Lip-synching in music
Encyclopedia
Lip-synching
in music is "moving the lips in synchronization with [pre-]recorded speech or song" to give the appearance of a 'live' performance. It is generally considered dishonest, though some producers argue that it needs to be done in some performance contexts. Lip-synching, also called miming, can be used to make it appear as though actors have musical ability (e.g., The Partridge Family
) or to misattribute vocals (e.g. Milli Vanilli
), to enable them to perform live dance numbers, or to cover for illness or other deficiencies during live performance. The practice of lip synching during live performances is frowned on by some who view it as a crutch only used by lesser talents.
On American Bandstand and most variety shows of the 1960s, vocals and instrumentals were all synced to pre-recorded music. Since the advent of MTV
in the 1980s, many artists have focused on visual effects, rather than singing, for their live shows. Artists often lip-sync during strenuous dance
numbers in both live and recorded performances. Some singers habitually lip-sync during live performance, both concert and televised, whereas others do lip syncing only for certain songs or types of performances.
, artists usually lip-synch to their songs and often imitate playing musical instrument
s as well. Artists also sometimes move their lips at a faster speed from the track, to create videos with a slow-motion effect in the final clip, which is widely considered to be complex to achieve. However, Bruce Springsteen
's hit Streets of Philadelphia
only uses the instruments as a backing track while the vocals were recorded with a microphone attached on the singer, giving a different feel to it. Lip-synching is almost always used in musical film
s (The Rocky Horror Picture Show
being an exception) and in biopics such as Ray
and La Vie en Rose
, where the original recording adds authenticity. However, when songs appear in non-musical films the actors sing live on set, but later dub their voices in ADR using a "better" performance of the song.
numbers in both live and recorded performances, due to lung capacity being needed for physical activity (both at once would require incredibly trained lungs). Michael Jackson
was an example of this, he performed complex dance routines while lip-syncing and live singing. His performance on the television special Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever
(1983) changed the scope of live stage show. Ian Inglis, author of Performance and Popular Music: History, Place and Time (2006) notes the fact that "Jackson lip-synced 'Billie Jean' is, in itself, not extraordinary, but the fact that it did not change the impact of the performance is extraordinary; whether the performance was live or lip-synced made no difference to the audience" thus creating an era in which artists re-create the spectacle of music video imagery on stage.
Chris Nelson of The New York Times
reported, "Artists like Madonna
and Janet Jackson
set new standards for showmanship, with concerts that included not only elaborate costumes and precision-timed pyrotechnics but also highly athletic dancing. These effects came at the expense of live singing." Edna Gundersen of USA Today
comments the complexity of modern stage show has forced "singing and musicianship into minor roles", citing as example artists such as New Kids on the Block, Milli Vanilli, George Michael
, Cher
, Paula Abdul
and Janet Jackson. She elaborates: "The most obvious example is Madonna's Blond Ambition World Tour
, a visually preoccupied and heavily choreographed spectacle. Madonna lip-syncs the duet Now I'm Following You, while a Dick Tracy character mouths Warren Beatty's recorded vocals. On other songs, background singers plump up her voice, strained by the exertion of non-stop dancing."
Billboard
editor Thom Duffy commented: "The expectations of fans have changed, and that's the driving force here ... They expect a concert as perfect as what they see on MTV
." Rashod D. Ollison of The Baltimore Sun
observes: "Since the advent of MTV and other video music channels, pop audiences have been fed elaborate videos thick with jaw-dropping effects, awesome choreography, fabulous clothes, marvelous bodies. And the same level of perfection is expected to extend beyond the video set to the concert stage. So if Britney Spears, Janet Jackson or Madonna sounds shrill and flat without a backing track, fans won't pay up to $300 for a concert ticket." Gundersen comments that while lip-syncing may be used to augment live singing, it has also been used to mask the fact an artist may have no vocal talent whatsoever, such as Milli Vanilli, who lip-synced vocals other than their own.
Some singers habitually lip-synch during live performance, both concert and televised. over pre-recorded music and mimed backing vocals(a half-and-half performance) this is known as singing over playback. Some artists switch between live singing and lip-synching during performance, particularly during songs which require them to hit particularly high or low notes. Lip-synching these notes ensures that they will not be out of tune and that the artist will not strain their voice too much during an arduous concert. Once the difficult portion of the song has passed, the artist may continue to lip-synch or may resume singing live. Some artists lip-synch choruses during songs, but sing the main verses.
