50 Fun Facts About T-Pain

The T in T-Pain's stage name stands for which city, where the singer was born and raised?

Tallahassee Pain was the full name, chosen for the hardships he went through while living there.

T-Pain won the first season of The Masked Singer in 2019 while disguised as which character?

Monster beat Donny Osmond's Peacock into second place and Gladys Knight's Bee into third.

Which rapper's debut single 'Low', featuring T-Pain, spent ten straight weeks at number one in 2008?

Flo Rida's hit was the most downloaded single of the 2000s and was later certified Diamond.

Which singer joined T-Pain for 'Thug Story', a parody of her own hit, at the 2009 CMT Music Awards?

Taylor Swift and T-Pain rapped and sang through Auto-Tune in the spoof of 'Love Story', which aired as the ceremony's cold open.

T-Pain earned a Grammy nod for 'I'm on a Boat', a Saturday Night Live short by which comedy group?

The Lonely Island wrote the whole song and sent it over; T-Pain, confused by the premise at first, added his voice and sent it back.

Which singer's 1998 hit 'Believe' pioneered the Auto-Tune effect that T-Pain made his trademark?

Cher's producers pushed the pitch-correction software to extreme settings, a sound copied so widely that it became known as the 'Cher effect'.

Which singer signed T-Pain to Konvict Muzik after hearing his remake of the hit 'Locked Up'?

Akon won him over with a promise of personal mentorship, even though a rival label had offered $900,000.

Which rapper name-checked T-Pain on 'D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)', a single T-Pain says he loved?

Jay-Z insisted the song was no personal attack, only a swipe at a trend he felt had run its course.

T-Pain provided the singing voice of the cat in the 2021 film version of which classic cartoon?

Tom & Jerry keeps its cat silent as ever, so T-Pain is heard only when Tom sings.

Ozzy Osbourne praised T-Pain's 2023 cover of which Black Sabbath song as the best cover of it ever?

War Pigs appears on On Top of the Covers, an album sung without Auto-Tune, and Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler also called the cover great.

T-Pain won a Grammy for 'Blame It', a 14-week R&B number one by which actor and singer?

Jamie Foxx and T-Pain performed it at the 2010 Grammys, where it won Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

T-Pain sings the hooks on 'I'm So Hood' and 'All I Do Is Win', anthems by which DJ and producer?

DJ Khaled called on him again in 2011 for 'Welcome to My Hood', which T-Pain described as the successor to 'I'm So Hood'.

Which Kanye West single, built from several hooks T-Pain recorded, won the Grammy for Best Rap Song?

Good Life grew out of a restaurant dinner: T-Pain watched Kanye West order lobster and Cristal and decided that was what the song was about.

Which rapper guests on T-Pain's 'Can't Believe It' and shared a long-shelved duo mixtape with him?

Lil Wayne and T-Pain formed the duo T-Wayne in 2008, and eight 'lost demos' they recorded in 2009 finally appeared as a free download.

Which Southern rapper guests on 'Buy U a Drank', T-Pain's first Hot 100 number one?

Yung Joc and T-Pain both scored their first Hot 100 chart-topper with the song, which T-Pain calls the first record he wrote trying to make a hit.

T-Pain says which singer tried to claim 'Buy U a Drank' for the 2007 album Exclusive?

Chris Brown, who topped the Hot 100 with the T-Pain-produced 'Kiss Kiss', heard it in the studio; T-Pain left vowing he would never hear the song again.

T-Pain sang his hits without Auto-Tune in 2014 for which NPR Music video series?

Tiny Desk Concerts invited the 'King of Auto-Tune' to sing with no effects, and he returned a year later to mark the anniversary of the set.

Which signature part of his look did T-Pain reveal he had cut off in April 2013?

Dreadlocks had been his trademark; he announced the cut alongside a new album title and pointed out that hair grows back.

T-Pain lost four teeth in 2009, on the day of a video shoot, in an accident with which vehicle?

A golf cart accident left him with cuts, bruises and emergency dental work, yet he was back performing two days later.

T-Pain faded the first and last letters of his 2011 album's title so that it spells which word?

Evolve sits in the middle of Revolver, which T-Pain said shows how people misjudge something before they look at it properly.

Kanye West enlisted T-Pain to coach him on using Auto-Tune while making which 2008 album?

808s & Heartbreak was inspired, producer Jeff Bhasker recalled, by West singing T-Pain's parts through Auto-Tune live on his Glow in the Dark Tour.

Which British singer's 'Who'd Have Known' is sampled on T-Pain's '5 O'Clock', her first US top ten?

Lily Allen's song reached T-Pain as hold music: he heard it while waiting on the phone with a store and looked her up afterwards.

T-Pain said in 2024 that he ghostwrote songs in which genre, declining credit because of racism?

Country singers including Luke Bryan and Rhett Akins were among those he wrote for during two years living in Nashville.

T-Pain won Best Music Streamer at the Streamer Awards for his live broadcasts on which platform?

Twitch has been his streaming home since 2015; the awards were founded by fellow streamer QTCinderella.

Which rapper's 2010 single 'Hey Baby (Drop It to the Floor)' gave T-Pain a top-ten hit as a guest?

Pitbull's single borrows a line from Salt-N-Pepa's 'Push It' and climbed to number seven four months after entering the Hot 100.

T-Pain sang on the 2010 remake of which charity single, recorded for earthquake relief in Haiti?

