Lip Synching: Look Who’s Really Talking!
One of the biggest secrets of the music industry has been uncomfortably let out of the bag. The proverbial cat is lip-synching, and it is far from new. The practice of synthesizing voices is as old as recorded music itself. On American Bandstand and most variety shows of the 50s and 60s, vocals and instrumentals were all faked and obviously so. It wasn’t until the 1980s however, when MTV began its mission of style over musical substance, that pop performers began doing it in concert. Today’s audiences are more sophisticated and aware, and since the cost of a concert ticket can be as high as almost one hundred bucks per seat, they are also more annoyed at this new twist to the term "live concert."
Lip-synching became one of the worst kept secrets in pop music in 1990, after the vocal duo Milli Vanilli became the subjects of a lawsuit. A New Jersey assemblyman introduced a bill requiring concert promoters to warn fans when singers use vocal tapes onstage and many predicted that within a few years singers would stop doing it or at least stop lying about it. But the bill came to naught and the issue is no closer to being resolved today than it was a decade ago. Many young concert-goers who go to see N’Sync, The Back Street Boys and Britney Spears today couldn’t care less about the issue of integrity that separates live singing from lip-synching. They just want to see the same non-stop, glitzy and perfect dance moves they’ve seen on the videos.
According to Chris Nelson in his recent New York Times article, Lip Synching Gets Real, a survey conducted by Inside Edition among sound engineers revealed that 59% of the 44 participants had replaced a singer’s live voice at a concert with a recording. Horace Ward, who has mixed sounds at live performances for twenty years, and does not mix for lip-synched shows at all, says: "I know the guys that mix those sort of things don’t like…perpetrating that sort of lie." He went on to say that even though only about 5% of the acts out there lip-synch, the ones that do are some of the biggest names in the business.
And so they are. Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Janet Jackson and a host of top notch others have been accused of faking it at one time or another. Part of the problem, once again according to Chris Nelson, is that the spectacular effects of today’s live concerts take their toll on a singer’s vocal abilities, no matter how good or strong they may be. Elaborate costuming, pyrotechnics and athletic dancing have all become integral components of today’s live concert performances. I defy in all fairness, for any of us non-performers to even speak clearly and effectively while balanced upside down or dancing while somersaulting or streaming down a pole or…well, you get the picture. The torch singers in sultry dresses of past eras are still around, but they sing differently to different crowds. They move slowly as well, straining their voices above the smoke, clatter and chatter of smoky lounges and nightclubs. Today, almost all live concerts involve the energetic movement of strenuous and intricate dance routines that require skill and extreme concentration.
Although Britney Spears has always denied that she lip-synches, even her own manager, Larry Rudolph, concedes that she does. Nelson’s article speaks of a phone interview in which he said: "Ms Spear’s tour will feature a mix of live and lip-synched vocals and… past tours have included the same." Professor Doug Mitchell, who teaches the recording arts at Middle Tennessee State University, which boasts the largest program of its kind, analyzed a tape of Britney Spear’s recent concert special, which aired last November. In his view, many of the vocals were not live. On a number of songs, he said, "her microphone wasn’t even on…What was playing over the loud speaker was the pre-produced tracks."
The star herself, speaking before her show at the Smirnoff Music Center in Dallas claimed she was singing even though people were "thinking I’m lip-synching." Well, according to The Dallas Morning News, maybe she was vocalizing, but her microphone was not picking up her singing, a fact that became obvious when her tape broke during the concert, leaving nothing to speculate about except the quality of the dead air.
Inside Edition’s report also questioned whether super star Janet Jackson uses pre-recorded lead vocals at her live performances. One "anonymous" former record executive claimed that while sitting in the front row for one of her concerts, he watched her count dance steps with her lips while her singing voice played over the public address system. She herself conceded in 1998 that she used some taped vocals to augment her live ones. But she refused to say what percentage of her concert voice is taped and how much is live. No spokesperson for Janet Jackson had any comment to Inside Edition’s inquiries. No one seems to be talking, or at least mouthing the words through the truthful, non-synthesized side of their mouths.
Not every singer accused of faking it actually is. On her 1990 Blonde Ambition tour, Madonna developed a lip-synching reputation. She drastically changed her act, however, on her subsequent tours. A recent HBO concert found her singing throughout the show. She compromised by standing mostly still during her toughest singing parts and left the dancing to her back-up troupe. When she did dance, her singing was at a minimum and her back up vocalists filled in the gap. Many younger stars should, but don’t follow her example.
