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T-Pain can totally do the National Anthem without auto-tune, or whatever else you want
File: T-Pain performs during "The Big Live Comedy Show" presented by YouTube Comedy Week held at Culver Studios on May 19, 2013 in Culver City.
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T-Pain made his name by popularizing the sound of cranked up auto-tune, with hits of his own like "Buy U A Drank" and dozens of guest spots on hit songs like Flo Rida's "Low." Auto-tune ended up falling out of fashion — Jay-Z took a direct shot at it with his song "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)" in 2009.
Amidst all of that, a lot of people didn't realize that T-Pain is actually a great singer. He reminded Los Angeles of that a few days ago, singing the National Anthem at Dodger Stadium on Monday before a Dodgers/Giants game. Watch him deliver, sans auto-tune:
T-Pain's National Anthem at Dodgers/Giants game
NPR's "All Songs Considered" was also on the train making clear that T-Pain was an actual legit singer last year, when T-Pain played an NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert. Watch him make fun of his own reliance on auto-tune, as well as delivering a mellow version of "Buy U A Drank" with just keyboard accompaniment:
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His last album was in 2011, and followed record label drama with the collapse of his previous label and a switch to RCA. Can T-Pain recapture some of his old mojo? You can find out when his new album comes out this November.
Of course, if you want to reminisce about T-Pain at his "Hey, I'm in on the joke" peak, complete with one of his previous trademark ridiculous top hats, just think back to his 2009 appearance on the Lonely Island song you couldn't escape, "I'm On A Boat":
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