The rise of Auto-Tune and its competitors in pitch-correction and vocal design is just one aspect of a larger trend: the voice as the primary avenue for artistic innovation and experimentation in the 21st century. From Top 40 radio to avant-pop experimentalists, from underground dance genres like footwork to internet-spawned micro-genres like witch house and vaporwave, artists have been pushing the boundaries of what can be done with the human voice. This includes manipulating it in a variety of ways, __21__ slowing it down or speeding it up, resequencing it, processing it into textureclouds, or smearing it across emotional landscapes. __22__ the basic rhythmic grammar of music has remained relatively unchanged since the 90s, the focus has shifted to sound design and vocal manipulation. Rather than creating entirely new grooves, beat-makers are more likely to modify or stretch existing templates. Vocal performances are now seen as raw material to be sculpted and overwritten with new emotional content, __23__ as sacrosanct expressions of emotion to be preserved. So why has this trend emerged? Why has Auto-Tune and vocal manipulation become so 新 聞 稿 專 用 pervasive and epoch-defining? Part of the reason may be that it fits the aesthetic of our digital age. In a culture where everything is digitally edited and hyper-produced, the human voice cannot remain __24__ . Auto-Tune’s sheen and sparkle fits in with an entertainment landscape that values highdefinition screens, 3D camera movements, and grading that makes colors “pop” with vividness. Our emotional and social lives are increasingly __25__ by technology, through DMs, FaceTime, Snapchat, Tinder, Instagram, and YouTube. We use editing and processing to present an idealized image of ourselves to the world. In this context, it’s not surprising that pop stars are using artificial processes to disguise their imperfections, __26__ their voices. Auto-Tuned singing, with its transformation of bodily breath into beyond-human data, reflects the sound of desire, heartbreak, and other emotions in our digital age. It represents a digital soul for digital beings leading digital lives. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25.