If you’ve been on the same side of the internet that I have, your social media is FULL of videos from Troye Sivan and Charli xcx’s iconic Sweat Tour. Troye has been an internet staple since the mid-2000s, and his 2023 album “Something To Give Each Other” was a smash hit.
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One thing about Troye is that he’s an exceptional vocalist — he’s been making music since he was a kid and started on YouTube (which, of course, is where allll the best singers begin).
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So fans were a bit surprised to notice that Troye uses live Auto-Tune and backing vocals (which is actually super common in live shows) during his set at the Sweat Tour.
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But this convo didn’t start with Troye. It actually sparked up recently when Sabrina Carpenter was accused of lip-syncing at her Short n’ Sweet Tour by fans online.
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Stick with me, because this is important backstory.
Sabrina initially responded to the accusations in the comments section on a TikTok video: “i sing live every show 100% would you like to speak to my audio engineers.” And then she pulled SUCH a killer move, and seemingly removed the backing vocals entirely for her subsequent shows.
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Yep, she showed them who’s boss!!!!
So Sabrina is now singing 100% live without any backing vocals. And because Troye is also on tour, he naturally gave his thoughts on her bold move in a recent TikTok video.
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He started off the video by saying, “So I know Sabrina removed her backing track. And, um, I won’t be doing that.”
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Troye then explained his choice — and it’s actually way more straightforward than you might expect. “I love my backing track,” he said. “And I love my Auto-Tune on my microphone. It’s really fun, and it makes me sound awesome.”
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It’s as simple as that — he likes the way it sounds! Go figure!
Some people responded to Troye’s video accusing him of shading Sabrina for getting rid of her backing vocals. Which I personally think is a massive stretch, especially since he captioned the video, “Respect to my girl Sabby though.”
But people also took the opportunity to weigh in on the topic of artists lipsyncing at live concerts, too:
Troye’s honesty is refreshing! It’s great to see artists embrace their sound, backing tracks and all.
— Adnan Jamil (@m_adnanjamil) October 16, 2024
i just find it insane that artists who have proven themselves and their talent feel pressured to take away tools that help them give audiences good and consistent performances that said audiences are paying high prices for https://t.co/WzHatXvvdf
— allie 🩶 so scarlet it was maroon (@alliewithbooks) October 17, 2024
Real talent can remove their backup tracks, but these pop artists who literally are made in studio and get on stage lip syncing and autotuned like crazy because they have no real singing talent. They just have “the look” that the kids are currently gravitating to.
— Marcus (@Bleach4lyfe8) October 16, 2024
I think we should just appreciate Troye for being honest about his decision to use Auto-Tune. We constantly wonder why our favorite artists make the artistic decisions they do, and I think it’s cool he decided to tell us exactly WHY he made this choice — and in such a funny way! It’s not that serious. It’s just his classic fun little Troye commentary. And we love to see it.
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To Auto-Tune or not to Auto-Tune? That is the question, and now you gotta tell us your answer — share your thoughts in the comments below. And check out BuzzFeed Canada on TikTok and Instagram for more pop culture content!
