NOW THIS is the biggest musical fraud I'VE EVER SEEN.

[@m_d_thp]

Try comparing the early First Take videos since they sound more actually live singing compared to the later ones. I feel like early on they are doing it authentically but when the channel blow up, it becomes more business otiented and more of a means to promote an artist

[@mikecorey8370]

They aren't promoting an artist. They're promoting a product. That's what todays "music" is.

[@argender]

I agree the beginning of the channel felt more authentic but became more and more doctored as the channel grew later on.

[@hyldrklein451]

The moment they made a first take with Nami Tamaki and it actually sounded good, I already knew they're full of sh*t lmao.

[@synthesis37]

The First take is owned by Sony I've always thought that they wanted to promote their products and equipment while I do think they're good but now it has clearly become a channel that promotes their own artists mainly (SMJapan) and only a few invited who aren't under them but it's mostly for self promotion since the channel has so many followers.

[@jeffreyphandani5160]

Exactly

[@purplefuku]

This was also hotly debated among Japanese social media users & KZbinrs last year. Happy to see coverage in English. It’s definitely not the whole channel or all artists… but also, I’ve come to expect a bit of meddling & misdirection from Sony! 😂

[@IlBiggo]

Sony will probably autotune your voice until they can claim it's their product and copyright claim the original video :D

[@BooktapC]

It is all the artists many are signed to Sony Music Japan. The ones not signed with them must know what is going on and went along with it. The First Take KZbin channel was started by Sony Music Japan. One of the majors. Doubtful they care about authenticity.

[@FauxieDaoJia]

@@BooktapC Mika Nakashima? May not be the audio take that's recorded visually, but I think by now we know she has a strong singing voice.

[@ValentinaB2001]

​@@FauxieDaoJiaAlso Avu-chan from Queen bee It may not be the one recorded there but you literally have ALL the live shows they've done and she sings live like she does on the record, Atarashii Gakko! is also an example that there are artists who sing well outside of that channel and live.

[@CottidaeSEA]

The trailer just seems to be full of garbage. The channel itself was originally just "first take" but they didn't pretend like they didn't have pitch correction and such.

[@LocrianDorian]

This constant unnecessary chase for inhuman perfection is incredibly harmful to music and musicians.

[@RKNancy]

It makes them money, so it's not going to stop any time soon.

[@anistardi]

Unavoidable whe musician use electric instruments which is prefectly on pitch. If musician use acoustic instruments then shifted pitch is normal. But sometimes, autotune is not only to correct the pitch but also as vocal effect.

[@jedunboxing4127]

I'm actually subscribed to first take for long time now,from the first time I listened I know they use effects live but that doesn't made me hate the channel,different artist ,also use effects differently,I know what Im in,and there's no need to point it out like what this guy does,and I'll continue to watch their channel and support them.

[@TheDiveDawg]

@@jedunboxing4127 Truth and honesty has had value through out human history, we now have a couple generation who don't see value in these virtues, and seem to make excuses for it. Truly sad times.

[@walker96284]

It NEVER WILL!

[@Edward_Avila]

Yeah especially with Korean artists appearing on the channel now, their companies would absolutely never let them actually perform "live" on these shows, at least not with some correction. I also like to think that they film the artists walking into the shot, putting the headphones on, and giving a small talk before the performance to give the illusion that what the audience is about to hear is fully live. It sucks cos the idea of that kind of channel is really cool.

[@IAmTheOnlyChanel]

Omggg edwarddddddddd but yeah kpop has gotten so fake and it’s so sad 2nd gen and 3rd gen was so good now it’s all lip sync 😭

[@cumaniseng8149]

One of the reasons i stop listening to K-POP.. 😅😅

[@NonchalantlyGamer]

Finally, somebody spits facts about them... I mean, don't hate the kpop artists - i hate how they are being managed and keeping them inside the box...

[@0Clewi0]

At least the couple I have seen (cause they perform some anime openings) have had the hardware in clear display

[@Lonewolf_121]

Now tell me how real western pop is and how it's not completely manufactured 😂

[@geldner]

One huge downside to all this is that young people thinking of performing live may have unrealistic expectations of their own skills and then be hugely disappointed when they aren't perfectly on pitch themselves.

[@analogpark8059]

This is the real problem, I think.

[@Bombastic7411]

This is the trajectory that would become in the near future, and couldn't only in the music industry

[@_Uh_Oh_]

Surely Avril would be furious too to find out they have done this? I cannot imagine they don't mind this stuff happening - Fil needs to start tagging them

[@marvinkentvillamor1570]

If you want raw or pure vocals and didn't undergo any vocal lessons there are a lot of Filipino Tiktoks you can search.

[@brandonhaygood5286]

That's how I feel doing musical theatre lol

[@kiwi24277]

Not every presentation is like this, listen to KANA-BOOM x Necry Talkie naimononedari, you can hear a part where the singer forgets when to start on a chorus

[@aino-kaisav5504]

Yeah and I hope people don't get the idea to start harassing the artists for performing on the channel. A lot of the artists performing on that channel are super talented!

[@kiiitanart8291]

I love that video! Unfortunately that was a few years back. I think as time went on the channel unfortunately lost it’s ‘authenticity’. I honestly feared that the integration of kpop artists are what helped boom the channel but also unfortunately that’s where the ‘studio’ sound also kind of started.

[@penguwave4025]

Its the fact that that video exists which made me think it was truly unedited. I always just assumed they actually just chose the best of a couple takes and maybe that one where they flubbed a line was funny. No I feel like it was used as a distraction and feel cheated.

[@WaTlvr506]

Another one I can think of is Super Eight (Kanjani Eight at the time)‘a Zukkoke Otoko Michi. The keyboard come in too early. That was January of this year.

[@bobthebuilder3609]

​@@aino-kaisav5504a lot also use editing cuz they ass!

[@TheChristafershawn]

Funny that you’re covering this. I remember a while back arguing with people that it’s clearly pitch corrected and to check out your channel to get an idea of what to look for. And now you’re covering it.

[@glenncollins4778]

For me, countless times.

[@JennyLaine]

Avril's First Take was in my recommended and I could hear the pitch correction. I was also digging into the channel to figure out if they were passing it off as live. I'm glad you got wind of it! I love these analyses!

[@queenofnevers6990]

Didn't help to improve the performance.

[@mungbean345]

These videos are making me appreciate even more the casual, genuinely-live music I get to enjoy on a regular basis. Thank you for helping me not take that for granted.

[@theyouofyesterday6254]

Totally! Any pub gig, however bad, is authentic and live 😊 and some of them are amazing!!

[@virgiliod.9436]

Purity has its rewards. It's part art, part nature, part social , part love and part of being real people. It's good for the soul.

[@ShiruSama1]

I went to a really small pub at Asagaya with space for about 20 people to hear live music. One of the performers was a young girl and it was her first time. She was really nervous, singing and playing guitar, and messed up a lot. But then when she performed again with a friend of hers, she was more relaxed and sounded incredible. Just listening to that genuine, unexpected talent... It's an amazing experience

[@virgiliod.9436]

If a song is a painting. Imagine if I sold you a fake painting but extremely classy and expensive and looks like a picasso but it's completely fake would you appreciate it?

[@ShiruSama1]

@@virgiliod.9436 well, it still takes more ability to make a perfect replica of a painting than to get the pitch of your recording modified

[@Tony-yp7ok]

It’s the same on The Voice - heavily tuned vocals, when the whole point of the show is to judge someone’s singing ability. This deserves to be exposed, but sadly I’m not sure enough people really care. It will continue as long as people accept it.

[@richardlevasseur6771]

Are you saying “The Voice” uses autotune or voice correction? American Idol maybe?

[@Tony-yp7ok]

@@richardlevasseur6771 Yes, I don’t usually watch The Voice but have seen the last couple of programmes and you can clearly hear the performances are tuned in post. I’m not sure if they’ve always done this, but I can certainly hear it in the shows I’ve watched.

[@theyouofyesterday6254]

I think Fil might have made a video on this, as rubbish as it is 👍🏻

[@clovala]

I used to love The Voice until I realized they made everyone on the show have a sob story. I didn’t want sob stories I wanted good singing. I stopped watching. Now I learn about autotune on the show. Horrible.

