THIS is the problem with today's music industry! 

It's sad that the music industry has gotten to a point where a listener starts questioning the ability of an artists or bands whether or not it's their actual voice in tune. I am glad that I grew up in a time period where imperfection was considered normal. and technology hadn't gotten to technical for our own good.

Billie and Finneas have previously said that they just made a personal rule not to use pitch correction - unless it was for deliberate and obvious effect.

So much emotional impact is lost when an orchestra doesn't get to actually make those amazing vibrations with their instruments! Thank you for pointing out the hidden problems of canned music and pitch corrected vocals - all the artistry we lose and all the artistry we doubt.

One of my conductors, many years ago, would say each performance was a last performance since it is impossible to replicate a performance exactly. So many factors change with each performance that each one should be considered singular in existence and not just going through the motions of repetition.

As a musician, I really appreciate your analysis work. I learn a lot from you.

Fascinating! Especially the last bit where Fil shows that the singer is live but the backing musicians are miming! Wow!

We are part of the same homeschool community as Billie and Finneas though my kids are much younger. They remember how nice both were to the younger kids and they would play and sing with them at parks. They were both very blessed to be in an environment that encouraged them to develop and strengthen their vision while giving them the skills to be “outsiders” and not feel the pressure to conform to what everyone else is doing.

That smile on your face when her voice kicked in told me everything I needed to know. That was a look of genuine enjoyment and appreciation for another artist. What little of her music I've heard made it pretty clear that she's a very talented young lady with a LONG career ahead of her. Thanks Fil, that was really enjoyable and informative!

I don't know if anyone else has mentioned this, but Finneas and Billie have said in interviews that they comp her vocals for days. There are shed loads of edits in every track. A much more diligent, authentic and time consuming method of perfection. And of course comping acts as a deep grain rehearsal for the singer, to really imprint every nuance of the recording into their live performance

God bless her live engineer for getting that whisper vocal out front of a band..

Just great stuff. Thank you for pointing all this out about past artists, as well as the few current artists who really can do it.

I don't like Billie's singing style (whispering)... But knowing that she doesn't use pitch correction (at least here...don't know) makes me happy.

Fil, thank you for being here "for the talent." This analysis is fascinating, very informative about the orchestra.

For a while Apple included the full recording sessions of Billie Eilish’s ‘Ocean Eyes” as a sample project bundled with Logic Pro X. It had all the individual instrument tracks and all the vocal tracks and effects, even including all the individual takes that were comped into the final mix. If you listened to a single vocal solo’d you could even hear background sounds that were recorded inadvertently along with the vocals (it always surprises me that pro recordings often are not “perfectly” noiseless). There was clearly no artificial pitch correction being used anywhere.

I'm old enough that I remember the criticism The Monkees got in the late 1960s when it was made public that the members of the band didn't play any instruments on their albums. They performed their vocals, but members of The Wrecking Crew (Los Angeles' top session musicians) played on all the backing tracks. What wasn't known is that the same members of The Wrecking Crew also played on all of the Beach Boys albums as well as singles and albums by Sonny and Cher, The Association, The Byrds, and many other recording artists. However, these days, it doesn't seem to bother anyone that singers are auto-tuned, and in many cases, through Artificial Intelligence, computers are writing melodies and even lyrics. The point is that in the 1960s and '70s (and onward), most listeners expected that artists maintained a certain degree of integrity: that they had enough virtuosity that they played their instruments and sang on their records. And what those artists were doing was both revolutionary and very, very good. When you grow up listening to The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, CSNY, The Who, The Doors, Simon & Garfunkel, Santana, and Chicago, you were impressed with the quality of what was being produced as well as how fresh and original it sounded. And each artist had their own sound. When you heard The Doors or Crosby Stills and Nash, it simply couldn't be anyone else. The whole point was not to copy someone else; it was to sound like no one else. Now? With A.I. and auto-tune, it seems like the object is for everyone to sound like everyone else. By the way, I really appreciate the fact that you cover music by people who aren't "hip", but are just really good. For example, I didn't listen to The Carpenters very much as a teenager, but I now have an immense appreciation for Karen Carpenter's voice, and how pitch-perfect she was. And even songwriters who were considered "square" at the time, like Burt Bacharach, have stood the test of time, and are now considered masters of songwriting. Anyway, keep up the good work !!!