The practice of synching also occurs in musical theater, for much the same purpose as for musicians. A production may include a mix of lip-synched and live musical numbers. In long-running shows, this may be done to help protect the performer's voice from strain and damage, as well as to maintain a high caliber of production. A notable example of using lip-synching as a special effect includes performances of The Phantom of the Opera
, where swing actors in the same costume as the lead actors, to give the illusion of the characters moving around the stage with some mystery. Artists may also lip-synch in situations in which their back-up bands and sound systems cannot be accommodated, such as the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
which features popular singers lip-synching while riding float
s.
Some artists may choose to lip-synch during live performance because of stage fright or perceptions of inadequacy. Unlike studio recording, live performance provides only one chance to sing each song correctly. An artist may worry that their voice is not strong enough, that it will sound noticeably different from recorded versions, or that he or she will hit a wrong note. Sometimes lip-synching is falsely accused when fans sitting in the back of a stadium see a drummer hit a kit before they actually hear the sound- the delay can be mistaken for poor synchronization.
s and, more recently, drag king
s; Lypsinka has starred in movies and several touring shows. Other artists have chosen to lip-synch quite obviously for comedic value. During a short, pre-recorded performance, such as a guest appearance on a TV show, some artists purposely include in-joke
s like swapping instruments between band members or dis-syncing their instruments in obviously erroneous ways, as a protest against being requested to lip-sync(i.e. fake a performance). A famous example is an Iron Maiden
appearance in a German TV show in 1986, which was included in the DVD Iron Maiden - The Early Years. A number of artists, such as Nirvana
, Green Day
, Oasis
, Muse
, and Travis
, have also made similar mock performances in the British TV show Top of the Pops
.
A writer on ethics calls lip-syncing an "affront to all legitimate live performers who risk lyric mistakes and cracking voices to give an authentic performance". The author argues that lip-syncing in live concerts will "...destroy our ability to enjoy great live performances the way we once could, thrilling to the certain knowledge that we are witnessing something extraordinary from a great talent". The author argues that this "...makes lip-syncing in public performances wrong. Not only is the audience being lied to; it is being made cynical".
In the US, the government is considering making legal changes that would make it illegal for amateur singers to post videos of themselves lip-syncing to copyrighted songs. The "...legal changes currently before the US Senate could make it illegal to post videos featuring lip-syncing on sites like YouTube".
was " 'extremely upset' over the savaging she has received after lip-synching at her Australian shows", where ABC news Australia reported that "[d]isappointed fans ...stormed out of Perth's Burswood Dome after only a few songs". Reuters reports that Britney Spears "is, and always has been, about blatant, unapologetic lip-synching". The article claims that "at the New York stop of her anticipated comeback tour, Spears used her actual vocal chords only three times -- twice to thank the crowd, and once to sing a ballad (though the vocals during that number were questionable, as well)". Rolling Stone magazine stated that "Though some reports indicate Spears did some live singing [in her 2009 concerts], the L.A. Times Ann Powers notes that the show was dominated by backing tracks (which granted, is not the same thing as miming)".
sang "Nessun Dorma
" at the 2006 Winter Olympics opening ceremony
in Turin
, Italy at his final performance. In the last act of the opening ceremony, his performance received the longest and loudest ovation of the night from the international crowd. Leone Magiera, who directed the performance, revealed in his 2008 memoirs, Pavarotti Visto da Vicino, that the performance was prerecorded weeks earlier. "The orchestra pretended to play for the audience, I pretended to conduct and Luciano pretended to sing. The effect was wonderful," he wrote. Pavarotti's manager, Terri Robson, said that the tenor had turned the Winter Olympic Committee's invitation down several times because it would have been impossible to sing late at night in the sub-zero conditions of Turin in February. The committee eventually persuaded him to take part by pre-recording the song.
used playback at a 1984 performance at the Sanremo Festival in Milan
, Italy
when they performed the song Radio Ga Ga
from their album The Works
. That was the first and to now only time Queen used a playback outside of TV shows.
Ashlee Simpson
appeared as a musical guest on Episode 568 of Saturday Night Live
(October 23–24, 2004), and, as is customary for the show's format, she was scheduled to perform two songs. Her first song, "Pieces of Me", was performed without problems. However, when she began her second song, "Autobiography", the vocals for the song "Pieces of Me" were heard once again, before she had raised the microphone to her mouth. Simpson began to dance, but then left the stage while the band (not a recording) continued playing.
