Will Simon Cowell Bring Auto-Tune to the U.S. X-Factor?

American Idol's liege lord Simon Cowell sucked the life from American Idol when he fled the judging panel to take on the single venture that could possibly net him more money per calendar year: introducing his The X-Factor franchise to America. Sounds like a great idea -- at least for Cowell, who will be earning significantly more on the music revenues end of the deal -- but what about all of those American television viewers who have never heard of X-Factor or its most successful export Leona Lewis and assume (rightly) that it's just another Idol derivative? Simon just may have a nefarious plan.

If the U.S. version uses the U.K. version as a template, Cowell will ensure that his contestants' voices sound even better than their Idol counterparts thanks to auto-tune, the voice-enhancing technology used mercilessly by Glee post-production crews and, as of this weekend, the same software used by The X-Factor.

After fans noticed evidence of vocal retooling during a performance of Katrina and the Waves' "Walking on Sunshine" in last Saturday's U.K. season premiere, they decried the "fraud" on Facebook, complaining that they had spent hard-earned money voting for competitor who may not sing like the auto-tuned angel shown on the telly. Within two days, a spokesperson clarified that "the judges make their decisions at the auditions stage based on what hey hear on the day, live in the arena." Additionally, the spokesperson added that auto-tune was used for the sake of the audience -- to "deliver the most entertaining experience possible for viewers."

Of course, should the U.S. X-Factor go this way, American Idol could always add auto-tune, too -- but would Randy Jackson have to replace "It was a little pitchy for me" with "You need too much vocal enhancement in post, dawg"?

· Simon Cowell's X-Factor Admits to Vocal Tweaks [Time