Thanks Fil. Your videos are always interesting and full of information.

Great analysis Fil. It was interesting to see the comparison between both vocals and the accuracy of them on the pitch monitor.

Find your content so interesting and instructive as a music lover of many years. Thank you for the explanation of the music.🤩

Wow...this one had a few things to take away from it, I always learn "something" from your analysis videos, very interesting for sure! Thanks so much Fil!🌷

Fil, Though I am not familiar with Billie's work, I appreciate you coving this and stating that she not using auto tune nor pitch control. I never knew what those two terms meant until I began watching you. I've learned so much. God bless to all, Marianne ❤ 19:49

I'll be damned if I can hear a discernabale melody in her music... and her singing is all breathy and wobbly

It's not the pitch accuracy that I am taking note of here but, instead, it's the intervals, the timing. The studio and live versions, when played simultaneously, match up about as closely as they possibly could. Sure, you can alter the frequencies sung but it would be an added level of complexity to artificially make sure that the attack and delay times of the individual notes match up as perfectly as they do here. It was simply brilliant to play the two versions simultaneously! If played sequentially I would probably not have been able to catch the match up.

That was great! You're really good at breaking that stuff down!

I was immediately enthralled by her voice and style though I am generations removed. Audiences went wild too, then suddenly the plague shut down her concerts. Billie and her brother were home schooled and spent a lot of time on their home studio though Billie did sing in a choir of sorts. Someone taught her well. Plus, they sampled unlikely sounds in some of their recordings. So clever. Thanks for another fascinating “expose”.

I want to add praise to her talent too: singing softly and breathy like she do (very much jazz) is not easy as it may seam

This video ended (the elephant in the room) in a place that I did NOT expect when I started the video! Thank you for showcasing this detail.

Glad to hear that Billie Eilish will sing live and sound just as good as in studio. But, it is a bummer to hear that a full, talented orchestra is having to pretend they are playing their instruments. I agree, Fil, that missing out on hearing the sound of a great orchestra’s live performance is a sad thing.

Thank you for making this video it popped up on my suggestion page. It was really neat to see the studio and live comparison, but also the reveal that the orchestra wasn't really playing during the event, which feels kind of sad but also might explain how in some 'live' orchestra on stage videos I see.. that some are placed in weird locations that might drown out their instruments. Also: And I apologize if this was mentioned within the year that this video has been out.. but the audio of the video goes out around the 24 min 44 second mark and doesn't come back. Transcript / close caption is auto generated so they reveal nothing after that mark. Anyway I'm looking forward to seeing your other videos and benevolent wishes to you and yours in regards to 2024 and your endeavors. : )

Thanks Fil. I always appreciate your work. This one is especially interesting and revealing about Billie's talent obviously, but mostly about the honest evaluation you bring every time you bring us through a singer's performance. Concerning Billie's talent, I'm not into that kind of music, but you gave me good insights to respect what she does.

So many people rave about Billie. I feel like I’m missing out on so much. Music usually stirs my heart but I don’t feel anything when I listen to Billie. Scares me.

I am such a big fan, Karen Carpenter was my 1st❤ I enjoy watching the pure love and enthusiasm you bring to music. Thx for sharing

That was great. Beautiful vocal. More power to her for resisting the law of auto tuning!

Fil, just as other musical geniuses have created content around their appreciation of music such as Rick Beato, my own fascination and appreciation of music has been challenged and expended every time I watch one of your videos. The detail and specificity you show in your content is very original and eye-opening for a lot of people. For someone that cherishes music history, I thank you for helping your audience at every turn of the journey you take them on. Rock on. Cheers

She has such a unique voice. Good analysis for us and info, as usual. Thanks Fil 😊🌑✨️🎶🎙🎸

I like how you analyze these songs. I am not familiar with her work, but she is giving it her best shot!