During her performance, "she was revealed to apparently be lip-synching". According to "her manager-father[,]...his daughter needed the help because acid reflux disease had made her voice hoarse." Her manager stated that "Just like any artist in America, she has a backing track that she pushes so you don’t have to hear her croak through a song on national television." During the incident, vocal parts from a previously-performed song began to sound while the singer was "holding her microphone at her waist"; she made "some exaggerated hopping dance moves, then walked off the stage".
at the Lake Compounce
theme park in Bristol, Connecticut
, the recording of Milli Vanilli
's song "Girl You Know It's True" jammed and began to skip, repeating the partial line "Girl, you know it's…" over and over.
Due to rising public questions regarding the source of talent in the group, owner Frank Farian
confessed to reporters on November 12, 1990, that Morvan and Pilatus did not actually sing on the records. As a result of American media pressure, Milli Vanilli's Grammy was withdrawn four days later and Arista Records
dropped the act from its roster and deleted
their album and its masters from their catalog, taking Girl You Know It's True out of print.
After these details emerged, at least 26 different lawsuits were filed under various U.S. consumer fraud protection laws. On August 28, a settlement was approved that refunded those who attended concerts along with those who bought Milli Vanilli recordings. An estimated 10 million buyers were eligible to claim a refund.
, the song "Ode to the Motherland" appeared to be sung by Lin Miaoke at the ceremony, but it emerged she had mimed her performance to a recording by another girl, Yang Peiyi
, who had actually won the audition. It was a last minute decision to use lip-synching, following a Politburo member's objection to Yang's physical appearance. International Olympic Committee executive director Gilbert Felli defended the use of a more photogenic double.
Lip sync
Lip sync, lip-sync, lip-synch is a technical term for matching lip movements with sung or spoken vocals...
in music is "moving the lips in synchronization with [pre-]recorded speech or song" to give the appearance of a 'live' performance. It is generally considered dishonest, though some producers argue that it needs to be done in some performance contexts. Lip-synching, also called miming, can be used to make it appear as though actors have musical ability (e.g., The Partridge Family
The Partridge Family
The Partridge Family is an American television sitcom about a widowed mother and her five children who embark on a music career. The series originally ran from September 25, 1970 until August 31, 1974, the last new episode airing on March 23, 1974, on the ABC network, as part of a Friday-night lineup...
) or to misattribute vocals (e.g. Milli Vanilli
Milli Vanilli
Milli Vanilli was a pop/dance music project formed by Frank Farian in Germany in 1988, visually fronted by Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus. The group's debut album achieved international success and earned them a Grammy Award for Best New Artist on Feb. 21, 1990. Milli Vanilli became one of the most...
), to enable them to perform live dance numbers, or to cover for illness or other deficiencies during live performance. The practice of lip synching during live performances is frowned on by some who view it as a crutch only used by lesser talents.
On American Bandstand and most variety shows of the 1960s, vocals and instrumentals were all synced to pre-recorded music. Since the advent of MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
in the 1980s, many artists have focused on visual effects, rather than singing, for their live shows. Artists often lip-sync during strenuous dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
numbers in both live and recorded performances. Some singers habitually lip-sync during live performance, both concert and televised, whereas others do lip syncing only for certain songs or types of performances.
Videos
Because the film track and music track are recorded separately during the creation of a music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
, artists usually lip-synch to their songs and often imitate playing musical instrument
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
s as well. Artists also sometimes move their lips at a faster speed from the track, to create videos with a slow-motion effect in the final clip, which is widely considered to be complex to achieve. However, Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
's hit Streets of Philadelphia
Streets of Philadelphia
"Streets of Philadelphia" is an Oscar winning song, written and performed by American rock musician Bruce Springsteen for the first mainstream film on HIV/AIDS in the 1993 film, Philadelphia...
only uses the instruments as a backing track while the vocals were recorded with a microphone attached on the singer, giving a different feel to it. Lip-synching is almost always used in musical film
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
s (The Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is the 1975 film adaptation of the British rock musical stageplay, The Rocky Horror Show, written by Richard O'Brien. The film is a parody of B-movie, science fiction and horror films of the late 1940s through early 1970s. Director Jim Sharman collaborated on the...
being an exception) and in biopics such as Ray
Ray (film)
Ray is a 2004 biographical film focusing on 30 years of the life of rhythm and blues musician Ray Charles. The independently produced film was directed by Taylor Hackford and starred Jamie Foxx in the title role; Foxx received an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance.Charles was set to...
and La Vie en Rose
La Vie en rose (film)
La Vie En Rose is a 2007 French biographical film about the life of French chanteuse Édith Piaf co-written, and directed by Olivier Dahan. Marion Cotillard stars as Piaf. The title La Vie en Rose comes from Piaf's signature song...