[@DGSteig]

Phil did an analysis of a Rumanian Voice show, but I haven't seen anything about the US version.

[@alexanderlyon]

Fraudsters assume people are idiots. Fil assumes we are intelligent and deserve the truth.

[@geirmyrvagnes8718]

For the vast majority, they are correct.

[@philipearlmcg3964]

@@geirmyrvagnes8718you beat me to it.

[@andoletube]

True. And even if you show them Fil's video they either won't watch it or they assume it's fake and that Fil is a "hater". You can't cure an ostrich with its head in the sand.

[@WavePotter]

Just like Hollywood

[@bjornlangoren3002]

Well, the fraudsters are not wrong. There is no shortage of people that are idiots, which is why fraud is such a huge industry.

[@ingridbmangubat]

I have much love for The First Take, as I discovered a lot of Japanese artists through that channel. I knew that the TFT markets itself as a "raw live recording" thing. But after a few videos (including the AG one), I've kinda thought something was fishy. I never comment about it on the actual videos, but I had been suspicious about the "rawness" of the recordings. Lisa's Gurenge really blew the channel up, so I'm curious if the earlier videos are as autotuned as the more recent ones.

[@user-sc3oh1bw4z]

when they market their channel that way? i have searched from multiple source, they only say the performance is "one take". never say 'raw unedited recording" blah blah blah, like people assumed.

[@ren-x00x]

@@user-sc3oh1bw4z it's literal in their video which in this video, and it's linked in the description. Did you even watch it?You can still like the channel and any artist on there without being blind, but they are lying!

[@ebc6970]

​@@user-sc3oh1bw4z Watch the video bud, you really come off as being dumb and ignorant with that comment

[@ebc6970]

​@@user-sc3oh1bw4z Nevermind, I see now you're just another blind sheep who can't think for themselves with all your other comments. All your arguments are invalid when you really watch the video. Just shows you really come here without watching the video just to defend TFT for whatever reason. Another idiotic soul worshipping companies

[@dwiatmika9563]

the AG one was so obvious lmao

[@Epic14Games]

The First Take channel is owned by Sony Music if I'm not mistaken. Should tell you enough if a major label is behind it (and these major artists management/labels wouldn't allow it if it wasn't autotuned). There's probably some legitimate stuff on their channel, but Atarashii Gakko is basically an idol group, where folks in Japan are not expecting it to be fully live/raw vocals, everyone knows they use autotune and backing tracks. Avril Lavigne... Yeah that's just stupid.

[@cuttysark8017]

AG! do use a backing track, but as their set at Coachella showed they sing live in concert. The sound desk will be doing stuff to the voices, but the imperfections of live voices are there. They do not identify themselves as an idol group as they choreograph and stage their shows and contribute to song lyrics, also their lead singer usually crowd surfs which is very unidol. They rely on musical producers (including Money Mark) for the music.

[@BooktapC]

The problem is they make it out to be Live and done in a first take. Regardless of what the Japanese think or not it is still misleading. And yes, you are correct The First Take KZbin channel was started by Sony Music Japan.

[@jefffromchicago6321]

​@@cuttysark8017Coachella might be different because they don't have total control. I've seen their one man shows 3 times and they do have a vocal track at certain times. I think it has more to do with saving breath for dancing than correcting vocals.

[@cuttysark8017]

@@jefffromchicago6321 Their live show is one of the best I've ever seen. It has vocals on the backing track and they sing their parts over the top. Coachella presumably looked at what they were doing and it met their requirements.

[@NexoWasTaken]

Isn't it only artists who are signed with Sony perform on that channel? I always thought that channel is just Sony marketing campaign.

[@scottmatznick3140]

Fraud is the worst for kids who want a career in music. It makes it seem unattainable to them, with their natural talent.

[@ROOKTABULA]

Thanks to streaming, especially the hyper-scam that is Spotify, there is no way to have a _career in music_ because entitlement means musicians doing deserve to be paid for their creations and work. 🤬

[@MarkThales]

Exactly, it’s really gross and I’m sick of it.

[@mipmipmipmipmip-v5x]

Yes it's so much work an cost to develop an existing talent. If the frauds take a big chunk of monetization, there's just not a lot to gain developing a talent.

[@BlazinNSoul]

No such thing as natural talent in this day and age. If you don't play an instrument your not a ligit artist to begin with. Anyone can sing that is easy. Not everyone can play where real talent should be based.

[@winstonsmith6457]

​@@BlazinNSoulI disagree. anyone can learn to play an instrument. The human voice has no tuning pegs.

[@kevinL5425]

I remember when Milli Vanilli was a scandal, not routine practice.

[@ColorwaveCraftsCo]

Same!

[@justabill5780]

And Ashlee Simpson.

[@jiyn_xiayu]

Milli Vanilli was a different situation because they weren't the singers either, essentially just actors. I consider it worse but only by degrees.

[@jefffather4663]

When it was discovered it was not even their voices? THAT was the real scandal. Way before them for decades: American Bandstand - lip synched. UK's Top of the Pops - same. Now Don Hardly, I mean Henley doesn't even sing at concerts anymore. He's a massive fraud that will not let us cover Eagles/Henley songs. What can a pin do to you? Prick. you. Don Hardly is a pin........prick.

[@Constancecomplex]

When the Milli Vanilli scandal broke, the two artists were demonized. But nothing was done about the man behind the curtain. - A man who had created fake bands before including Boney M. That's why it keeps happening. Convenient scapegoats to take all the blame, but the mastermind just gets richer - zero consequences

[@Olkam-w5u]

If this was about Suzuka’s (AG) singing ability then folks should watch their Coachella performance. The Organizers of Coachella don’t allow the artist to do lip syncing or live pitch correction and she gave an incredible performance.

[@aa-rq1ez]

What are you talking about? Blackpink performed at Coachella. You're telling me that they can sing. Jenny and Lisa? But they make millions from it, that's just not honest.

[@kalicode5100]

​@@aa-rq1ez idk about lisa, but jenny definitely can sing tho

[@BoondockRoberts]

They claimed no filter but didn't anticipate Fil

[@MichaelJamesWood]

Good one!

[@DawnDavidson]

Aka, the Fil-ter of truth! 😂 ❤ Thanks Fil!

[@vernonharden]

Fear the Fil.

[@edwinwise3348]

​@@DawnDavidsongood one

[@JoelMorton]

Nothing gets past the Fil-Ter

[@WavePotter]

It’s the lying about it that’s really infuriating.

[@kennymik1509]

Yep! I agree. My first instance was finding out about the Monkees. That's when I realized the"business" side of how the industry works.

[@Lonewolf_121]

Where's the lie? The channel doesn't claim there is not editing done. The only statement they make is they get 1 take. If people want to make an assumption that that means it's a completely raw recording then complain about it... Honestly too bad

[@hellokippy9788]

Nice that you covered this. Not all of the songs are faked to death, but it seems the latest batches of videos have trended that way. For example, compare Kiro Akiyama’s “Monologue” from TFT 4 years ago to his very recent TFT “Caffeine.” I love him but I hate to say it- I didn’t remember him sounding good at ALL live, and suddenly in the Caffeine video, he sounds perfect. If you want to hear a refreshing TFT cover, definitely give Kiro Akiyama’s Monologue cover a listen.

[@hellokippy9788]

I would also like to add: it’s a pretty unfortunate fact that, depending on the artist, a certain look (facade) will be maintained in order to maintain their image to an audience. A girl group is the perfect example of “saving face” when it comes to every facet of a their image- like omitting movement noises and breathing during a song…

[@kumaxhime]

This reminds me of Killing Voice from Dingo Music on youtube. Korean groups and soloists sing "live" in the same kind of way, and fans refuse to believe that pitch correction and post-production is being used. They accidentally released the unedited version for my favorite group (Mamamoo), and although it was quickly replaced with the edited version, people had downloaded and reposted it. Mamamoo did amazing without any editing, but it serves as proof that even the best vocalists are having their recordings edited. It's ingenuine, and everyone is falling for it.