I guess I am too old. I can't make out any words.

Another great analysis. I really appreciate singers like Billie. The orchestra miming reminds me of the official music video for Don't Stop Me Now where Brian May is 'playing' the entire time.

Billie is such a remarkable artist, and the way she and her brother have maintained control of their product is why she is one of the few modern artists that I will always want to hear. My ears told me what your meter is showing: her voice is real, and she has talent that is always available to hear, live or in the studio. I wish we had more of her quality around.

I'm not very familiar with her music, but she seems like an old hippie soul in a young body. So, I can understand her not using any auto 'corrections' in her singing. Good for her! Keep the faith of the music Billie!

I'm still a lover of the light crackling and hiss of early vinyl of my era. And true talent practised and performed with lots of hard, hard work . ❤️☮️

I'm not that familiar with her music, but, my granddaughter is a fan. Naturally, that piques my interest. Thanks for all you do, Fil...always enjoy and appreciate it! Rosemarie 💖

50's > late 90's.. we already had good the good stuff... the last 2 decades have been absolutely dire..

Excellent video. Very informative. Thank you.

Love your reaction, Fil. Very sad that people no longer recognize a singer that can actually carry something on their own without auto tune. Not knocking the person who couldn't figure it out - I may not have been able to figure that out either without watching you show us how that is her actual voice. People are just expecting auto tune, pitch correction, all kinds of production of voices so they almost sound like AI. I just watched a video about recording artists lending their voices to AI and then using AI to imitate their voices. Very strange to me - so maybe someday we won't know if it is an actual person singing? I find that quite frightening.

I love REAL vocals and music! Great video! I just did a live off the floor session with an awesome producer who does not believe in auto tune ......i certainly wasn't perfect.....but it had a great real sound and energy! The way music is the best....real and from the heart! Thanks for this video!

I always appreciate your videos and knowledge. Thank you. Since Billie credits Aurora as a big reason she wanted to have a career as a singer, try checking out Aurora "Cure for Me" acapella. "The Seed" or "Runaway." Runaway is apparently the song Billie heard from Aurora that made her say "I want to do that." Aurora does not use auto tune.

Thank you for analysing Billie’s voice. I personally adore her and Finnias. It’s the rawness for me that you just don’t hear so often these days. What’s interesting is that they do use effects and heavy autotune on the track, NDA. Not to correct her pitch or disguise poor vocals but to add to the effect of the song. Brilliant.

This was the year I went to the Brit awards as my fiancé always wanted to go. I was very impressed by her performance. It’s nice to watch this and see the detail behind her singing, thanks for the video!

Thank you for this video. Anyone who eschews the Autotune/Pitchcorrected crap gets my nod of appreciation.

Great analyze and so important. Vocal or linear gestures are all about interpretation.

I think the biggest advantage for Billie was that her brother wanted to go in the same direction. Being siblings, they knew each other so much better than a hired gun gun producer could have know the artist. They captured and finessed what they wanted to and it shows. Indeed, sometimes the slight bends, imperfections and performance nuances are what makes the greats, GREAT.

I loved hearing her sing Fever and Is That All there Is with Debbie Harry. You can find those performances on RU-vid and shows just how good she is. No autotune or pitch correction needed. Just beautiful. She needs to make a jazz album!!!

Pitch correction is such a weird phenomenon when you realize that often means adjusting pitches to the 12 common steps in an octave, while the human voice is naturally so capable of producing way more harmonic tones but also anything inbetween that is in potential more interesting. It's really just a quickfix for people who aren't properly skilled in using their instrument. Yet I love how they heavily experiment with effects and production techniques in general that are not just meant to "enhance" the recording.

Great video. Thanks for the education.

I was devastated when I learned that the Lawrence Welk band/show was air performing all those years ago , and even the tap dancers were prerecorded.... great vids BTW.... Me thinks its been a thing for a long time and now we have the tech to discern it...

