discussion Lip syncing during live performances

[BlossomSoul]

Do we care? It has become standard and now we're seeing fake guitar solos too. Are we ok with this as entertainment or should artists be held to higher standards? Where do we draw the line? I don't have a job

Edited 5 hours ago by BlossomSoul

[HASHTAGPOW]

As opposed to singing off-key, I say you go girl!

 

[HANZ94]

Its embarrasing and a scam

[Breathe On Moi]

11 minutes ago, BlossomSoul said:

I don't have a job

hello Taco Bell are you hiring ok thank you I will be down to fill out an application 

 

[PrettyHurts]

it's okay when we know the artist can also sing live and they are doing it to protect their voice or to not sound awful while doing choreography 

[smartalek22]

2 minutes ago, PrettyHurts said:

it's okay when we know the artist can also sing live and they are doing it to protect their voice or to not sound awful while doing choreography 

Can (present tense) being very important here, btw 

 

And the show has to still contain a big % chunk of actual live singing, and the playback should be minimised to used during dancing. There is no excuse for lipping a ballad while you're standing still, whether in a paid concert or a TV performance (except where the channel or setting demands lip syncing).

 

It's a vocalist and their team's job to make sure of a balance between vocal rest schedule and promo activities. NOT the job of the general public to lower standards. 

[Devin]

in a concert setting, its not okay when u pay for a service and get something half assed.

[Trent W]

If they have some intense choreo its(kind of) justified 

 

If you are one of those girls that don't do much in stage and lip sync you are a scammer

[Trent W]

22 minutes ago, PrettyHurts said:

it's okay when we know the artist can also sing live and they are doing it to protect their voice or to not sound awful while doing choreography 

Disagree with the first part

 

With the proper diaphragm technique your vocals chords are protected

 

The singers that damage their vocal chords in the long run are the ones that don't have a proper technique 

[prettyinpink940]

Well, I don't see the point of lip syncing nowadays because literally no one is dancing anymore. A lot of people served CHOREOGRAPHY in the 00s and it made perfect sense for them to not sing (completely) live.

 

Like, are we ever gonna get performances like these ever again?

 

 

 

I don't think so.

[Buffy]

I notice Taylor lip syncs most of her choruses since 1989 (2014-2024), but she makes up for it by singing the verses and includes an acoustic set. She's also in the studio recording a thousand songs a year, so our girl needs her vocal rest. I'd rather her preserve and protect her vocals than risk damaging it.

[smartalek22]

27 minutes ago, Buffy said:

I notice Taylor lip syncs most of her choruses since 1989 (2014-2024), but she makes up for it by singing the verses and includes an acoustic set. She's also in the studio recording a thousand songs a year, so our girl needs her vocal rest. I'd rather her preserve and protect her vocals than risk damaging it.

I think artists should adjust their schedules and setlists to suit their voices  

[Glorified]

Get a life baby girl/boy.

bye.

 

[Into The Void]

I noticed most sing verses live and chorus is usually just playback but I don't mind it tbh

[Harrier]

It's a tool used for a purpose. Does it to allow an artist to create a performance that would simply not allow for adequate live singing? Or because the artists voice is simply not up to par on one night due to illness? Then fine it doesn't bother me.

Or is it to hide poor vocal abilities, or because of irrational levels of perfectionism? That's when I have an issue. I've got many faves that lip sync and they don't always land on the good side of this distinction.

[Into The Void]

Sometimes u don't even need to sing 

 

 

[BrokenMachine]

We'll call it for what it is: scam

 

If the fans are willing to pay for mediocrity, I guess it's fine, as long as those fans don't become insufferable and deniers of the truth about their artist 

 

Like, I get the reasons for Mariah and Celine to lip sync BUT we need to admit it. Some of their stans or the GP eats it up and get offendend whenever someone calls them out their lip syncing 

 

I'm not even ok with autotune in live performances to begin with, since it shows the singer doesn't have what it takes to do a LIVE performance, but if that's what the artist needs to at least give something decent, and to keep on singing live, I'll take that anytime over playback.

 

This isn't about to 'hold artists to higher standards', actually most of them resort to lip syncing because they're currently being held to high standards, which makes their teams to force them to serve something physically impossible for them: to sound the same and on key in every single song every single night, despite of the natural human body conditions.

 

Every little mistake can go viral and give bad publicity, so they resort to fake their own talents, and I can't stand it, even when there's too much pressure from the GP, artists must embrace their real selves, and I say this as someone who stans P!nk, Demi, Lara Fabian and Monica Naranjo, who trust their own talents and never lip sync in their concerts.

Edited 2 hours ago by BrokenMachine

[popmusicisdead]

a scam. 

except for maybe when vocalists lip high notes (i've noticed Xtina and Ariana do this sometimes). it's fine because it's mostly to preserve vocal health. especially during a long tour.

 

[Homebrand]

I don't see the problem if they're singing along to the backing track during choruses etc. I do expect that all artists would perform the verses live though. 

 

2 hours ago, Buffy said:

I notice Taylor lip syncs most of her choruses since 1989 (2014-2024), but she makes up for it by singing the verses and includes an acoustic set. She's also in the studio recording a thousand songs a year, so our girl needs her vocal rest. I'd rather her preserve and protect her vocals than risk damaging it.

To me this is the perfect amount of live singing and backing track. Especially for those loud & explosive pop songs 

[smartalek22]

29 minutes ago, popmusicisdead said:

a scam. 

except for maybe when vocalists lip high notes (i've noticed Xtina and Ariana do this sometimes). it's fine because it's mostly to preserve vocal health. especially during a long tour.

 

Those are actually the worst imo if what you're selling is your voice. Whitney did not resort to lip syncing on tour, she adjusted the songs to fit what she could reasonably do at the time. And no, her vocal deterioration was not due to her refusing to lip (outside of TV shows that demand playback).
 

If you were never selling your voice in the first place, it's less of a scam. 

[RoyalT]

I think that for televised performances it's ok.

For a concert, not as much.

[smartalek22]

2 hours ago, Glorified said:

Get a life baby girl/boy.

bye.

 

Fellow ATRLer:

[BrokenMachine]

7 minutes ago, smartalek22 said:

Those are actually the worst imo if what you're selling is your voice.

Yeah, it's always so boring whenever they lip certain notes. It's always better to see them try it live, or see how they adapt to the song if they can't pull it off in the moment 

[smartalek22]

1 hour ago, BrokenMachine said:

Yeah, it's always so boring whenever they lip certain notes. It's always better to see them try it live, or see how they adapt to the song if they can't pull it off in the moment 

If you can't hit it that day get creative and use some melisma to dodge it. Lipping it (almost always) means you're never capable of replicating it live. Because once you're used to the track you're never removing it. I will not get messy here so not listing examples. 

[Don]

I don't mind it if it's a combination for example if the verses are live and the chorus is backing track that's fine for me