Joe Nichols: ‘We Have Developed a Generation of Singers That Sing Like Auto-Tune’

Joe Nichols' hot take on AI and auto-tune in country music isn't quite what you'd expect from a devoted traditionalist. He's not against either one.

The ripple effects of using computers to alter songs and vocals are what worries him.

• Joe Nichols dropped a new song called "Say La V" this week.
• It's from a new album due in early 2027.
• The "Sunny and 75" singer talked to Taste of Country Nights host Evan Paul.

Does Joe Nichols Use Auto-Tune or AI In His Music?

In the studio, Nichols says auto-tune is a time saver. AI software like Suno can be, too.

"I've heard artists say this, 'I don't use any AI, I don't use Suno.' Bull crap! I'm telling you I've seen singers give interviews where they're like, 'I don't do that' and I'm telling you for a fact, lie! They're lying through their teeth."

Nichols doesn't record many of the songs he writes, but he's written plenty, especially in recent years as he struggles to find contemporary songwriters able to match what he wants to say, and how he wants to say it. He'll use Suno with caution, he admits, and for a very specific purpose.

AI provides an honest mirror, "to see if I'm looking at it the way I think other people would look at it."

For example, he might think he has a bluesy, gospel song but learn that's not the case at all. It tells him if he's on the right track sonically.

"I don't go any further than that with Suno. I don't want it building anything for me. I want it to tell me where my blind spots are."

Auto-tune, Nichols says, is close kin to AI, but he understands the benefit of it in the studio. No one is talking about the message that nearly 30 years of auto-tune has conspicuously delivered.

What Does Joe Nichols Think About Using Auto-Tune Live?

"Here's the thing about auto-tune that drives me crazy," the 47-year-old begins. "We have developed a generation of singers that sing like auto-tune. The nasally pinch in their vocal ... everything sounds pinched."

Outside of the studio, he argues that anyone who uses auto-tune is just fooling their fans. At festivals, Nichols says he's come across singers that have blown him away, only to learn their sound guy is tuning it up.

"It drives me insane," he says. "The one time that you can be honest and authentic. This does not save time. This just makes you look like you're perfect and that's bull crap. If you're not good enough to come out here and do it 90 minutes, then you're not good enough. Get better. What's wrong with that?"

"I don't do that, and there's a lot of artists that don't, and there's a lot of artists that do. And I'm not going to throw names out there and throw anybody under the bus because one day I might do that too," he finishes with a laugh.

READ MORE: Joe Nichols Picks Up the Pen Again for His Most Vulnerable Song

"Say La V" — the first official single from Nichols' next studio album — exemplifies what he's talking about.

The songwriters did use AI to help build the song, but Nichols took the core of it and rebuilt it more organically. He says at first he didn't like the pop-friendly sound, but as time passed, he couldn't get it out of his head and knew he had a hit.