since the TL has been talking about the voice and the voice is something i’m incredibly passionate about, here is my take no one asked for: realistically, people need to be able to sing well and have the technique in order to be able to sing at a high level with or without autotune because autotune can’t make you sing like crazy style if you can’t. if your pitch is way off, you CAN tell that it is tuned. also, auto tune doesn’t teach you breath control, performance and emotionally expression, and vocal placement within your body. i’ve also been an avid believer that karaoke can be practice, too. it’s an opportunity to work out that muscle you’re training. your vocal chords are a muscle that can be worked out and trained just like any athlete’s can. it’s why they can be injured. why people need vocal rest, can get vocal callouses (vocal nodes), etc. just like any other muscle. and vocalists are athletes in their own way, and i’ve always described them as such. vocal athleticism isn't just about visible movement because, even if we’re not dancing or moving around, it’s also about physical conditioning, muscular coordination, breath control, stamina, precision, and the ability to perform under pressure. singing demands all of these things, just in a different way from running a marathon or playing a sport with a ball. but even as someone who has been trained for several years, i know i make mistakes, my voice cracks, sometimes i’m under the pitch, i don’t have enough breath support so my voice cracks, i don’t warm up enough or whatever! but karaoke is FUN! if people can relax a little more to have vocals slightly pitch corrected while their live, do it! if you are more comfortable telling your audience, you can but you don’t need to do that. don’t let others make you feel like a bad person for not doing it. do what’s right for you and your audience. personally, it doesn’t work for me and how i run my stuff, but if it works for you and helps you build confidence over time and one day you’ll try without pitch correction, do it! we’re steering two different boats. everyone’s got different ways of how they like to enhance their performances whether it be live or recorded. i am a very expressive singer. i will be behind in my time, i will add a growl or change the rhythm for that expression. i will mess up the words and laugh mid song. it’s live karaoke and it’s practice! it’s fine to me, and i know for people watching that seeing me mess up shows them that it’s okay to make mistakes or make certain sounds, too, while on their vocal journey. for my recordings, i will do everything in one take. i record each section of the song to practice it to know how to sounds, how it feels in my body, vocal placement, and how i need to be breathing to make it successful and healthy, and then i record it all in one take for that level of expression that i want to give. ultimately, if you read this far, please do what suits you best regardless of what others are saying. you can even disregard this, too, if you are so inclined! but if your goal as a vocalist is to reach people with a certain precision, do that. if you need expression to tell your story, do that. if you like pitch correction and need it to boost your confidence, do that. if you prefer how it sounds and just wanna use it, do that! your voice is a powerful tool that is uniquely and forever yours. do what makes you feel amplified, confident, and heard whether it’s part of your content or something you do for fun. your journey in your voice and the ability to train it never ends, so keep at it! you’re allowed to be heard in the way that you feel best represents you.