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Simon Cowell Orders X-Factor Changes After Auto-Tune Complaints

Simon Cowell has ordered a major overhaul of the U.K.-based The X-Factor to remove all Auto-Tune technology from future episodes of the singing competition series, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "People have got to be able to trust The X-Factor — we are not faking anything," Cowell told the British press Friday. "People love this show, millions watch it every week and we absolutely respect that. We never...

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Kate Stanhope

Simon Cowell has ordered a major overhaul of the U.K.-based The X-Factor to remove all Auto-Tune technology from future episodes of the singing competition series, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"People have got to be able to trust The X-Factor — we are not faking anything," Cowell told the British press Friday. "People love this show, millions watch it every week and we absolutely respect that. We never take it for granted."

Simon Cowell's X-Factor confesses to Auto-Tune use

Cowell's comments come days after the show admitted that Auto-Tune, an audio processor that corrects a singer's pitch and tone. Producers must now re-edit the upcoming audition shows to remove all voice modifying technology and allow viewers to hear the contestants' authentic voices.

A spokesman for the show said that Auto-Tune was used to "deliver the most entertaining experience possible for viewers" and that the judges never critiqued contestants based on the "corrected" versions.

American Idol producers: We do not use Auto-Tune

Hundreds of The X-Factor fans complained about that the contestants' voices had been altered after the show aired on Saturday night. American Idol producers say they have never and will never use such technology.

Cowell is working on a U.S. adaptation of The X-Factor, which is scheduled to debut on Fox in the fall of 2011.