Hi! I've heard of Billie Eilish before, but I think this is the first time I listen to one of her songs. Interesting singing voice 🤔 Great analysis, Fil. Thank you 🖤🤘🏽

Issue is artists will record a vocal track JUST for live, thus not using the “same vocal from album). Even MJ did this a few times. Example…..If you watch “Elizabeth I Love You” live by Michael Jackson (for Elizabeth Taylor), he had prerecorded JUST the pre chorus and chorus. He sang the verses live, but soon as the pre chorus starts, the pre recorded vocals kick in. So after he says “that’s what they sold you” the recorded vocals kick in “Grace with beauty, charm and talent”, leading to chorus. You can tell by A the muffled sound from the microphone for verses and slight pitch issues…slight….And Then the pre chorus and chorus are flawless, crisp, clear and for an engineer or producer can tell. But both verses are indeed live. He did this for 2 reasons, to make it perfect for his friend, and also not cheat her by giving her live vocals as well. Maybe you can cover that video.

Another fantastic upload, cheers, and so refreshing to see that Billie is not using tuning software. I wonder if you've included a section in your past videos where you show yourself demonstrating the tuning visualisation software you use (?VocalPitchMonitor) by singing into it live? If not, this would instantly show viewers exactly what's going on, in particular, how to interpret those squiggly lines.

Great! As usual. Thank you!

A excellent view you Hit it out of the park! A excellent job on Billie Eilish. Absolutely cool work showing us the differences with you emphasizing with your voice. That was a excellent comparison Fil. I honestly thought they used a bit of magic on her Voice. Now listening to it as you shown here I learned something again! Appreciate you Fil Luv&Peace.✌🏼

Another excellent video🙏 I remember hearing her early on - she’s always been that natural and good! And yeah, I was wondering during the vocal compare how you got the tempo/rhythm to match so closely😂 Of course live vocals with pre-recorded instrumental tracks isn’t new, but old grandpa me didn’t imagine “finger syncing” a song during a big awards show would be a thing… like it’s the new takeoff on TOTP or something?

💕 thanks so much Fil 💕

Really interesting analysis. This song give me goosebumps. It is so raw and emotional. Nice to see that what you hear is really her voice :)

Spot on Fil! I have already started to doubt performances from excellent vocalists (Voiceplay for example), and that takes the beauty from the performance. I hope that they never find a way of pitch control a live performance, the live performance will be the ultimate "proof" of a singer's talent. And Billie is a huge talent!!

I love that you have confirmed what I suspected, that Billie has the artistic integrity AND skill to unabashedly leave her studio vocal alone without processing them with autotune. You are doing the music listening world a tremendous favor. Please do a similar comparison on Larkin Poe, another group I love that has incredible vocals and after seeing them live recently, I am firmly convinced they also do not process their vocals. Pure talent for all to hear.

Dude, I fucking love your videos. Lots of info and unique takes.

Great video. Her performances live on Howard stern with finneas are good. When the partys over.

Hi Fil, Great analysis! I love Billie, she has a very unique style delivery and a very hauntingly beautiful vocal ability. Interesting to see the live and single versions side by side. Nice to know that there are singers who do not need to be “corrected”. Thank You for doing this analysis. Have a great night… Debbie☮️

I saw a live version of this track (which is brilliant) and she absolutely nailed it. I love that she approaches her craft with great understatement. I think the ones who complain a lot about breathy vocals are just being grouchy like “old man yelling at cloud”. Dynamic singing has been around forever, whispering, screaming, all of it. It is good that you are dispelling some of the dumb myths abound about Antares and Melodyne or whatever DAW pitch correction plugins get used. If used subtly, they don’t sound like Cher🙄 I avoid them mostly, because I think it is valuable to get the pipes warmed up and naturally in tune, but if I get a good take with one sour candy, I am tweaking that baby or punching it in. It has to be seamless (the edit job, insofar as it feels properly in the context of what is before and after, not the entire vocal…real edges and imperfections are lovely things). Studios have always aspired to a certain kind of perfectionism. The tools we now have sometimes make it easier to adjust something that is good, but maybe “a mistake too far”😂

O.K. Fil, You wanted to know what I think: YOU are such a great educator- my musical appreciation just continues to expand and grow under your tutelage! Your abilities as a musician enhance the delivery of this important information, and I consider your deep knowledge of the subject a national treasure. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for sharing it with us.