, where the original recording adds authenticity. However, when songs appear in non-musical films the actors sing live on set, but later dub their voices in ADR using a "better" performance of the song.
Complex performance
Artists often lip-synch during strenuous danceDance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
numbers in both live and recorded performances, due to lung capacity being needed for physical activity (both at once would require incredibly trained lungs). Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
was an example of this, he performed complex dance routines while lip-syncing and live singing. His performance on the television special Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever
Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever
Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever is a 1983 television special produced by Suzanne de Passe for Motown Records, to commemorate Motown's twenty-fifth year of existence. Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever is a 1983 television special produced by Suzanne de Passe for Motown Records, to...
(1983) changed the scope of live stage show. Ian Inglis, author of Performance and Popular Music: History, Place and Time (2006) notes the fact that "Jackson lip-synced 'Billie Jean' is, in itself, not extraordinary, but the fact that it did not change the impact of the performance is extraordinary; whether the performance was live or lip-synced made no difference to the audience" thus creating an era in which artists re-create the spectacle of music video imagery on stage.
Chris Nelson of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reported, "Artists like Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
and Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...
set new standards for showmanship, with concerts that included not only elaborate costumes and precision-timed pyrotechnics but also highly athletic dancing. These effects came at the expense of live singing." Edna Gundersen of USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
comments the complexity of modern stage show has forced "singing and musicianship into minor roles", citing as example artists such as New Kids on the Block, Milli Vanilli, George Michael
George Michael
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
, Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
, Paula Abdul
Paula Abdul
Paula Julie Abdul is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality.In the 1980s, Abdul rose from cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers to highly sought-after choreographer at the height of the music video era before scoring a string of pop music-R&B hits...
and Janet Jackson. She elaborates: "The most obvious example is Madonna's Blond Ambition World Tour
Blond Ambition World Tour
The Blond Ambition World Tour was the third concert tour by American singer-songwriter, Madonna. The tour was launched in support of her fourth studio album, Like a Prayer, and the soundtrack, I'm Breathless. The tour reached North America, Europe and Asia. It was a highly controversial tour,...
, a visually preoccupied and heavily choreographed spectacle. Madonna lip-syncs the duet Now I'm Following You, while a Dick Tracy character mouths Warren Beatty's recorded vocals. On other songs, background singers plump up her voice, strained by the exertion of non-stop dancing."
Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
editor Thom Duffy commented: "The expectations of fans have changed, and that's the driving force here ... They expect a concert as perfect as what they see on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
." Rashod D. Ollison of The Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun is the U.S. state of Maryland’s largest general circulation daily newspaper and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries....
observes: "Since the advent of MTV and other video music channels, pop audiences have been fed elaborate videos thick with jaw-dropping effects, awesome choreography, fabulous clothes, marvelous bodies. And the same level of perfection is expected to extend beyond the video set to the concert stage. So if Britney Spears, Janet Jackson or Madonna sounds shrill and flat without a backing track, fans won't pay up to $300 for a concert ticket." Gundersen comments that while lip-syncing may be used to augment live singing, it has also been used to mask the fact an artist may have no vocal talent whatsoever, such as Milli Vanilli, who lip-synced vocals other than their own.
Some singers habitually lip-synch during live performance, both concert and televised. over pre-recorded music and mimed backing vocals(a half-and-half performance) this is known as singing over playback. Some artists switch between live singing and lip-synching during performance, particularly during songs which require them to hit particularly high or low notes. Lip-synching these notes ensures that they will not be out of tune and that the artist will not strain their voice too much during an arduous concert. Once the difficult portion of the song has passed, the artist may continue to lip-synch or may resume singing live. Some artists lip-synch choruses during songs, but sing the main verses.
