Do studios make singers sound better?

[snookumsnort]

I saw the American Music Awards last week, the Rockefeller tree lighting last night and a part of the Grammy nominations.

How come the newer singers seem to sound better on recorded songs than when they sing live? Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers, Taylor Swift, and even Kanye West didn't sound as good as their recordings.

I'm starting to wonder whether record labels are banking more on these singers' image than on their voices. And do they use something to enhance how they sound on recorded music? It's not unheard of, is it?

[Stubblecat]

They sure do, it's called Auto-Tune and Pitch Correction. Pop music is rife with it.

Read the Wiki here: Pitch correction - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And if you want some examples where it's been used poorly, check out the audio examples here: Auto-Tune Abuse in Pop Music - 10 Examples - Hometracked