Autotune

They are simply mimicking real life music industry today. Where everyone minus Adele overuses auto tune. You know the likes of justin bieber, one direction, selena Gomez they can't actually sing well. They are average singer who all rely on auto tune to make them sound good. Just like pretty much every musician in this day and age does. Empire is trying to realistically portray the music industry today if they didn't use much auto tune then their depiction of the music industry would be an unrealistic lie. It's as simple as that. If you want the show to be grounded in reality than you have to accept that overuse of auto tune is necessary as it is sadly the dominate force of the music industry and has been for years with very few exceptions.

Autotune Studio trickery or wizardry? Ella Fitzgerald didn't need it. That woman worked hard, sometimes 2 gigs in one night in two different countries! Wild! I listen to all my music, whether it be analog or digital through a funky old stereo with lots of distortion when I crank it. I identified with the producer in the show when he suggested low level distortion in the bass, on Hakeem's track so he wouldnt sound like a girl. That was humourous. It is not just about chords and beats, it ultimately about "sound" and that can be easier felt than explained.