"Watching a canned show has become totally acceptable behavior and it’s bull," says John Mellencamp in a statement from The Dallas Morning News. "It’s…the difference between watching a drama and a cartoon."
The entire matter reeks of the responsibility for truth in advertising. Professor Richard Barnett, who recently wrote a book on ethics in the music industry, says that "…fans should be let in on lip synching, so they can decide for themselves if they want to buy a ticket to those … shows…If I go to a concert, I want to know in advance…that it’s not going to be totally live."
The process of synthesized sound does not only involve lips that pretend to sing. Canned laughter was always a part of the background on many of the old television comedy shows of the 50s and 60’s, including I Love Lucy, Here Come The Nelsons and Leave It to Beaver. Beyond the world of television and pop music however, sound synthesis is reaching new heights (or should we call them lows?). Inside Edition also discovered that the highly synchronized tap sounds echoing through the concert hall during the spectacular Irish step-dance show Riverdance, are not live at all, but a recording. A spokesperson for Riverdance claims that the real sound of all those feet tapping is too hard to capture live. She added that the practice has been used on Broadway for years.
So what is the answer and why won’t anyone speak? Not owning up to the issue seems to be the only indication of some shame being attached to it. Have fans sacrificed authenticity for perfection? If so, is it worth the price? In this dazzling age of pop, the question is it live or is it Memorex may remain unanswered. In some cases, not even their hairdresser can say for sure!
- Marjorie Dorfman's blog
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Double Post Alert
My reply is below~ it doubled on me so I'm clearing this into something stupid.
Just so you know~
It's common sense. Lip syncing will never be admitted to, ya know why?????????
If I'm a record company exec, and I sign you up, I'm investing money into you and your image, and there has to be something there that's made me sign you~ (oh, thanks for the couch job last week, too.) Maybe I know your mom, I owe your dad a favor, it was a stipulation in spouse #3's prenup~ what have you~ you're not the greatest singer, but we'll teach you some dance steps, do a sexy video, and we'll add effects to your voice in the studio.................I'll recoup my coin, and if the public likes you, I'll make a nice little profit and then go from there. If the fans find out that you're just a processed can of potted meat that's been put out from the assembly line, the money you're worth is now the money I won't get.
It's about money.
If that gets out as common practice, BAM! No more hefty concert ticket sales, no more special event sales, and crappy credibility as an artist. If the artist is worth a damn, they're not going to want a 'fake!!!!!!!' tag attached to them. Most current example: Ashlee Simpson on SNL last season. She lipped it on the second song, and where she lost her creds? She lied, right there on national television. When the tape started, the guys backing her glanced at each other like 'ruh roh', but they kept playing, as they should've.......hey, it wasn't their heads fronting the band, and it wasn't Ashlee And The BAND....she was the musical guest, her name alone...they were just kinda there.........and Ashlee then realized what was going on, but when it dawned on her, she did her 'jig' deal, and walked off, and the guitar player on the right? He glanced to the bass player with a half grin, and they started riffin' some other stuff and played out into commercial.
Priceless~
And where she messed up? At the end of the show, she was whining and said, "I'm sorry, I don't know what happened.........the band started playing the wrong song!!!" BAM. She blamed the F up on the band, and a statement was put out the next day that she was sick, had been touring so much, that she had lost her voice. Yeah, right, ok. Which was it?
I know which one it was, and it was neither~ if she would've been smart, she would have just come out before singing, or after, and said, "I'm hoarse tonight, so if I sound like a wounded animal, that's why......" And all would've been well with the world. Instead, she lied, blamed it on her band, and now has one of the best SNL outtakes ever. So in a roundabout way, she got the notorioty she wanted~ for that, she'll always be.........infamous.