How does all of the modern analysis, via technology, analyze Art Garfunkel, Joe Cocker, Rod Stewart, Paul, John, Mick, Joni, Donovan, and ALL of the vocalists from times before all of the modern technology/corporate control? And, yes, being older generation, I freakin’ feel in love with Billie and Finneas from jump. I sent their first songs (that we all first heard) to my daughter who is Billie’s age. They have shown hope for the music industry, ever since the corporate takeover decades ago. Great video here. Thanks.

Supposing...and I'm not suggesting Billie Eilish did this, I happen to think she is a remarkable talent...but supposing in some cases, just to be sneaky, certain artists were miming live NOT to the regular studio single version, but, say, an alternative studio vocal so that it sounds good and people can't criticise it for being the single version. Does that make sense? x

Brava Billie! Bravo Fil! She and her brother, Finneas, are delightfully talented and down to earth. I'm so glad to see such a searching appreciative analysis!

Thank you for sharing this. I otherwise would have assumed some of what you said about her singing. And her being overshadowed by overuse of overproduction.

Liked this analysis with the closing plot twist. Unedited vocals, but miming orchestra.

Thanks again for doing what you do. As you rightly point out, vocal cheating is so ubiquitous, many cheaters are getting credit for things they shouldn't, most unfortunately, and the truly gifted are being ignored because they are chucked into the giant bucket of fakes.

Never felt like rushing out to buy her and her brother's music but I respect her for her individuality and the pair's creativity. The number of clones that quickly, (quicker than ever), popped was a testament to that. Great Bond theme. Nearly up there with Wings' and Chris Cornell's.

Wings of Pegasus I have listen to a live Orchestra. I heard the The Rite of spring at the Meyerson in Dallas Texas!

I'd love to hear some analysis on their production methods - they're a rare duo that is incredibly deliberate with having the instrumentation supporting the vocals and the lyrics. Nothing sounds out of place, or is there "just because that's how a song within a certain genre should be like".

Thank you Fil for covering Billie, as much as some people don't care for her, her Brother and her are so very talented and I've been a fan from the beginning. I dove deep into her background to find out what I could about her and her story is very interesting with that being said I understand where her music comes from and listen not only her singing but her lyrics which are deep not just a pop song made up to get on the charts. It is interesting also to find out her Brother writes songs for some pretty big music artists in the industry so they are both doing something right to be where they are today. I can see she is also changing up her sound playing with some different gendras so we'll see where it goes but she's definetly a force to recon with in the music industry and I'll be waiting to see what she does next. I always enjoy your break downs of songs it's interesting and I learn from them❤

The disservice that pitch correction does is not just to the listener or tte quality of music in general. It robs the artist of reaching the highest limits of their ability. When you can't fall back on auto tune, you have to be good. Really good. This is what makes Billie and Adele stand out (obviously there are others). The other thing it does is it dehumanizes music to the point where the whole point of the art, to convey some sort of emotion artistically, is pretty much gone. This is why records that came out before the 2000s continue to sell massively. Theres something about hearing someone like Whitney Houston sing at such a level knowing that she used nothing but maybe some reverb. Or any rock band, especially guys like Lou Gramm of Foreigner who influenced many of the 80s rock vocalists. People who could just flat out sing naturally, but got way better because they had too. This made their live performances top notch as well.