[@RushfanUK]

I saw David Gilmour last week in London, he was really live, the voice was aged and there was the odd note on the solos, it was an honest performance, utterly brilliant and exactly how music should be, sadly there are too many artists faking it while taking money from the fans.

[@elizabethmiller7291]

Thanks for posting about this performance ... we have to promote and support those artists who are keeping it real as they age. Beautiful!

[@jimdep6542]

@@elizabethmiller7291 Just as long as they don't use bogus light shows that distract from the musicians. I can't stand that and the big groups from the days of old are doing that too much, along with the ridiculous ticket prices, making live music these days only for the elite.

[@elizabethmiller7291]

@@jimdep6542 Toronto has a new concert venue - an outdoor stadium type space with a grandstand on either side of the stage and General Admission standing in the middle. It holds 50,000+ and Oasis is doing two shows next year for their Oasis Live 25 tour. Coldplay, too. I'm pretty sure those hefty ticket prices won't be for a fully live performance and there will probably be a lot of light, if it happens at all. I wouldn't go to such a show in a venue like that if I was paid to attend. Perhaps the 'elites' will have fun. ;)

[@svensvensson2724]

David unfortunately corrects mistakes on live recordings. I always prefer the bootlegs in those cases. There's something to hearing true live performances.

[@theyouofyesterday6254]

It's great to see artists performing properly live. I haven't been to anything close to mainstream in about 2 years, but when we saw The Divine Comedy at the Barbican in 2022, Neil Hannon announced there wouldn't be any showmanship or pyrotechnics because they were playing 10 albums over 5 nights and had too many songs to remember! It was completely live, backed by his usual brilliant professional band and some orchestral players. There were forgotten words, false starts (the e.g. when the😂 guitarist forgot to put his glasses on) and Hannon's voice isn't what it was in the 90s, but it doesn't matter at all - it didn't sound 'exactly' like the record but that isn't what anyone should be looking for in a live performance. It was authentic, fully in the moment and was a really memorable and fun evening. A lot of audience recordings are on KZbin if anyone wants to have a look. Actually there are a lot of Divine Comedy audience recordings out there because he doesn't remove them - he has nothing to hide as is not litigious.

[@poissonpuerile8897]

I have no fear at all of Fil analyzing _my_ vocals -- I sing so out of tune that I'm certain he'd recognize I'm autotune-free!

[@nomoresaul]

Wait, how do we know you’re not just pitch _incorrecting_ ?! 😅

[@mipmipmipmipmip-v5x]

You could still pull a ken tamplin and playback over your own off-key recording 😂

[@btgrtm]

😂​@@nomoresaul

[@jasonbodden8816]

@@nomoresaul LOL. Fantastic!! I actually almost chuckled out loud for this!!😄

[@pibly7784]

LOL

[@davidwilliamdanielthomas9305]

Fil you have become the Cerberus of the music industry, the Guardian of the Gates of Truth, and we love and appreciate you for your bravery and integrity.

[@Cashcrop54]

Spot on!

[@whatsername123]

It's like he's collecting the music infinity stones

[@MarcusSandoval-kx2th]

"Cerberus"?? Who that??

[@mightyV444]

Fil may need to think about hiring personal security soon! I'm certain there are people in the 'Industry' who wish he'd shut up.

[@JaneyHarris-z2p]

@@MarcusSandoval-kx2thCerberus, 3 headed dog of the underworld. (Thanks to my school play in Bolton, of all places). Love an old school Greek myth reference ❤

[@liliya_aseeva]

Ah now I see why I thought it sounded strange and boring. I happened to see several videos from their channel, but something stood out to me and I didn't even look deeper into this channel. It somehow sounded very 'flat'. Thanks for clearly pointing to me the reason!

[@girldy]

Gosh me too !

[@masudashizue777]

It's vocal plastic surgery. I long for the days of pre-auto-tune.

[@jjackflash8907]

The problem is they are going back and auto-tuning classic performances, so they are ruining them also.

[@laurabraus]

I think auto tune does have a place in music when people are obvious or honest about it to make electronic music or make a certain sound, but not to “perfect” a performance like this

[@dcallan812]

When you when to a gig and the band was LIVE. \You bought the record from Woolworths and it was just raw vocals and music played by human's

[@glamgal7106]

You hit the nail on the head when you said, “Vocal plastic surgery.” The thing is that even plastic surgery can wear down and sometimes needs to be done again. I think Fil just proved that pitch correction doesn’t make for pitch perfection, especially with the atrocities done to Avril Lavigne’s vocal.

[@zmmmzmmmz]

​@@laurabrausagreed, it has a place as a tool, we can't outlaw everything that can be abused

[@etrnlygr8tful87]

Interesting analysis. I would assume you have not heard of the group SB19 yet. They got invited in this show and sang 2 of their songs GENTO & MAPA and confirmed they did it LIVE. They appeared in the show fairly recently too, 3 months or so ago. I am curious as to what your thoughts about their performance there would be. If you can, before you check out their F1rst One video, please listen to the songs GENTO's official MV & MAPA's lyric video. Really curious to hear your thoughts.

[@lyzellavincastillo5405]

Up

[@happysolitudetv]

💯👍

[@TeeeJaay1225]

wala naman sinabi na lahat ng videos diyan eh fake, defensive ka masyado 😂

[@A_grace2]

​@@TeeeJaay1225curious lang naman sya sa analysis saan definisive dyan?

[@greed1sgood]

​@@A_grace2yep curious lang naman cya d ko alam san galing un sinasabi ni @teeejay1225 LOL

[@IlBiggo]

Atarashii Gakko actually DO use autotune and backing vocals when they perform live (maybe you could analyze one of the many fan-recorded shows here in yt). They're jumping around for a couple hours while singing, after all. Here the correction is absolutely flagrant and unnecessary, though. They're good singers - and one good rapper -, and their show is exhilarating enough to forgive them both a non-squeaky-polished delivery AND the live correction. _edit: the "wrong" notes you're hearing in the background are actually the "right" notes. It's one of the (3, if I'm hearing right in the original) voices in the choir. It might be the main singer humming the extra voice off-mic while the two other girls sing in unison. Sorry if I sound like a bit of a weeb here: I might be one :D, and I'm coming from a full AG immersion (mostly for job-related reasons, but also because they're super funny)._ I think, in general, that autotune isn't much different from compression and EQ if used in moderation. When you're correcting every note basically replacing the original performance with a synth version of a voice, on a channel that specifically boasts about publishing live, untouched audio, well, that's a travesty of everything music should be.

[@MandrakeDCR]

If you're into it, and people are aware of it, that's fine of course. But, the difference we're talking about is raw vocals vs. processed - so it's not a matter of compression / EQ vs. autotune. To imply that it's not much different (honestly, even comparing autotune to standard effects) is off the chain. Natural vocal variation is what makes a real difference to the human experience. People just don't realize it, because they've not experience much of it to know better anymore. These instances are just blatantly bad.

[@jnm2088]

Japanese idols are notoriously bad singers. There is one in Korea that is part of a popular group. I forget her name but she used to be famous in Japan. There is a bts video of her with the vocal coach, and this woman could not sing a single note and those idol songs already are pretty low-level vocals.

[@IlBiggo]

@@MandrakeDCR I honestly don't see much difference. Have you ever heard a non-compressed voice vs. the same voice after compression? Night and day; amateur and pro. Kids nowadays are used to pitch correction just like we are used to compression, EQ or reverb. A raw voice sounds weird to them, like if they're listening to a demo tape. It's just another vocal effect, it doesn't make a bad singer a good singer, just a *_tuned_* bad singer.

[@IlBiggo]

@@jnm2088 _"American singers are all fake. There were two guys Mully Vannuly or something, I read somewhere they didn't even sing at all and btw their songs are meh"._ Do I sound stupid enough?

[@zeroyuki92]

@@jnm2088 "There's one singer that is tone deaf, thus everyone else as well." Not arguing that in average they are going to be good singers or not, but your arguement doesn't bring anything to the table.