Her sales went to nothing, she was booed off every stage she went on for a while, and her PR/dad figured they'd better use some of Jessica's speed to try and jump start her back into some kind of credible stance as a singer~ she went blonde, she did gigs with her sissy, and did the encore SNL last fall and actually sang to her own less-than-good crap just to try and save face. It helped, but she'll never have the same level of popularity she once had. She'll go down into one-hit-wonderdom as Jessica's little lip syncing sister. Dye the hair back~
Think about it this way: You will NEVER, EVER see a singer who has credibility, who is actually good, jumping around lip syncing to their own stuff with a head mic on.......They're serious about their craft and if they're good, they don't NEED to dance and 'lip' it. If you're not the Barbra Streisend level of singer, you'll substitute for the lack of talent with singing and showin' off the bod~ hey, no problem with it. Madonna, Janet Jackson, and Miss Britney got rich from it, and they also lip synced a few times, but they got by with it because of the dancing, and hey, it's ok, people were lookin' at their bodies anyway, so hell with what they sound like~ they made up for it with some actual live singing and video work~ and that's an excuse that's acceptable thanks to MTV way back in the day.
Before MTV, you had no clue what the person really looked like unless they did something like American Bandstand, and just for the record, every act on AB lip synced it~ It was due to the fact of being easier to keep the studio a dance place, not having to bother with hooking up equipment, etc.
Charlie Pride is an old country singer who became popular in the middle/late 60's. Radio stations played his stuff, a single in particular called 'Kiss An Angel Good Morning'......it was goin' to number 1, people called in and requested the tune left and right, and the public was shocked when they found out that this country crooner was............yes, a black guy. (For country music at that time, this was huge, man.)
If you feel that you need to lip sync all the time, you're a full fledged studio singer that needs the digital help, it's a tell-tale sign: IE: Milli Vanilli. People are forgiving, but if you lie to them, pretend that the public is stupid, and act arrogant for it? Nice knowin' ya, pal, and we'll see you in a few years on 'Where Are They Now?' Poor ol' Rob and Fab~ One put out a cd and practically did press conferences to assure the public he could sing, and it was so freakin' bad that everyone wished he'd just lip it again~ the other? Suicide~ found him 'deader than a door nail'.
Lip syncing = kill yourself.
I guess that's the lesson there~
You've never seen Celine or Mariah wearing a head mic and rollin' around on the floor. Whitney Houston tried it a few years ago when her throat was coked into oblivion and back~ she was doing a national concert tour, and they said she was so bad, the audience would just start laughing profusely at her~ thus, her tour dates were cancelled within 2 weeks.
I've been into music since I was 3, and I learned about lip syncing when I was in 2nd grade, so for those that have been around it or are familiar with vocal/breathing know-how, it's extremely easy to spot~ I was fortunate enough to meet people, good people, people some of you have seen on tv, radio, etc. No ego or anything~ I'm nothing special~ I just wanted a career, and worked hard at it, so I'm familiar with some of the trade tricks~
One more thing~ when I was a kid, I remember seeing Loretta Lynn on tv, and what she said always stuck with me, and damned if it wasn't true:
"In order to make it in this business, you either have to be:
new...
different...
or just plain good."
But I think nowadays, one more should be added to that list: Know somebody, because I think we can all agree that there are a lot of'm out there right now, and they're not all that new, they're not all that different, and let's face it: They're just not that damn good.
They're getting in this business some kind of way, and they need to........go away~
But? It won't happen~ you're stuck with lip syncers because cash wise, it's just too easy. At least when one gets caught, it's great smirking material for the rest of us. And if you're going to do it, at least be smart enough to have 2 copies cued up and going simultaneously~
It's like singing along to a song on your stereo instead of watching Jerry Springer~ it's turned up full blast, and someone comes in the room and turns the power off........there you are, standing there screaming your lungs out for that split second more, caught off guard....... you instantly clam up, and hope to God either they're deaf or you're on key before you slink off into the kitchen embarrassed as hell....it makes you want to grab a spork and ....kill yourself~
Lip Synching
Hi Tammy
Boy- you said it better than I!
It all boils down to money and image. You are absolutely right that a really good singer has only his or her voice to sell. Think of all the old-timers like Nat King Cole and Perry Como, just to name a few.
Thnaks for sharing and for reading!
Yours In Words.
Marjorie Dorfman
Oh Oh Oh~
Tony Bennett, baby~ although, the ol' Rat Pack wasn't so bad either~ a bit before my time, but timeless, nonetheless~ ya know, like..........Vanilla Ice? haha
For the last time
One' creative muse has but one master.
Yours In Words.
Marjorie Dorfman