The practice of synching also occurs in musical theater, for much the same purpose as for musicians. A production may include a mix of lip-synched and live musical numbers. In long-running shows, this may be done to help protect the performer's voice from strain and damage, as well as to maintain a high caliber of production. A notable example of using lip-synching as a special effect includes performances of The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)
The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.The music was composed by Lloyd Webber, and most lyrics were written by Charles Hart, with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Alan Jay Lerner was an early collaborator,...
, where swing actors in the same costume as the lead actors, to give the illusion of the characters moving around the stage with some mystery. Artists may also lip-synch in situations in which their back-up bands and sound systems cannot be accommodated, such as the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, often shortened to Macy's Day Parade, is an annual parade presented by Macy's. The tradition started in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States along with America's Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit, and four years younger than...
which features popular singers lip-synching while riding float
Float (parade)
A float is a decorated platform, either built on a vehicle or towed behind one, which is a component of many festive parades, such as those of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, the Carnival of Viareggio, the Maltese Carnival, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Key West Fantasy Fest parade, the...
s.
Some artists may choose to lip-synch during live performance because of stage fright or perceptions of inadequacy. Unlike studio recording, live performance provides only one chance to sing each song correctly. An artist may worry that their voice is not strong enough, that it will sound noticeably different from recorded versions, or that he or she will hit a wrong note. Sometimes lip-synching is falsely accused when fans sitting in the back of a stadium see a drummer hit a kit before they actually hear the sound- the delay can be mistaken for poor synchronization.
For irony and effect
Lip-synching, as a form of musical pantomime - in which the performer moves their mouth to a recording - is often performed by drag queenDrag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...
s and, more recently, drag king
Drag king
Drag kings are mostly female performance artists who dress in masculine drag and personify male gender stereotypes as part of their performance. A typical drag king routine may incorporate dancing and singing, live as in the Momma's Boyz of San Francisco's performances or lip-synching...
s; Lypsinka has starred in movies and several touring shows. Other artists have chosen to lip-synch quite obviously for comedic value. During a short, pre-recorded performance, such as a guest appearance on a TV show, some artists purposely include in-joke
In-joke
An in-joke, also known as an inside joke or in joke, is a joke whose humour is clear only to people who are in a particular social group, occupation, or other community of common understanding...
s like swapping instruments between band members or dis-syncing their instruments in obviously erroneous ways, as a protest against being requested to lip-sync(i.e. fake a performance). A famous example is an Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
appearance in a German TV show in 1986, which was included in the DVD Iron Maiden - The Early Years. A number of artists, such as Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
, Green Day
Green Day
Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...
, Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
, Muse
Muse (band)
Muse are an English alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, formed in 1994. The band consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy , Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard...
, and Travis
Travis (band)
Travis are a post-Britpop band from Glasgow, Scotland, comprising Fran Healy , Dougie Payne , Andy Dunlop and Neil Primrose...
, have also made similar mock performances in the British TV show Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
.
Legal and ethical aspects
In the Australian state of New South Wales, the government is considering new laws that would require pop singers to print disclaimers on tickets "to alert fans if they intend on miming throughout their shows". Fair Trading Minister Virginia Judge stated that "Let's be clear - live means live." Minister Judge stated that "If you are spending up to $200 [on concert tickets], I think you deserve better than a film clip". She indicated that "The NSW Government would be happy to look at options, such as a disclaimer on a ticket which would warn consumers a performance is completely pre-recorded."A writer on ethics calls lip-syncing an "affront to all legitimate live performers who risk lyric mistakes and cracking voices to give an authentic performance". The author argues that lip-syncing in live concerts will "...destroy our ability to enjoy great live performances the way we once could, thrilling to the certain knowledge that we are witnessing something extraordinary from a great talent". The author argues that this "...makes lip-syncing in public performances wrong. Not only is the audience being lied to; it is being made cynical".
In the US, the government is considering making legal changes that would make it illegal for amateur singers to post videos of themselves lip-syncing to copyrighted songs. The "...legal changes currently before the US Senate could make it illegal to post videos featuring lip-syncing on sites like YouTube".
