T-Pain brings the party to Pittsburgh with and without the autotune

Millennials deserve some nostalgia, too. And T-Pain is the perfect artist to deliver it.

He made a name for himself in the aughts in hip-hop and R&B, starting with his breakout 2005 hit “I’m Sprung.” And that was just the beginning.

T-Pain’s stylistically autotuned vocals were a fixture on radio hits throughout that decade and beyond. He also won the first season of singing competition show “The Masked Singer” in 2019 (because, as it turns out, he doesn’t need the autotune. He really can sing).

This tour is aptly described a party. In addition to DJ Slick, who kicked off the evening with a run of songs designed to get Stage AE jumping — including “Bodak Yellow” by Cardi B and “Bad and Boujee” by Migos — there were three opening acts at Wednesday night’s show. Young Cash, NandoSTL and LaRussell all came onstage with infectious energy and made the most of their time with the crowd.

T-Pain was a little late, but made up for lost time. He quickly reminded everyone why they came to see him: a deep and lasting catalog of hits that still get a show going in 2024, and for good reason.

Dressed in a bright, eclectically printed suit and matching top hat, he took the stage with DJ Montay, his musical accompaniment for the evening, and jumped right in with “Up Down,” a collaboration he recorded with rapper B.o.B. He jumped and danced all over the stage, immediately bringing the crowd’s energy up.

And there was an actual mansion — a backdrop of one, anyway.

“We can’t let everyone in the mansion!” he shouted at the DJ after the opening song ended, feigning indignance. “OK, the loudest side can get into the mansion.”

There was a lot of competition for which side of the sold-out crowd put out more decibels.

He followed up that declaration with back-to-back 2000s club bangers “Cyclone” and “2 Step.”

“I apologize. Montay kind of misled me on how many people were going to be here. … He said it was going to be a fancy mansion party. Now I feel overdressed,” he said, after doffing the top hat. “If I let y’all into the mansion, do you promise to be fancy?”

Everyone loudly agreed.

He requested “fancy music” from the DJ, who started playing Mozart’s “Piano Sonata No. 11,” layering on a trap beat before transitioning into the song “Freeze.”

To really drive home the scope of his legacy, T-Pain sang his way through a quickfire tour of more of his hits: “Good Life,” with Kanye West; “Got Money,” with Lil Wayne; “Booty Work”; and his aforementioned debut hit, “I’m Sprung.” At the end of the last song, the music dropped out and he repeated the chorus one last time a cappella.

He asked for more fancy music, and the DJ obliged with Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons,” this time morphing it into “Blame It,” T-Pain’s 2009 hit with Jamie Foxx.

All the while, the backdrop mansion changed decoration depending on song. Sometimes it appeared to be on fire, sometimes in bright psychedelic colors. After “Shawty,” he sang “Bartender,” and the whole mansion lit up with neon, complete with a flickering “OPEN” sign.

Besides showing off his really impressive voice, T-Pain also showed off his skills as a live performer. He’s hilarious and loose onstage, and his chemistry with DJ Montay really brought the show up a level.

Often, the DJ would let the music drop out at key lyrics to let the crowd sing, and the assembled attendees knew all the right words.

The hits just kept coming, one after another. “I’m N Lov” was one of the biggest crowd-pleasers, followed up by Chris Brown collab “Kiss Kiss” and the exuberant “Best Love Song.”

Switching things up, T-Pain donned a Steelers jersey to hype up all of the Pittsburgh fans. When he sang “The Boss,” DJ Montay switched it up, too, and played Kendrick Lamar’s recent smash hit “Not Like Us,” a top contender for song of the summer.

After “Chopped N Skrewed,” he sang, “If you’re having a good time, put your hands up and say ‘yeah!’ ” Then came “Can’t Believe It,” which contains the lyric that named the “Mansion in Wiscansin Party Tour.”

At that point, it was time to get a little serious. T-Pain stopped to tell the story of going completely independent in 2018, after struggling to sell tickets to his 2017 tour.

“When I say fully independent I mean I haven’t had a manager, I haven’t had a label, this has all been hopes and dreams and taking a bet on myself,” he said.

“That’s why I bring people like LaRussell with me, he’s taking a chance on himself. … That’s the type of people I want to associate myself with,” he added.

After bringing out his openers for a couple of great tunes, he did something a little different than the rest of the night’s musical fare.

In 2023, T-Pain put out “On Top of The Covers,” an album of … well, cover songs. They span a wide range of genres, from arena rock to country and even to metal (check out his version of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs”; you won’t regret it).

By now, it was clear that he had the voice to sing his popular songs without the autotune he’s so famous for using, but to sing “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” onstage and invite comparison to Steve Perry is a tall order. But he did it, and pulled it off spectacularly. He followed that up with an almost gospel cover of Chris Stapleton’s “Tennessee Whiskey” and a soulful rendition of Sam Smith’s hit “Stay With Me.”

The covers were all faithful but fresh and erased any doubt of T-Pain’s talent. Even if “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” was hard to hear over the singalong in the venue.

The night’s last run of songs featured “Buy U a Drank” and “Welcome To My Hood.” The bass practically shook the ground and it seemed like every hand in the audience was in the air. The night closed with “All I Do Is Win” and it really felt like a celebration of T-Pain’s continued success. The atmosphere was euphoric.

Before leaving the stage, the headliner stopped to talk to the crowd once more. “I can’t thank y’all enough,” he said before giving the audience some valuable advice.

“Don’t do it because it’s cool. Do it because you’re cool.”

And he’s leading by example.