A new audio recording has been leaked of Britney Spears singing the song "Alien" from her recent album "Britney Jean." The difference is that her vocals can be heard before the song has been changed by Auto-Tune. The remaining vocals sound flat and average, not the quality music of a singer that has sold over 100 million of records.

The leaked song has gotten so much attention online since it was released a week ago that the song's producer William Orbit posted on Facebook a statement about the matter. In the statement, Orbit says:

"Dearest Music Lovers, I have heard that Britney vocal link that everybody's been discussing. It has been impossible not to as there have been many comments directing my attention to it. I'd like to affirm that ANY singer when first at the mic at the start of a long session can make a multitude of vocalisations in order to get warmed up.

"Warming up is essential if you're a pro, as it is with a runner doing stretches, and it takes a while to do properly. I've heard all manner of sounds emitted during warmups. The point is that it is not supposed to be shared with millions of listeners.

"A generous singer will put something down the mic to help the engineer get their systems warmed up and at the right level, maybe whilst having a cup of herb tea and checking through lyrics before the session really kicks off. It's not expected to be a 'take'."

Regardless of the statement clarifying why Spears's singing on the leaked track is not what people expect, Sony Music Entertainment has gotten the recording taken down from YouTube. But, as usual, once something is on the Internet it is spread around virally and the recording can be found elsewhere.

Auto-Tune is the audio software that can change a singer's vocal recording to match the pitch of the music. The results sound somewhat artificial, but can result in a great pop or dance song.

For those curious, you can also listen to the final version of Britney Spears's song "Alien" and decide for themselves.