Britney Spears
In 2009, US pop singer Britney SpearsBritney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
was " 'extremely upset' over the savaging she has received after lip-synching at her Australian shows", where ABC news Australia reported that "[d]isappointed fans ...stormed out of Perth's Burswood Dome after only a few songs". Reuters reports that Britney Spears "is, and always has been, about blatant, unapologetic lip-synching". The article claims that "at the New York stop of her anticipated comeback tour, Spears used her actual vocal chords only three times -- twice to thank the crowd, and once to sing a ballad (though the vocals during that number were questionable, as well)". Rolling Stone magazine stated that "Though some reports indicate Spears did some live singing [in her 2009 concerts], the L.A. Times Ann Powers notes that the show was dominated by backing tracks (which granted, is not the same thing as miming)".
Luciano Pavarotti at the 2006 Winter Olympics
On 10 February 2006, Luciano PavarottiLuciano Pavarotti
right|thumb|Luciano Pavarotti performing at the opening of the Constantine Palace in [[Strelna]], 31 May 2003. The concert was part of the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of [[St...
sang "Nessun Dorma
Nessun dorma
Nessun dorma is an aria from the final act of Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot, and is one of the best-known tenor arias in all opera. It is sung by Calaf, il principe ignoto , who falls in love at first sight with the beautiful but cold Princess Turandot...
" at the 2006 Winter Olympics opening ceremony
2006 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony
The Opening Ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics was held on February 10, 2006 beginning at 20:00 CET at the Stadio Olimpico in Turin, Italy....
in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, Italy at his final performance. In the last act of the opening ceremony, his performance received the longest and loudest ovation of the night from the international crowd. Leone Magiera, who directed the performance, revealed in his 2008 memoirs, Pavarotti Visto da Vicino, that the performance was prerecorded weeks earlier. "The orchestra pretended to play for the audience, I pretended to conduct and Luciano pretended to sing. The effect was wonderful," he wrote. Pavarotti's manager, Terri Robson, said that the tenor had turned the Winter Olympic Committee's invitation down several times because it would have been impossible to sing late at night in the sub-zero conditions of Turin in February. The committee eventually persuaded him to take part by pre-recording the song.
Queen at Sanremo Festival 1984
The band QueenQueen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
used playback at a 1984 performance at the Sanremo Festival in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
when they performed the song Radio Ga Ga
Radio Ga Ga
"Radio Ga Ga" is a 1984 song performed and recorded by the British rock band Queen, written by their drummer Roger Taylor. It was released as a single with "I Go Crazy" by Brian May on the original B-side and was included on the album The Works...
from their album The Works
The Works
The Works is a shelved 3D computer animated film which was under development by the staff of the Computer Graphics Lab in association with the New York Institute of Technology in Old Westbury, New York. Being worked on sporadically from 1979 to 1986, the film's development and production had...
. That was the first and to now only time Queen used a playback outside of TV shows.
Ashlee Simpson Saturday Night Live appearance in 2004
Ashlee Simpson
Ashlee Nicole Simpson is an American singer and actress. In 2004, she rose to prominence with the success of her number-one debut album Autobiography and the reality series, The Ashlee Simpson Show. In October 2005, following a North American concert tour and a film appearance, Simpson released...
appeared as a musical guest on Episode 568 of Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
(October 23–24, 2004), and, as is customary for the show's format, she was scheduled to perform two songs. Her first song, "Pieces of Me", was performed without problems. However, when she began her second song, "Autobiography", the vocals for the song "Pieces of Me" were heard once again, before she had raised the microphone to her mouth. Simpson began to dance, but then left the stage while the band (not a recording) continued playing.
During her performance, "she was revealed to apparently be lip-synching". According to "her manager-father[,]...his daughter needed the help because acid reflux disease had made her voice hoarse." Her manager stated that "Just like any artist in America, she has a backing track that she pushes so you don’t have to hear her croak through a song on national television." During the incident, vocal parts from a previously-performed song began to sound while the singer was "holding her microphone at her waist"; she made "some exaggerated hopping dance moves, then walked off the stage".
Milli Vanilli
In 1990, during a live performance recorded by MTVMTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
at the Lake Compounce
Lake Compounce
Lake Compounce is an amusement park located in Bristol, Connecticut, United States and a part of the neighboring town of Southington, Connecticut; the lake itself lies completely in Southington. It is the oldest continuously operating amusement park in North America, having operated every year...
theme park in Bristol, Connecticut
Bristol, Connecticut
Bristol is a suburban city located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States southwest of Hartford. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 61,353. Bristol is primarily known as the home of ESPN, whose central studios are in the city. Bristol is also home to...
