Today in History: The pop duo Milli Vanilli was stripped of their Grammy award on this day in 1990 because the singers Rob Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan didn't actually sing on their debut album, "Girl You Know It's True." It is the first time a Grammy has ever been revoked. However, a few days ago media outlets came out and started wondering if we now owe Milli Vanilli an apology. You see, everyone is lip-syncing now.
"Over the last two decades, numerous pop divas have lip-synced their own performances (notably Britney Spears, as well as Mariah Carey and Ashlee Simpson) or used Auto-Tune. Many rock bands regularly use vocal or instrumental backing tracks. And, unfortunately, T-Pain exploited Auto-Tune when he didn't need to and ushered in a loathsome trend for people who likely just couldn't sing. (Cher came first, though, with “Believe” in 1998.)"~Bryan Reesman
Beyoncé, Katy Perry and Lil Nas X, Muse, Red Hot Chili Peppers, New Kids on the Block, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Madonna have also been accused of lip-syncing.
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."\
"Some singers habitually lip-synch during live performances, both concert and televised, over pre-recorded music and mimed backing vocals; this is known as singing over playback. Some artists switch between live singing and lip-synching during performance, particularly during songs that require them to hit particularly high or low notes. Lip-synching these notes ensures that the performer will not be out of tune and that the artist will not strain his or her 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." Wikipedia
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