And this is why they shouldn't use backing tracks live. It not only discredits the orchestra musicians who have actually physically turned up to the performance, only to be told to sit there and pretend to play, it also discredits the singer, Billie in this case, because now everyone watching and listening to this performance would never ever believe that the musicians are pretending and so because it sounds SO IDENTICAL to the studio version they are pointing the finger at her implying she has had autotune or pitch correct applied to her voice. Sad times 😩

When you combine the live and the studio versions I think of a ghost wandering through a mausoleum pining for a long lost lover

Fil, Many thanks for the video. Makes me happy to see my daughter's fandom for Billie is well placed 😀. As an aside, the "I" (or other pronoun) of a Bond theme often matches a character in the movie. Here it seems to be Madeleine played by Léa Seydoux. I hadn't payed attention to the lyrics since seeing the film, so thanks also for that.

Fil you are truly the Singing Detective!!!!

Thank you for this marvelous analysis of Billy's voice. She sings every note with its own Vibration and glisando, like a little micro melody. These are not composed but rather discovered during many recording sessions.

How do they mute the orchestra in the live Situation for the audience on Site? Do they have „silent“ strings or something Like that?

It’s sad to see this happening in the music industry especially with a full orchestra. Seeing a full orchestra live is an amazing experience. The audience were robbed of an opportunity to seeing an orchestra play for possibly the first time. I also have to say seeing any bands perform live nowadays is highway robbery. The tickets are not cheap. I remember seeing bands for less than $80 a ticket. Now, we are looking at $1500 a ticket. What a huge price increase! Don’t bands know that most fans are blue collar workers or college students who live paycheck to paycheck? How in the world can fans afford tickets to see bands costing this much? Yes, I understand they are no longer making money off the release of new music. Yet, there are other ways to make money and not charge outrageous prices for concert tickets.

What a rare stand-out talent of today. I thinks she works at her craft, too.

Spot on, as always, Fil!

Crazy! I was expecting u to also show Billy as using auto tune! Wow what a rare talent she and Adele!!

I saw Billie live in St. Paul, Minnesota on March 15, 2022; when she sang "No Time to Die" my eyes teared up, not so much because of the song, but the occasion - written by Billie when she was 17 and Finneas 22 - a month later she, like Adele and Sam Smith, got the Oscar. I do think Finneas was playing and harmonizing with Billie. I loved how you reognized Billie's gifts as a vocalist and you provided helpful insights into a downside of the music industry.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. I've been saying for years that Billie's voice is just her, But people just believe it's all "Auto Tune".

Really enjoying your deep dive behind the scenes........... I enjoy different version of Red House by hendrix be it old productions, new masters or bootlegs, its the differences and uniqueness of the vocals and often the words too, that make music interesting and fresh.

I'm no musician but I enjoy your videos. Cheers!

Ethereal voice to my ears. I like live performances to sound like the recording or close to it. It would be a bit disappointing. I am not familiar w/her but I appreciate your analysis which is an introduction to her music for me.

Thank you for telling us where the talent is 🤗! It's much appreciated, Fil! I'm not a Billie Eilish fan and couldn't listen to her for a long time, but her vocal control is impressive. This Bond song was performed masterfully by her. Aloha from Berlin ❤🧡💛💚💙

Fil your analysis is always spot on. My band plays a version of this song (its fun, such a challenge for a four piece band, we have our own arrangement, obviously.) … such a shame that they did not allow the live musicians to make an original performance, who cares if it does not sound like the original performance? Check out the “concert for George”, where first an Indian orchestra led by Ravi and Anoushka Shankar, and then a huge rock band plus orchestra, played tribute to the music of George Harrison… with Clapton, Dhani Harrison, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Jools Holland, Gary Brooker, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Jim Capaldi, Jim Keltner, Billy Preston, Ray Cooper, Marc Mann, Sam Brown, Andy Fairweather Lowe, Joe Brown, Klaus Voorman, Leon Russell, Henry Spinetti and Albert Lee… nobody was miming! It was superb.

Aww darn. Did your video lose audio at the end or did I lose my hearing? Love this…..

Watching this was so cringe knowing that the orchestra was just there to cosplay