[@Tvianne]

This is not slightly misleading, is straight up fraud. Thanks Fil, great job as always! 😘

[@ACEsParkJunheeWreckedMeHard]

tell that to Sony, who owns that YT channel, 10 million subscriber and everyone who watches TFT thinks it was all live sung

[@zmmmzmmmz]

No you don't get it, the singers are not Filter

[@Tvianne]

@@zmmmzmmmz what? 🤨

[@drjerry5389]

Its Billy Shears again! He is everywhere in the fraudulent music industry!

[@HumbleTrader001]

The Ken Tamplinization of the music business. 😂

[@LasseHuhtala]

Atarashii Gakko is one of my guilty pleasures, don't tell anyone, I'm trying to maintain a tough-guy facade over here. When I saw the First Take video I had no idea of the concept because there was no intro telling that, and I mean, they use pitch correction, that's a no brainer, I'm just curious if they themselves know about the concept of First Take, or if they are just told where to go and what to do, because those girls are out there doing promotion 24/7 it seems.

[@jinggaddi]

Another AG guity pleasure fan here. I agree with you that AG was just probably told to perform Otonablue on The First Take, and they did so with so much flare and gusto, in true AG fashion. After which, they probably ran off to another gig or engagement. What I like about them is how super professional they are, and that they always give like 120% effort all the time. I guess despite the supposed post-prod pitch correction whatever, what really stood out for me is the group's unmistakable charisma and energy as a performing unit. Being an old school person myself, I never imagined I would actually like a group like Atarashii Gakko. I suppose the fact that they won me over only shows that they have true talent which is uniquely their own. That's why I tell people that please don't discount AG just because of this performance, because they don't know what AG is actually capable of. Truth to tell, their First Take performance was what sealed the AG deal for me.

[@LasseHuhtala]

@@jinggaddi

[@lylemcdermott2566]

Everybody knows you're soft.

[@LasseHuhtala]

@@lylemcdermott2566

[@SoCal_619]

I love AG. And no, I’m not tough, but I grew up in the 80s punk scene.

[@tubeyouidiot]

Oh no, not The First Take. I feel so stupid and sad. Sometimes ignorance is a bless.

[@samanjj]

Happened to me with Ken Tamplin - it’s ok - wiser is better

[@marfaxa]

or bliss

[@MontyRaddimus]

It's The First Fake

[@math001]

Why though? Doesn’t really change the fact that the videos are enjoyable. This happens a lot in highly produced “live” videos

[@tubeyouidiot]

@@math001 You're right.

[@jakkun465]

I subscribe to The First Take not because I believe it's really real. But, because it's the only channel that have so many japanese singer in it. I like japanese song, but I only know singer that are already famous or have their song in anime. So, with The First Take I can know more singer that not really famous outside Japan.

[@svenaxm]

Atarashii Gakko are great performers. I've seen them live and the lead singer sometimes sings live. Sometimes with voice cracks and wrong notes but it is performed with a lot of energy which I really like. And she can sing. The backing vocals are always lipsynced, as far as I can tell. And the lipsyncing is also understandable in their case because they do a lot of dancing. But I totally agree that they should be upfront in these kinds of videos and not be so deceiving.

[@cuttysark8017]

I think there is definitely some vocal fill in the backing track, but AG! are singing or rapping live over it. But the singing is not the only reason people go to see AG! It's a complete show with singing, dancing and funny skits and then Suzuka crowd surfs and appears in the balcony.

[@mnewm21]

and Phil doesn't comment on the singers abilities or not, he is purely looking at the deception of the channel which is so wrong. Why lie? Because they can push up the value of their channel by pushing down the value of other channels.

[@svenaxm]

@@mnewm21 yes and that's very sad. I like the idea of the channel and I would much rather hear a really raw performance of all these artists.

[@user-tf4ho2uo1e]

inauthenticity is more forgivable in east Asian cultures

[@superbuneary8819]

​@@user-tf4ho2uo1e they forgive it because they prefer perfection even if it's fake. That's why in japanese society they'd rather have people acting like not themselves to fit their society's decorum. They have a whole word about that. It's so pathetic.

[@jstqw]

You should show how actual real live voice graph looks like, most viewers have no idea what are those graphs, and why these lines are breaking constantly. And obviously if something meant to be listened on monitor headphones, explicitly say so, and add an enhanced version so that it would be audible on crappiest speakers as well

[@DinkyInky2]

He has done so on many occasions, including doing a side-by-side comparison. Also, listening on quality headphones makes it fairly obvious when something is corrected.

[@jstqw]

@@DinkyInky2 well he didnt do it here, and this particular video already goes around many idol servers where ppl saying its fake because these random lines make no sense. Also, what % of audience do u think has quality headphones?

[@axellyann5085]

@@jstqw Look at the vertical lines and how they match the horizontal line perfectly (hence pitch perfect). All variations that happen are still matching the horizontal line. I agree that it's hard for the common audience have good headphones to catch these, but at this point i just take by granted everyone has a pitch correction running in the back unless proven otherwise.

[@wipeyourbuttocks]

Yeah I have no idea how it should look like lol

[@lechugacc3459]

But then this is also a problem of the people who don't even care to investigate for themselfs before making stupid assuptions ._.

[@derekboardman9995]

That Avril take is so damn obvious, it sounds like she's singing into a fan in a tin box.

[@Kitsaplorax]

@@derekboardman9995 Don't blame the tin can microphone that's handmade and being used in a gig. That's music.

[@alarchwen6123]

Yes it has a really fake electronic sound, which is actually ruining some of the notes.

[@jefffromchicago6321]

Her singing sounded awful. I totally believe it was unfiltered.

[@swinetrek]

It was a bloody awful vocal either way.

[@BavonWW]

Sounds like a fan singing in a tin-can telephone to another fan next door. 🙃

[@nismojunk]

What you are SEEING, is a live performance, but what we HEAR is not. It always amazes me how confident "non musicians" are that these performances are actually 100% live.

[@detroitpolak9904]

Fil, I’m 50yo, and i look at it like this; if someone says a car gets 60 miles per gallon, and someone proves it gets 20, i can still buy the car if i want, or I can look somewhere else. A consumer (even of music) can never have enough information. Keep doing what you’re doing.

[@Soundbrigade]

Had an idea of a comment like that, but we know the car industry throws out all the seats, puts a few gallon in the tank, tape over all the door gaps to minimise drag etc etc and then drives the cars downhill to get perfect mpg figures …. Cheating cheating cheating. Just like with music. Even “great” bands like Eagles were cheating ….

[@rosieposie5852]

There is another channel called "it's Live". People usually mention either this channel or THE FIRST TAKE to prove that the artists they like can sing live. I used to think so too, until I found your channel and learned about pitch correction. I can even hear when the voice gets snapped to the line now. Thank you, Fil. Maybe you want to make a video about "it's Live", as well, or have you already made one? The introduction video, what the... Untouched? What a fraud.

[@JustFiddler]

same... thanks to this channel😊

[@flaggov6949]

Does It's Live claim to be untouched?

[@rosieposie5852]

@@flaggov6949 Here's what they write for the title and description of their videos: "Band LIVE Concert [it's Live] K-POP live music show [it’s Live] is a live show you've never seen. You can enjoy high-resolution sound and beautiful scenes and perfect performance." Well, they don't say it's untouched, but isn't it implied when something is said to be live, even band live concert? Or is it some kind of wordplay, like what Fil said, since it is band live concert/live (music) show instead of live vocal?

[@fremzter]

​@rosieposie5852 no it's not lol if you know Live works, there's always a sound engineer. This is why there always sound checks and rehearsals before the show. Next time you yap learn how it works lol

[@LarisaLohan]

he already made a video on its live a few weeks ago. i don’t think he realised the concept of the show because he kept wondering why they were ‘just standing around’ instead of dancing

[@Melodymatters2me]

Everything is becoming "fake." Our children will never experience what REAL music and performances were all about. I find this very sad.😢

[@OneCatShortOfCrazy]

There are still some artists that is still real and dont mind messing up and playing live for real, but yea, it's few amongst many fake 😔

[@DiamondGirl-1234]

It is a travesty!!!!