, the recording of Milli Vanilli
Milli Vanilli
Milli Vanilli was a pop/dance music project formed by Frank Farian in Germany in 1988, visually fronted by Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus. The group's debut album achieved international success and earned them a Grammy Award for Best New Artist on Feb. 21, 1990. Milli Vanilli became one of the most...
's song "Girl You Know It's True" jammed and began to skip, repeating the partial line "Girl, you know it's…" over and over.
Due to rising public questions regarding the source of talent in the group, owner Frank Farian
Frank Farian
Frank Farian , is a German record producer and songwriter. He started out as a trained cook before moving into the music industry...
confessed to reporters on November 12, 1990, that Morvan and Pilatus did not actually sing on the records. As a result of American media pressure, Milli Vanilli's Grammy was withdrawn four days later and Arista Records
Arista Records
Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
dropped the act from its roster and deleted
Deletion (music industry)
Deletion is a music industry term referring to the removal of a record or records from a label's official catalog, so that it is out of print, but usually at a record artist's request....
their album and its masters from their catalog, taking Girl You Know It's True out of print.
After these details emerged, at least 26 different lawsuits were filed under various U.S. consumer fraud protection laws. On August 28, a settlement was approved that refunded those who attended concerts along with those who bought Milli Vanilli recordings. An estimated 10 million buyers were eligible to claim a refund.
2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
In the 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
The 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony was held at the Beijing National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest. It began at 8:00 pm China Standard Time on August 8, 2008, as 8 is considered to be a lucky number. The number 8 is associated with prosperity and confidence in Chinese culture...
, the song "Ode to the Motherland" appeared to be sung by Lin Miaoke at the ceremony, but it emerged she had mimed her performance to a recording by another girl, Yang Peiyi
Yang Peiyi
Yang Peiyi is a Chinese child singer. She is well known for her performance of China's anthem, Ode to the Motherland , which she sang behind the scenes of the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony on August 8, 2008.-Biography:...
, who had actually won the audition. It was a last minute decision to use lip-synching, following a Politburo member's objection to Yang's physical appearance. International Olympic Committee executive director Gilbert Felli defended the use of a more photogenic double.
Others
- 50 Cent50 CentCurtis James Jackson III , better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, investor, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin and The Massacre . Get Rich or Die Tryin has been certified eight times platinum by...
was caught lip synching live on stage at the BET awards, watched by millions of people when DJ Whoo Kidd played the instrumental version of the hit song "Amusement Park." - During a concert at Madison Square Garden, the R & B singer R. KellyR. KellyRobert Sylvester Kelly , better known by his stage name R. Kelly, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. A native of Chicago, Kelly began performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public Announcement. In 1993, Kelly went solo with the album 12 Play...
put down his microphone in the middle of a song and let his recorded vocals keep singing. - In 1989, a New York Times article claimed that "BananaramaBananaramaBananarama are an English female pop duo who have had success on the pop and dance charts since 1982. Rather than relying on a two part harmony, the duo generally sings in unison, as do their background vocalists. Although there have been line-up changes, the group enjoyed their most popular...
's recent concert at the Palladium", the "first song had a big beat, layered vocal harmonies and a dance move for every line of lyrics", but "the drum kit was untouched until five songs into the set, or that the backup vocals (and, it seemed, some of the lead vocals as well-a hybrid lead performance) were on tape along with the beat". The article also claims that "British band Depeche ModeDepeche ModeDepeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
, ...add vocals and a few keyboard lines to taped backup onstage". - The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called Janet JacksonJanet JacksonJanet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...
"one of pop's most notorious onstage lip synchers" in a 2001 article on lip synching. - During the 2009 Super Bowl, "Jennifer HudsonJennifer HudsonJennifer Kate Hudson is an American recording artist, actress and spokesperson. She came to prominence in 2004 as one of the finalists on the third season of American Idol coming in seventh place...
's performance of the national anthem" was "lip-synched ...to a previously recorded track, and apparently so did Faith HillFaith HillFaith Hill is an American country singer. She is known both for her commercial success and her marriage to fellow country star Tim McGraw. Hill has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and accumulated eight number-one singles and three number-one albums on the U.S...
who performed before her". The singers lip-synched "...at the request of Rickey Minor, the pregame show producer", who argued that "There's too many variables to go live." - Whitney HoustonWhitney HoustonWhitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...
's rendition of the anthem at the 1991 Super Bowl was also reported to have been lip-synched.