We Are the World 25 for Haiti reached number two on the Hot 100; a re-recording had already been planned for the original's 25th anniversary.

Which 2005 debut album by T-Pain, later certified gold, produced the top-ten single 'I'm Sprung'?

Rappa Ternt Sanga is a phonetic spelling of 'rapper turned singer', the switch he made after signing his first major deal.

Which T-Pain album, his second, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in June 2007?

Epiphany sold about 171,000 copies in its first week, and T-Pain produced every track on it himself.

T-Pain, an avid gamer, named his 2019 surprise album 1UP after video game slang for what?

An extra life is what a 1-up grants; the album arrived unannounced on the day he was revealed as the winner of The Masked Singer.

T-Pain built 'I'm 'n Luv (Wit a Stripper)' as a joke for a friend using which music-making software?

GarageBand on his Mac was all it took; he says he was literally trying to make a bad song, but the label heard a hit and rushed it out.

Which rapper, known for repeating his own name on songs, guests on T-Pain's 'I'm 'n Luv (Wit a Stripper)'?

Mike Jones earned his own highest-charting single with the song, which peaked at number five on the Hot 100.

Which pop star and Jive labelmate joined T-Pain on the official remix of 'Can't Believe It' in 2008?

Justin Timberlake shares a duet third verse with T-Pain on the main remix, while the download version gives him the verse alone.

T-Pain's 'Chopped 'n' Skrewed' is named after a slowed-down remix style pioneered in which city?

Houston's DJ Screw pioneered the chopped and screwed sound; T-Pain performed his own song on Saturday Night Live with Ludacris.

T-Pain was inspired to try Auto-Tune by a Darkchild remix of 'If You Had My Love', a hit for which singer?

Jennifer Lopez's remix used the effect for only a moment, but T-Pain had been looking for a way to make his voice sound unique.

Which mogul paid T-Pain for the right to use his Auto-Tune style on the album Last Train to Paris?

Diddy paid up before the Diddy – Dirty Money album came out, and T-Pain said other artists borrowing the sound should do the same.

T-Pain developed and starred in Freaknik: The Musical, a 2010 animated special for which TV brand?

Adult Swim aired the special in March 2010, with T-Pain voicing the Ghost of Freaknik Past beside guests such as Snoop Dogg and Rick Ross.

T-Pain made his cinema acting debut as a liquor store clerk in which 2010 comedy starring Bow Wow?

Lottery Ticket cast him as Junior, and the film also used his single 'Take Your Shirt Off'.

T-Pain is one of the writers of 'Straight Up & Down', a track on which pop star's album 24K Magic?

Bruno Mars was very specific about what he wanted, T-Pain recalled, though he found the singer and his band jamming and having fun in the studio.

Which artist released 'Billionaire' and the album Lazarus through a venture with T-Pain's Nappy Boy label?

Travie McCoy of Gym Class Heroes signed through Decaydance and T-Pain's label, and T-Pain later joined Gucci Mane on a remix of the single.

T-Pain named his daughter Lyriq and one son Kaydnz; which name did he give his other son?

Muziq and Lyriq were joined by Kaydnz in May 2009; T-Pain and Amber, their mother, have been married since 2003.

T-Pain's 2009 acting debut was as a live-action version of which Aqua Teen Hunger Force character?

Frylock's lines were run through Auto-Tune on and off during the episode, a nod to T-Pain's records.

T-Pain played which Motown legend in a 2016 Epic Rap Battles of History clash with a DC superhero?

Stevie Wonder faced Wonder Woman in the YouTube series, whose guests have also included Snoop Dogg and 'Weird Al' Yankovic.

In 2009, T-Pain endorsed a grassroots campaign to have him elected president of which university?

Florida State University was the goal of the effort, which went by the punning name 'T-Pain Killa Cam-Pain'.

In 2005 T-Pain coined which punning label for his own musical style, a twist on the name R&B?

Hard & B was his own tag for the sound, though he later named gospel as a major influence on it too.

T-Pain cites the talk box sound of which funk singer, heard on 2Pac's 'California Love', as an influence?

Roger Troutman, formerly of the band Zapp, sang that song's chorus through his talk box; T-Pain also credits Teddy Riley's 1990s vocoder work.

Before forming a Grammy-winning duo, which singer was a solo artist on T-Pain's Nappy Boy label?

Shay Mooney went on to form Dan + Shay, who won three Grammys in a row for duo or group performance from 2019 to 2021.

Which Bay Area rapper's hit 'U and Dat' features T-Pain and was produced by Lil Jon?

E-40 reached number 13 on the Hot 100 with the track, which also features singer Kandi Burruss.

Which Canadian artist reworked T-Pain's 'I'm Sprung' in 2019 as the duet 'Jerry Sprunger'?

Tory Lanez even remade the original music video, down to the bandanas, oversized T-shirts and front-lawn barbecue.

Which singer joined T-Pain in 2021 on 'I Like Dat', a sequel to his hit 'Buy U a Drank'?

Kehlani was unveiled at the end of an Instagram livestream T-Pain held with Mark Zuckerberg, and the video recasts the pair in a cowboy town.

T-Pain teamed up with which pop singer on 'Been Like This', the lead single from her 2024 album Timeless?

Meghan Trainor later bought a full-page newspaper advert thanking T-Pain as her favourite artist of all time.