[@DiamondGirl-1234]

It is a travesty !!

[@DiamondGirl-1234]

It's a travesty!!

[@The_MusicloveR2]

It's so disgusting and unethical.

[@flitzerps9522]

I am talking about Otona blue from atarashii gakko: The vocal sound in between the sentences IS an effect. And that's obvious. Nobody would think differently. They can use such tools and still call it a first take and original. It's not acapella. Just like instruments they can use other sound effects sources. The same goes for songs where auto tune effects are core elements in the song. They can still use that auto tune effect. But I agree, if they do pitch corrections it would lose the whole point of a first take.

[@ROOKTABULA]

*performing means moving". Savage but true. 🤣🤣🤣

[@johnjulian88]

Yeah that was sooooo funny!!

[@MickSupper]

As of now. Wait until it's all “AI” created, which in and of itself is fake and doesn’t exist.

[@michaelsalovaara567]

As a poet and improv performer in Japan, I can see your point about live performances. My collaborator has said that only live music is real music. I kind of pushed back on his assertion in our conversation, but you kind of made his point. A couple of days ago I was at an improv event in Osaka with a dancer and three musicians: sacs, guitar and percussion. That was live and it was brilliant. Almost made me cry. To your point and my collaborator, hearing unfiltered sound with its imperfections is much better than the alternative. If you can spend time on improv performances, that would be golden.

[@Acceleronics]

100% agree with everything I've ever heard you say on this channel. I doubt it will make any difference to Corporate Music, but I take some comfort in knowing there are guys like you digging to find the truth. I will keep listening/watching!

[@Cashcrop54]

People have to stop paying $$ for fake music.

[@theyouofyesterday6254]

​@@Cashcrop54 I agree too, and also agree it won't make a difference as I don't think most people are bothered by it 😕

[@Cashcrop54]

@@theyouofyesterday6254 It is one of the saddest signs of the times.

[@kaitofuuma]

@@Cashcrop54 lol i understand your sentiment about what fake music to you, but telling ppl to stop paying with their own money to the things they found like is such a weird thing to say

[@Cashcrop54]

@@kaitofuuma it was related to Fil asking what it would take to end this stuff. The artist are often unable to do anything about it if they know about it. I don't care what people spend their money on but only money will have any effect on it. If people stopped buying they would likely stop fairly quickly. It will get worse and worse if people keep buying.

[@John-wg6xw]

THANK YOU for your important work in exposing these frauds.

[@ren-x00x]

Edited: Ya I think this was my request.Thank you for doing this, that was quick! Honestly didn't think you'd look into this because it was through KZbin, not Patreon. As I said in the E-mail, the early videos from years ago were very raw and you could hear everything. No one sounded "perfect", but after the studio change, it all got glossy and really smooth. This video OtonoBlue kind of made me understand that the channel had changed because they are hopping around and dancing but their breath is unaffected. I'm so disappointed in TFT. I actually mean that, my heart hurts as stupid as that sounds, but it does.

[@alexbaumans6493]

Thanks for bringing this up. As an AG-fan, I watched this video and I immediately thought that there was something suspicious going on.

[@giboi03]

That would explain a lot. I mostly listen to the solo songs on the channel since the group ones tend to sound exactly like the studio recordings. especially when they reuse the same backing track instead of live musicians. It disheartens me that The First Take has resorted to white lies while inviting both well-known and newly-popular artists to create their "rawest" recording yet, and having the channel exposed in turn besmirches the artists featured in every recording since the company change you've mentioned (Fil is doing good work, but the comments here sound like they'll never take any JP music seriously after this).

[@TheWaross]

@@alexbaumans6493 Have you heard any of their other live performances tho? I checked them out of curiosity to compared and... they're all very similar? Like, the only thing Pegasus pointed out here that is of note is essentially just live pitch correction and compression but then complete conjecture on the number of takes, etc. He also gets stuck so long on those short backing vocals, but those are there in all the other live performances I checked out and are clearly just a normal part of the mix and supposed to make up the sound tapestry. They are never lip synced or supposed to be sang live, so idk what Pegasus is ranting about there. he just sounds... retarded?

[@RyanMear]

Damn, I've been doing reactions to these and waiting for someone to ask you to do an analysis. I didn't know you alread looked at Atarashii Gakko. This is pretty eye-opening.....damn.

[@Cashcrop54]

Great video Fil. The Avril Lavigne video is so over processed I could hear it without seeing the pitch monitoring. That was like a wooden stake to Dracula. How YT lets this continue is mind boggling! I will never pay for any new music or tickets to a concert. Stay with my old CDs and free on YT.

[@teijaflink2226]

Damn I thought she could actually sing.

[@JR-tr1df]

@@teijaflink2226 A lot of them actually can 'sing', just perhaps not always to expected immaculate perfection. So it's corrected. It's ok to be human... flaws quirks n' all.

[@samuelsim6123]

@@teijaflink2226 she probably still could, but why she chose to appear on that channel and have them over-process her vocals (or was she not even aware?) is beyond me

[@johnbriggs3916]

That's got to be Auto-Tune.

[@yogibarista2818]

"How YT lets this continue is mind boggling! " - YT doesn't care if it means advertising income.

[@ccahua]

Darn, the audio bubble popped; I wondered how they all sounded so good?! :-( Thank you for the exposure of First Fake

[@gwaynehiner]

Thank you Fil for calling this trash out for what it is. We appreciate you!

[@krollpeter]

They are preparing the kids for AI "artists"

[@GrandmasterKnox]

KZbin recommended this video, really great stuff, I'm 100% with you here. That said, though, I've been a fan of The First Take since its inception quite a few years ago. Like you already said, I also don't agree with pitch correction (it also seems to be heavily aligned?). I've been a mixing engineer for close to ten years, so it's painfully obvious when it's there. The First Take as a channel was created truly with that "unedited" purpose in mind, but its growth in popularity changed things a lot over the years. Right now, it is an avenue for marketing musicians, so that kind of unedited performance is seem as unflattering for marketing purposes (just like you pointed out). I don't agree with that direction, I would rather prefer if they stuck with only basic mixing. The core business model of the channel is very similar to shows such as The Voice, where they pretend it's raw while you can clearly see it's heavily mixed. I hope this next statement ages well, but proof that it is a marketing business is that you might see, before the end of the year, Creepy Nuts make a return to the channel with their newest song, Otonoke. There are still some curve balls here and there, but it's been pretty easy to figure out which songs will make it into the channel in a reasonable timeframe. Anyway, while I fully agree with your take on it, I still find the channel really fun, mostly because you get to hear arrangements of songs you like that never get played anywhere else.

[@Terri_MacKay]

As long as people watching the channel, like yourself, know exactly what they're hearing, but still enjoy watching, no harm done. But, I bet that if I looked at the comments on the videos, most people watching are under the impression that they're actually hearing raw vocals that haven't been manipulated. Too many younger people think that this is what natural voices sound like, because it's all they've ever heard, whether they're listening to the radio, a download, a singing competition show, or YT music channels. And that's incredibly sad.

[@kanadehoshikawa]

I remember watching the LiSA Gurenge video when it first dropped, and I was so sad when I started noticing the autotune in around 2022

[@revenantband1]

20 some years ago, I took my youngest daughter, who was in her very early teens to a Jesse McCartney show. I noticed immediately that they were using backing tracks because you could hear cymbals when the drummer hadn't HIT any! There was one segment where he called an audience member on stage to "sing" to her. His vocal had been pristine until that moment and I think he pissed off a member of his crew and they turned off the autotune/pitch correction software. He was singing very simple lines and butchering them! My daughter turned to me and asked what was happening and I explained she was hearing what he REALLY sounded like without the vocal software. She thought for a minute and then her face cleared, and she said "OK, dad. You're right, he can't sing. But LOOK at him - he looks like a Greek God!"

[@RKNancy]

Idk why everyone is obsessed with being a greek god. Every myth of them you learn, you'll notice that they embody the worst of humanity and in turn punish humanity for being bad people.

