Examples when the singer 'sings' out of key

Autotune and other vocal processing tricks are used for an effect that has come to be popular and expected for some strange reason. Plenty of hit singers of the last ten years can sing on pitch just fine. Justin Bieber is just one example:

 

Whatever the reason, I find it very annoying sounding effect and an obvious “fix”. If Bieber can really sing, then sing. The use of Autotune tells me they cannot. I’d rather someone be not perfect on a committed performance than sound like a well pitched robot.

 

I won’t disagree with your objections to the overuse of autotune in modern pop music. The fact remains that many if not most modern pop singers are not pitch challenged and can sing very well.

 

Dean Torrance's lead vocal in "Barbara Ann" off the Beach Boys' "Party" album. He start a capella and is not in tune with the backing vocals that join him a few seconds later.

The singers doing the backing vocals in Donovan's "Colours" -- particularly the "That's the time..." section.

 

Well, his natural range is about a minor third...

 

You do realize that this is a fabrication, right? The real song does not sound like this at all.

 

I hear they were great bowlers.

 

David Bowie's 'Girls' is another example. Not that it is a particularly good song, but how the vocal from 1'57 onward managed to pass quality control is beyond me:

 

The Intruders, "Come Home Soon"

 

BIZ MARKIE - Just a friend. (Out of pitch, out of tune, out of key, out of everything, but full of fun)
Though in his case, it was intentional to use his lack of singing talent.

OOOH BAABYEEEE YOOOOO GOT WHAT I NEEEED

 

At the 1m 45sec mark of 'IF I FELL' (Beatles) ... Fab Four harmonising at the end of the verse "......was in vain". John and Paul finish the word "vain" short, but Ringo is still singing for a fraction of a second.
Definitely out of tune compared to the others... however, without Ringo's input, the song wouldn't sound as good!

 

I'm pretty sure it's only John and Paul singing on that song, no George or Ringo. As I recall, Paul's voice cracks at that point, so they faded him out real quick so as to disguise the flaw, and you just hear John for a moment.

 

What would you think if I sang out of tune?
Would you stand up and walk out on me?

 

There's a reason for this.......

"If you're listening late at night
You may think the band are not quite right
But they are
The just play it like that"

 

I couldn't say if it was because she was a poor singer or if it was stage the conditions. I would have thought that if it was stage conditions, they could've worked that out over the seven years she was in the band. I would hazard a guess that none of them were actually well trained or naturally gifted singers to begin with though. That doesn't mean it wasn't good though. I'd rather listen to Jerry sing out of tune than an auto-tuned current singer any day.

 

When you're talking about capable singers like the Justin Biebers and Miley Cyruses of the music world (and they certainly are capable), I think the Autotune is partly a style thing, and partly a way to save money. Every vocal take costs extra to do, both to record and to comp. If you just slap Autotune on the first or second take and copy-and-paste anything else you need, you may have saved several hundred dollars in studio time. Never underestimate what the business will do to save a buck!

 

I don't even care if someone has talent as long as their music is interesting -- and The Shaggs certainly are that. People sometimes overstate the complexity of their work, but the rhythm of the melody to "My Pal Foot-Foot" is genuinely intricate in a really weird, hard-to-pin-down way.

That said, wasn't part of the story supposedly that they couldn't hear each other in the studio, for whatever reason? Other recordings have them playing with basic competency, at least.

 

Ringo?
Wha?
This must be a joke.
??
Must

 

Pink Floyd saucerful of secrets from the album with the same name. David Gilmor don't sing ou of key but go out of key badly for a split of a second.

 

Marc Almond goes off all the time but it really suits him!

 

I think "off pitch" is the best description. Off-key is misleading, because it more reflects a songwriting or perfromance decision (to deliberately write/peform the melody so a note is not within the established 'key' of the song) - which can be done deliberately to create a different harmony, or a variant of a chord (for example, I play a triad root D on a piano, but I sing my way down with an F natural to create a folk-like sound ). Off pitch is not hitting the desired note, by however far the singer has strayed from it, usually heard as a mistake or non-confident performance.

 

Freddie Mercury is slightly on the final "To" on "Somebody To Love". "Somebody tooooooooo"

 

If we're going with "off pitch", I'd say nearly everything from Ramblin' Jack Elliot. And god bless him for it.

 

This one has always driven me crazy. Dude goes way off pitch in the choruses, especially later in the song when it builds up.

 

Damn it! He must have been lip synching in the video clip.