T-Pain Provided “Auto-Tunement” for Crowd at Target Field

Last updated on June 26th, 2023 at 06:50 pm

It was a cool summer night, and the Minneapolis skyline glowed against the golden-hour sky. With baseball in full swing, nothing could brighten the scene except a Twins win or a summer concert.

That’s exactly what Twins fans got at Target Field. No, not a Twins win; a T-Pain show to help heal the wounds of the Detroit Tigers’ late-game rally. The “shawty” saying Auto-Tune king (who can actually sing) launched the season’s post-game concert series.

T-Pain at Target Field Photo by Travis Meier

I last saw T-Pain at the Skyway Theater in 2019 during his “1-up” tour. He is one of those artists everyone has heard of, providing the glitter in songs and popping up everywhere. He is also the most misrepresented artist I have ever seen.

T-Pain grew to fame in the late 2000s because of Auto-Tune, which made him big. It also got everyone to believe he was just a computer. A guy who “can’t sing” and would be crippled on stage during a power outage or doing an acoustic set.

In reality, he is a highly talented, fun, high-energy artist who happens to use Auto-Tune as a tool. That approach transformed his singing into a recognizable brand that other artists wanted on their records and delighted the 27,000 Twins fans who witnessed the highly energetic show.

A typical T-Pain setlist is incredibly extensive, yet fast. He features hits that range from early in his career to now. Each song is creatively mixed together, changing the energy levels from slow to high. This is all delivered while dancing and moving throughout the show.

To be sure, he drove home the point that he can sing, especially during songs from his new album On Top of the Covers. On that record, he covered “Tennessee Whiskey” by Chris Stapleton and “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey. At Target Field, he sent the crowd home with energy with his second-to-last song, “All I Do Is Win” by DJ Khaled.

T-Pain’s shows are packed with hit after hit, his nonstop energy combining R&B, rap, and of course, Auto-Tune. Even after all these years, I was impressed that he got everyone in the stadium dancing and likely impressed anyone who had not seen him before.