[@GizzyDillespee]

​@@RKNancybut... they're so DREAMY... 🤣They do know how to market to teens😂

[@strangevisions5162]

you know you have failed as a father when your daughter describes Jesse McCartney as a "Greek God"

[@revenantband1]

😂

[@compulsiverambler1352]

This is why you should be pleased when your kid gets into goth instead of nice normal pretty boys and pretty girls mainstream culture. Now it is getting popular, still too many parents want normal kids and not more intelligent rebellious weirdos, but then complain about how lame normal actually is. Goth is NOT the metal or emo music that many people wrongly think is what goth music is. Real and new young gothic rock and darkwave bands in 2024 are as good as they ever were in the 80s. Hopefully pop will die completely and everyone will be into interesting creative stuff one day, as that is the general direction we are moving in. Mainstream culture is crap and just gets worse and more popel are leaving it. Show her alternative scenes. Dark cabaret, steampunk, goth, lot of indie rock still, all amazing. More intellectual, more artistic, and just overall better. More people are getting into goth music and the goth lifestyle not just as a trend I think but cos the mainstream culture, not just music but everything mainstream, has finally reached peak cheese. Even normies can't stand it anymore and are at least dabbling in subcultures they previously looked down upon as weird.

[@LsTinyDanc3r]

This has got to be my favorite one yet. I L❤ved when you said: they say we can "say" it's unedited & still edit it & who will kno? I'll tell you who will know, everyone who listens to my channel, that's who! 🤣That just made me ❤& respect you even more than I already did! Greetings frm Detroit, Michigan, USA😎✌️

[@avlisk]

To my ear, the Avril L. song sounded like a machine, not a person.

[@johnbriggs3916]

That's because it was Auto-Tune.

[@samuelllakaj5439]

Like those stomach-turning AI voices.

[@GeoffPibbles]

Yeah you can definitely hear it pretty clearly when the vocal is isolated. It's baffling to me how some people can't

[@BretFX]

At this point, it might be quicker and easier if you just point out the videos and performances that AREN'T fake, mimed, pitch corrected or auto tuned.

[@marvrogers9540]

I wonder how much the artists themselves know what is going on. With enough corporate shills telling you you're a good singer, how many bad singers have a large inflated sense of self worth and musical capability

[@m_d_thp]

The early first take videos sounded pretty authentic to me. I think the channel went full corperate later on when they blew up

[@tetyoonlee4373]

Well as mentioned by Wings of Pegasus, many must have some idea what's going on since they would have needed to be involved in the multiple takes, studio recordings etc.

[@CarlisleCallie]

SB19 did a grear version. They can do live even outside of First Take because they do live singing all the time and in all their concerts.

[@lyzellavincastillo5405]

Up

[@CalebReed-w6n]

Avril do live performance too and look what happen?

[@MarkGelderland]

It's pitch corrected (It's standard in the music scene these days, done in post production) so what we're looking at and listening to isn't actual really 100% live unfortunately.

[@revbobj3220]

Wow! This is my first time watching your channel, and I would like to say this.., I'm an old man now, but have played in bands my whole life. I studied all kinds of music theory when I was in high school. I love just about any kind of music as long as it is played with heart and soul. I like that feeling where you can feel it inside yourself when a performance you are watching is coming from the heart! Doesn't matter what style of music it is, although some styles work better for this than others. Your call on auto tuning and processing is spot on, and it's really sad that this is what we are pushing to our youth! It is also incredibly sad that a big chunck of our youth find this junk entertaining simply because they don't know any better. For what it's worth, I took my daughter to see Hanson (remember Hanson?) at Red Rocks when she was about 12, but I the next year, when she was 13, I made up for it and took her to see Rob Zombie! We don't believe in autotune in our family! 😁🤘 Thanks for the entertainment! I'll be back!

[@spacechild2]

I recently watched a "First Take" video and I almost immediately thought: wait, this is not live! Thanks for making this video and exposing this fraud!

[@DennisHolmberg-sl1hz]

I hear 'Obi-wan' in the distance, "...from a certain point of view" I suspect the 'First Take' folks took that as a virtue.

[@SoupBoi96]

it's not supposed to be LIVE dumbass lol

[@ericsherman4181]

Music is better with mistakes, Eddie Van Halen said once he left mistakes in the recordings to keep it real. I want my 80’s back! Listen to Kiss shock me, Ace made a huge mistake in the solo, he said the producer left the mistake in there on purpose.

[@mightyV444]

Cobain's guitar mistake in the Unplugged 'The Man Who Sold The World' comes to mind, too! 😊👍 I suspect this fake BS is a symptom of an agenda of de-humanising Music. Because it is the human element that makes Music so powerful that it's even able to heal us! And it's those Dark Forces who've been in charge of the World forever and who want to keep us living obedient and in fear who are now also trying to destroy Music as we known it and loved it. Neil Peart must've known something about this already in the mid 70's, when he came up with the story for Rush's song '2112'! 😀

[@davimoraes3731]

So why when singers commit a mistake on stage singing off tune or off key or saying the wrong lyric people say that they cannot sing live or not good but when we have a singer Like Dimash one of the best singers of all time people say that he is too perfect and not real ? you see if you commit mistake people complain if you don't make mistake people also complain

[@Tim091]

@@davimoraes3731 Not so. When singers make a mistake or sing off key live then people think "ouch, he/she was having a bad night" or "they can't do it anymore, age has caught up with them." Neither of those is malicious or spiteful, just people recognising the truth of the situation; not "complaining."

[@marksmorphs]

The bass player that played on the Sanford and Son theme said the very last note he played at the end of the song, was completely the wrong note but they left it in.

[@notmyname3681]

​@JohnnyNoPockets That's a completely fake, fantasy conspiracy theory. Various 'concert pitch' frequencies were used, and still are in some cases. The Rockerfellers had nothing to do with it, there was no sinister conspiracy, 440hz was generally agreed on as a compromise to make life easier for the majority of musicians/orchestras.

[@FirebrandVOCALS]

The AutoTune is nauseating

[@rowanjones3476]

Uncanny valley - the “eerie sensation” one feels when they encounter a robot or computer-generated character with human-like characteristics.

[@morbidmanmusic]

even worse when packaged in a lie!

[@rowanjones3476]

@@morbidmanmusicabsolutely. Art was the canary in the coal mine. Now I question who’s paying the canary.

[@WIP532]

@@rowanjones3476 The Pet Shop Boys?

[@rowanjones3476]

@@WIP532they’re just a front for the daft punk robots

[@Crashed2023]

Luv your channel Fil, keep them on their toes and keep the vids coming. There is everything to enjoy here. All the best, James Angel.

[@Normandy_Mike]

A few people in the replies over on that Avril Lavigne film know it's processed. Truth will out, when people have ears. The sad part for me is that her voice is ruined by it.

[@mightyV444]

@MikeH_PR - I agree! Avril actually _is_ quite a good singer! Or at least she still was 10 years ago.

[@DCSWCCkingpin1]

You should show a side-by-side of the oscilloscope for a truly natural voice singing at similar speed, so we understand how different the pitch-correction looks.

[@wingsofpegasus]

Check out my other videos on singers pre-2000 and you'll see natural voices 🙂

[@DiamondGirl-1234]

"Takes the Biscuit" is such a great British saying. I am growing so tired and bored with these "sleezy" and abhorrent practices. Soldier on, Fil! We need and appreciate your expertise on these "Fakes!"

[@The_MusicloveR2]

This is so unethical.

[@CraigFox-lt6lt]

Soon all we hear will need vetting by FIL first ... ugh, wrecked 😫

[@elizabethmiller7291]

Fil is going to need A LOT of foot soldiers - considerably more than the number who have signed his petition - if his mission to bring awareness to how the music industry is wrecked is to have any significant impact at all!

[@marfaxa]

except "takes the cake" is better

[@CraigFox-lt6lt]

@marfaxa yes ! Especially in USA , ha haha 😆

[@tommyzai7038]

Nice analysis Fil. Spot on. And, I could not ignore the overwhelming reality . . . It's a terrible song with an infantile nonsense video.

[@frankowalker4662]

Why does Avril sound more robotic than the A.I. songs you looked at ? LOL

[@inkoinfinity2]

BURN

[@johnbriggs3916]

Because it's Auto-Tune -- only Auto-Tune can sound that bad.

