and delicate, instead of the loud, powerful voice often associated with sopranos.

As I mentioned above, her use of autotune almost makes her sound like a little kid singing. This is despite the fact she was born in 1995 and is well into adulthood.

A typical soprano has a very flexible voice.

But this does not mean it’s necessarily the most powerful voice, by the way. This means their voices are often adaptable and can sound good with various genres and overall sounds.

But a lot of people think of big, powerful singers when they hear the term soprano.

That is not Melanie’s style.

But obviously, her sound isn’t all autotuned and without talent. She wouldn’t have been on the Voice in the first place if she wasn’t an outstanding singer.

One other example of a singer who uses autotune is Halsey.

I wrote a recent article about their use of the vocal effect. They are further proof that this does not take away from the talent of an artist. But how much does Halsey use and is it true they sometimes sing in cursive??

Just click that link to read it on my site.

Does Melanie Martinez have a good voice?

Melanie Martinez has a good voice. She may not have the biggest vocal range, but she can sing really well and has a unique style. And while she did not win The Voice, she would not have been on the show in any capacity if she did not have a great voice.

But there’s something interesting about the way she sings.

Melanie Martinez does something very different with her voice. It has been said to have a “crybaby” effect. This is done with a little bit of autotune.

Many singers use autotune for different reasons.

It is not something that is necessarily used to make up for bad singing. Autotune can add more textures to a song. After all, Justin Timberlake uses autotune, and he has a fantastic voice!

The aforementioned crybaby effect in her music adds to the overall themes. This makes them more personal and even vulnerable. Her voice sounds good without it, but the autotune makes the lyrics stick out.

I wrote at length about Melanie’s voice in a recent article. I went into how she has created this whole persona that works well with the way she sings. But I also talked about the 1 thing she did that forever changed how she sang.

Just click that link to read it on my site.

Why is Melanie Martinez so underrated?

Melanie Martinez may be underrated as she doesn’t just sing. She crafts a whole persona and uses autotune to alter her voice to fit that persona. While this in no way means she isn’t talented, it can distract from people recognizing her talent.

But in many ways, Melanie Martinez is on top of the world. Upon analyzing her Spotify streams, she is quite popular. All of her songs have millions upon millions of streams.

One of the marks of a true artist is if their music is instantly recognizable within a few seconds.

For Melanie Martinez, I heard her music before I knew who she was. “Play Date” is quite popular on social media and has gone viral many times, as an example.

However, Melanie Martinez has not necessarily reached superstardom. She’s not a megastar, although she has the streams. So maybe this balances out, and she still wins.

Because of how different Melanie Martinez sings, many people don’t see her as a serious artist. People respect a more conventional style of singing much more.

So, although she has the numbers behind her music, the mainstream pop scene has not fully embraced her. The question that should be posed is if that is what she even wants.

I tend to compare her overall sound to that of Lana Del Rey.

Besides the “crybaby” sound, there is an almost eerie nature to Melanie’s music. This is much like many of Lana’s songs, especially early on.

Maybe they’re just outsiders.

Although popular, Lana Del Rey also never became a megastar like many of her contemporaries. Melanie Martinez seems to be a more recent example of being a big artist with more niche audiences.

Melanie Martinez is an outsider in the music industry. Almost none of her acts are conventional. This is what makes her special.

Who rejected Melanie Martinez on the voice? (and why?)

When she was on The Voice, Melanie Martinez was eliminated by an audience vote. But it was Adam Levine who first picked Melanie Martinez to work with.

Watch her elimination on YouTube – https://youtu.be/IjQGDVD64Vo

Being on a singing competition show can really help a singer’s career. This gave her the boost she needed to be a big artist after being eliminated from The Voice.

Her time on the show ended during week five of the season.

Melanie was rejected by the audience when they voted to send her home. She, along with Amanda Brown, was sent home. After this, Adam Levine had no artists remaining.

As said before, Melanie Martinez is not a mainstream artist. This is despite being immensely popular. This was also true for The Voice.

Reality competition shows favor a certain type of artist.

Although people liked Melanie Martinez on The Voice, she is not the type of person who would win.

She is not the polished and conventional singer with a gigantic voice. This was especially true in those times, and perhaps still today.

They are vastly different singers, but Melanie Martinez can also be compared to Dua Lipa.

She is another example of a super popular singer, but she’s not a megastar. I wrote a recent article about her approach to music and how much autotune she uses.

Just click that link to read it on my site.

Does Melanie Martinez lip-sync?

Melanie Martinez does not lip-sync entire concerts. However, there are prerecorded vocals she utilizes to help assist while she is doing choreography. Extensive dancing and movement can make it challenging to sing simultaneously.

Although she does not necessarily dance conventionally, Melanie moves around a good bit in her live performances.

Rather than sound too breathy, she simply lip-syncs sections. This does not mean she lip-syncs every song. She typically sings the ones that do not feature a good deal of choreography.

Melanie’s use of autotune shows that she cares about the presentation.

However, it could be argued that many singers train to sing and do choreography at the same time. Also, Melanie does not dance like some of them.

But still, the lip-syncing is justified. She can actually sing.

melanie martinez - live vs autotune (after school, cry baby and k-12 songs)

Conclusion

Melanie Martinez is proof that you don’t have to have the biggest voice to be a good singer.

She has amassed a true fan base with her unique approach to music. Melanie may not be the most mainstream, but she is successful. Melanie Martinez takes advantage of autotune to add a unique sound to her songs.

This sound may not be for everyone, but it works. She is not the only popular singer to use autotune in this way.

Photo which requires attribution:

Melanie Martinez by DeShaun Craddock is licensed under CC2.0 and was cropped, edited, and had a text overlay added.

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