In 2004 , The Daily Telegraph music critic Neil McCormick called Auto-Tune a `` particularly sinister invention that has been putting extra shine on pop vocals since the 1990s '' by taking `` a poorly sung note and transpos ( ing ) it , placing it dead center of where it was meant to be '' . In 2004 , UK 's The Daily Telegraph music critic Neil McCormick called Auto-Tune a `` particularly sinister invention that has been putting extra shine on pop vocals since the 1990s '' by taking `` a poorly sung note and transpos ( ing ) it , placing it dead center of where it was meant to be '' .