[@thelolguy007]

God. It’s worse than we thought🤦‍♂️

[@ChrisM541]

And we have KZbin, who are both enabling and encouraging this.

[@Bernz66]

100%

[@loriematthews6418]

Absolutely enabling...

[@inkoinfinity2]

I watch this channel and this saddens me

[@MickSupper]

Ironic that KZbin now asks you when you upload a video if it contains any AI created images, but clearly allows this type of fraud.

[@mochisharvey]

I mean is it even against the law (I want to know if there's a law against it and if enough people will complain/report, youtube will do something about it) and youtube already has more problems than this, dislike button, ads, and especially bot comments. Do you know about the stalking of Jacksfilm? yeah reaction channels that basically steal videos. It's definitely a problem (not tryna downplay it) but I would say YT needs to fix the bot issue first, ads playing NSFW that children literally can watch. lmao sorry for dropping all this and yeah ofc I know it's a problem, it's prevailent on all kinds of industries. Overall YT just encourages anything that can gain views, it's all for that sweet money, else react channels would've been destroyed already.

[@davidfaustino4476]

Nothing screams authenticity like using AI to narrate your video.

[@lewisweakland]

It’s really sad and truly disgusting that the First Take channel has conned their way to ten million subscribers!! Makes you appreciate even more Fil’s honest and conscientious approach!!!

[@fast_mattw8059]

How many of those subs are bots that they bought? Probably over half if not more of them to give the illusion just like their videos. Everything is fake if it is from a company. Everything is produced. It is not any different than television. It is up to us to use common sense and understand what is real and what is likely not.

[@jimdep6542]

True and that's 10 million people too many that have lousy taste in music.

[@m_d_thp]

They are doing authentic live when the channel is beginning That is why I think Fil should review the ones the channel made pre and during the pandemic. Ones. Like have been watching the channel pretty early on. The best way to con people is fed them truths first then follow it up with lies as they say.

[@dewaeryadi7776]

@@jimdep6542 i mean good music is good music, but the lying part is what makes it bad

[@MaxArch]

@@m_d_thp yup should do review on their early stuff. but yea, I got a bit skeptical when they start bringing major/mainstream artist in ( after the channel blow up )

[@lsterl]

Careful Fil. I think Sony Music Entertainment Japan runs this channel. Keep up the good work👍🏼

[@terubokmasin3247]

When it comes to Sony, where purchasing does not equal buying, unedited probably means convincing people that it is when it's not.

[@robbieracer3294]

Figures it's Sony... Michael Jackson spoke some pretty harsh words about them before he died

[@HawkOfGP]

​@@robbieracer3294Look, Sony is a company with a lot of dubious practices, but so is every mega corporation like that.

[@yuriaihara704]

Seconded.

[@wheatthicks]

Weird. You’d think they could afford to hire a narrator without a speech impediment.

[@SRMWorkshop]

One group/ youtube channel I know has rebelled against this industry trend, Postmodern Jukebox. Most of their videos are a single camera one-take and I've heard auto defects in the videos that are also on the cd release. Makes it all the better when they do live shows, and add-lib parts of every song.

[@revhappymv]

The UK artist Ren also does a lot of live one take videos with all the flaws included. Makes for such better music

[@MickSupper]

And then they’ll add fake mistakes to make people believe even that is authentic. lol

[@Random-thoughts-person]

I've seen post modern jukebox live here in NZ, All of them have so much voice control, it's was absolutely amazing to be there and hear them live.

[@jamlaw]

This reminds me of when I saw Rufus Wainwright in the early 2000s. As a young singer-songwriter, myself, I was instantly endeared to him because, in the middle of one of his songs, he stopped and said "I f***** up"and laughed started again. It was the most revelatory thing I had seen; To see someone i thought of as a music GOD being human and imperfect. There was a freedom and an honesty in that simple moment that made me a lifelong fan of his. Mistakes, bumps, ad libs, unexlected surprises... (humanity, authenticity)...it's like rich soil. It's so fulfilling and nurturing.

[@TheSteveBoyd]

Man... you don't need the visuals AT ALL to hear the obvious pitch correction on Avril Lavigne's vocal. It's so robotic, it sounds like a vocoder. 🤦‍♂

[@loriematthews6418]

Exactly. 😂

[@mdv4077]

Spot on, just awful and cringe as hell, unbearable

[@johnbriggs3916]

That's because it's Auto-Tune rather than pitch correction.

[@holliemichailidis2951]

I didn't sound like her. Similar to her, but not her.

[@turrican4d599]

I'd like myself an Avril android! :)

[@IMeMineWho]

Fil: you have to also note that since American reality shows like American Idol, The Voice, etc., even "performing is fake" as image consultants devise image instead of the performers making their own clothes/image as Roger Daltrey has described musicians and vocalists doing until these shows were devised, dance moves are created not by the vocalist or group but by professional choreographers. To quote the Fabs, "nothing is real." The vocals of the blonde woman was so metallic that her voice could be used in a dental office.😮

[@geoffkeen5234]

😂😂 indeed.. sterilized! 😂😂

[@IMeMineWho]

@@geoffkeen5234 😆

[@theritchie2173]

Your thumbnail game is strong on this one. I hope that music isn't doomed, but every time you do one of these the less hope I have for the future. It's not that great music & incredibly talented musicians have gone away, but how do they even compete with this junk drowning out the signal?

[@glamgal7106]

That really is a sad thought-that truly talented artists are doomed in their chances for success in music careers because the music industry has hand selected those who are willing to be shaped and molded by the almighty *coughing* pitch correction and auto tune to be successful, albeit not for long.

[@irvanmaulana941]

I think music is not doomed at all, at least on Japan. Really unique.

[@joelfalk2276]

Great analysis! What has the response been from First Take?

[@rakjr6]

Sony's money is behind the channel.

[@Khann_2102]

Not surprised 😂

[@maccagrabme]

Maybe they have mastered the ability to sound like autotune.

[@jburma]

So many young people cannot recognize when something is egregiously phony partly because they haven’t taken time or don’t care to learn about the past artists who are legit great. The average age of their subscribers is probably under 16, so I don’t really blame the kids. The fraudsters running this channel and duping the people watching (and performing) are just gross. But I’m just another boomer yelling at clouds.

[@TheSillykelly]

And so many people don’t seem to care they’re being duped even when they will finally admit they are. I just don’t get it🤷‍♀️

[@deantailor357]

But if you're under 20, how could you? You've never heard anything different. Even if you came to YT to listen to "old stuff", it's all been sanitised. Your entire life you've been told oranges are apples and if you look up "apple" in a dictionary, you see a picture of an orange.

[@apileofbeans]

I'm a millennial and I'm also pissed off with all this highly processed sonic garbage being passed off as "authentic" & "raw". They're coating a turd in sugar and selling it as a donut.

[@vadenk4433]

Most old people cannot recognize egregiously phony either. They love Trump and he's the definition of phony

[@deantailor357]

@@maidenthe80sla Well that's America, they're pretty much all morons there and that's nothing new. Many years ago when I was working in a store in London and would serve American tourists, they would always express surprise that I could add up and make change in my head. Years later when I moved to the US, I would learn why. If you compare morons to morons, UK morons are geniuses.

[@Xaphnir]

That channel trailer is...odd. I've occasionally watched that channel since it first launched, and I've never been under the impression that it's live or unedited, nor have I ever felt that it's trying to give me the impression that it's live or unedited. Almost makes me wonder if something was lost in translation in that trailer.

[@m_d_thp]

The early performances I feel were like authentic. The pre pandemic and during pandemic videos are hard to be debunked as "fake". I feel the video should have tried to review the early ones also really.

[@Cazna-t5c]

Yes something was lost "Honour" and a live vocal.......

[@Strlz_Remtachi]

about the backing vocals thing~ there are performers that adds backing for parts they can't sing cause they are focusing on the verse like for Creepy Nuts' Bling Bang Bang Born~ not all of them is also auto tuned, another example, imase's Night Dancer, bro fumbled a few times there like a voice crack~ they also sometimes get mistakes, like Kanaboon's Naimononedari performance, lead forgot to start the chorus~ some of them also prefer tracks playing rather than live instrumental music

[@deegee8645]

they got Avril sounding like Cher's 'Believe' 😃

[@MaartenT]

The crap that started it all off and made me stop listening to more mainstream music for a very long time (over 20 years). I still blame Cher partially for how much it is used nowadays.

[@elizabethmiller7291]

Bad analogy. That song sounds great! Unfortunately, what was used as a creative and artistic choice in a unique song has turned into the dreaded music industry standard that is heavily applied to all singers on all songs from all eras.

[@elizabethmiller7291]

@@MaartenT After she released that song, did she then use pitch correction and autotune, exclusively, on all her subsequent recordings and live performances? Or, did she still buck the new trend and keep her music real?

[@MaartenT]

@@elizabethmiller7291 I have absolutely no clue whatsoever and I don't feel like finding out. Like I said I stopped listening to mainstream music after it became clear where it was going after that track. Also I personally really dislike how that song sounds and I did so from back in the day when I first heard it. She ruined a lot of music with that track even though there is no way she could have predicted that outcome, I still would say she is the main reason why autotune is so openly misused nowadays.

[@elizabethmiller7291]

@@MaartenT Wow, that's quite a lot of blame to put on one singer, especially when you don't know how she has proceeded since that track. If we are to have any hope of saving real music from oblivion, then we should probably understand exactly who and precisely what is to blame for where we are today.

[@matthewearl9824]

There are hundreds of types of channels that do this. And a lot of them are AI generated. This kind of stuff has been on TV forever.. I'm Korean and see it so much on Asian broadcasting. I would tell my mom and her friends it was fake and they would look at me like I was crazy. They would believe no one would risk being so shameful on live TV.

[@Katy-sh3ru]

😢

[@FosterZygote]

Where are the mic cables? In the shots where you see the mic stands on the floor, like at about 19:05, there's an XLR connector plugged into each microphone, but they don't seem to go anywhere.

[@hedoban_nord]

Thanks for your analysis - I've always wondered if The First Take is really a first take. I've followed the channel for a while now because I love japanese music. But the performances seemed always so perfect I was a bit suspicous already. I only know one tiny little moment where an artist messed up, it was the bassist from the band Hitsujibungaku where you can hear a little not perfect noise on the bass. But other than that everything sounded crystal clear. It's really a shame especially since the channel has gotten so big and is deceiving so many people (myself included)... Btw Atarashii Gakko! are an amazing group and good live but of course not so perfect spot on like on their entertaining First Take performance.

[@Lppt87]

Kanaboon also has a mistake, the female singer forgets to sing her part and the male singer simply starts on his own. I actually thought it was unedited, this is sad. 😢

[@yuy2375]

japanese ones are usually fine

[@yuy2375]

​@@Lppt87 yea, just stick with the japanese ones

[@gallamalagi]

I get that sentiment as well! One of my favorite artists, yama, made into one and their voice cracked during their singing! Ever since that I totally bought their motto without thinking further ahead! Especially since I dont have any background on music or sound production, I was completely in the dark!

[@realdocloco]

As you said about Avril, it's a shame that channel manipulate so much the voices of singers who can actually sing live very accurately! I know many singers from that channel, and most of them are really great live singers (with tons of fancams live demonstrating it). So no need to autotune or pitch correct them ... except it's obviously the channel policy to autotune/pitch correct everything, no matter how good an artist is. It's a blind (or deaf should I say) system. A definitely dumb one too.

[@mightyV444]

I see what you did there at the end! 😁👍

[@monochromedout]

I hope you start doing kpop breakdowns. Live vs lip sync vs backtrack is a HUGE point of contention and there is plenty of content to analyze.

[@toffeepupu]

The kpop fans will legit give him death threats over it. I'd rather not. We all know there's no actual live in kpop they either have loud backing track, autotune or lipsyncing

[@mustardstain]

Maybe in the second gen kpop there's some live singing, but if you see the newer groups and their dance routines, the pre-recorded live track is SO OBVIOUS and the fans swear they sound just like that while doing high energy dancing.

[@gabibonza]

Thank you for your job, man 🤝🏻

[@rowbags3017]

Where I despair is that the kids that I know at work can't even hear pitch correction on tracks, it's so much the norm for them. It's like we're not even talking the same language when I point it out. I've tried playing them vintage uncorrected recordings and (even if they enjoy them) they can't discern the difference.

[@justaskin8523]

It's 2024. Every artist, EVEN AVIRIL LEVINE, has the responsibility to know what's happening to their music after the recording is done. The only way this stops is if artists reject it.

[@worldwithouttime]

true, but then they just replace the artists with fake ones. with AI, 'anyone' can be an 'artist' Even in a live setting it is becoming easier to fool people, the only way you can be sure is if your are there in person and there are no mics or electronics involved--good luck with that.

[@albalexdisy]

If customers massively reject it would be more efficient. One more thing : again it's from Scamerica.

[@mightyV444]

@justaskin8523 - I totally agree! It's time that artists start protesting against that kind of BS! Meanwhile, _we_ as consumers are able to help by not buying it anymore! 😉👍

[@johnbriggs3916]

Avril Lavigne

[@danielhicks4826]

Not gonna happen most are ignorant at best whores at worst. only gonna get astronomically worse with Ai soon only first hand direct performances in small crowds will be legit for sure in the future at this rate.

[@dis.infectant]

Here we go... Once you think you're out, they drag you back in.

[@pegasus101-t7m]

Thank you for revealing hidden secrets of the music industry!

[@cindi1313]

I share your outrage Fil. It's bad enough that everything is being pitch corrected to the point of absurdity, and that performing live* needs an asterisk now, but to just flat out lie about it, take advantage of people looking for a refuge from that nonsense and do EXACTLY the same damn thing just absolutely sets me off! 😠Thanks for shining a light on this fraud for all of us!

[@caroliamurri3872]

Can we go back to the days of authenticity in the music industry... This is disgraceful!! Thanks Fil, for calling these frauds out!!! 💓

[@hansemannluchter643]

You mean the days before multi-track recording? Do I need to tell you when that'll happen??

[@orlock20]

There are some blues singers that sing live. The musicians like Beth Hart and there are plenty of up close third party videos of her singing including at bars. She probably sells more tickets than albums. The reason why the pop industry does it is because they are looking for young pretty people that can model and by the time they would be trained, they would be too old.

[@kaitofuuma]

you can if you want to, what even these side of industry mean to you anyway? you dont watch it, you dont listen to it, why cares? you can just stick to your preferences right?

[@tx3851]

I saw Avril Lavigne in a tiny venue decades ago, and Wembley Arena. The great thing was, her vocals were all the better for the “mistakes”, on both occasions….That was the point of seeing live gigs…What you heard, was a one off….I don’t like “perfection” in vocals, I want to hear the person, not a damn algorithm….Keep up the good work Fil….

[@Pako9713]

Thank you. I also noticed their deeds

[@clivegouldthorp5575]

Genuine imitation crabmeat

[@nomoresaul]

All natural cheese product

[@Averna222]

Just like genuine leather.

[@karinkrenn]

They act according to the old - and unfortunately "tried and tested" - as far as the majority of people are concerned) motto: "If a lie is big enough, the majority will believe it". Sad but true - in all areas.

[@nitaigaura4634]

And one more question: which software are you using that lets you extract the vocals and show the exact pitches you can hear visually on screen?

[@kimquinn7728]

Thank you for pointing all this out! I cant stand being treated like im stupid.

[@jimmybondy9450]

The crap we get served these days. I'm older and I'm glad, I loved to go to concerts back in my youth.

[@theyouofyesterday6254]

Don't lose hope! You can still go to great concerts now if you steer clear of the mainstream and go for small venues and independent artists 😊 Also, I'd recommend jazz, folk and classical music for real, absolutely live performances. Keep it local and away from the big corporations and you can't go too far wrong 👍🏻

[@akflute]

Jazz and classical are my recommendations if you want to hear live performances