Milli Vanilli’s Fall And Other Lip Sync Disasters

Lip-syncing can be traced back to the end of the silent movie era when a generation of film stars who had never spoken a single word in the movie (obviously) found themselves the need to speak or sing on screen. There are fantastic classic movies, however, with incredible singers, but some of those voices might not belong to the actors whom you thought they did. In classic films like My Fair Lady and The King, wherein Audrey Hepburn and Deborah Kerr had starred, you wouldn’t think that their singing voices were of the same person—not a good career investment idea.

Nowadays, audiences often expect perfection from their favorite artists, and the latter is beset with this challenging task, for which they have to forge their own authenticity. However, lip-syncing is just a symptom of a broader problem that’s trickling down to all audiences. Yet, people are trying to decide what artists should do, which is counterproductive. They have to allow these artists to express their crafts creatively and offer a kinder ear. That way, we all make space for them to shine brilliantly at what they make best—music.

Read on to find out more about the lip-sync disasters of music artists.

Lyrics Loop (1989)

In the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, German-French R&B duo Milli Vanilli was among the biggest groups in the music industry, but their fame faded to a significant degree as quickly as it arrived following their live performance blunder on MTV Club Tour in Bristol. It was revealed that they weren’t singing on their hits, including Girl You Know It’s True, eventually falling out of grace.

Wrong Track (2007)

At the time when Ashley Simpson was slowly coming out from under her big sister’s shadow, she scored a gig as a guest on Saturday Night Live with her band. Everything went smoothly during their first performance of her hit song, Pieces of Me. However, everything crumbled in front of millions of live television viewers when the band started to play the next tune, but the vocals of the previous song reverberated instead.

Too Much Milk (2012)

It’d be hard to think that Justin Bieber would lip-sync on stage, but he did. On the first night of his world tour, The Bieb surely gave his fans a night to remember when he upchucked mid-song while vocals of his pre-recorded tracks continued to play in the background. Bieber would later blame his puking on drinking too much milk. No insurance claim was filed, perhaps.

Not Too Obvious (2013)

Beyoncé can squeal any song without any hint of exertion. She could literally do a medley of the ‘80s sitcoms’ theme songs, and it would become an instant hit. However, Bey took some heat when she did lip-sync during President Barrack Obama’s second inauguration back in 2013. Beyoncé chose to sing with a pre-recorded track as she didn’t have enough time to rehearse with the orchestra or soundcheck. However, unlike other lip-syncing fiascos, Queen Bey’s actually turned out fine. It sounded great and smooth. Still, she was exposed later on.

Disarrayed Performance (2016/17)

Welcoming a new year is one of the memorable moments of the occasions, as the performance of Mariah Carey on December 31, 2016. After singing the expected Auld Lang Syne, in the middle of her medley hits, she and her dancing ensemble didn’t get the timing as well as the “sync” part of the lip-syncing, like singing and not singing to backing vocals, dancing as backing vocals played, backup dancers left dancing on their own while Carey gave a play-by-play to the audience about the mess up. Eventually, she walked off the stage when her hits song We Belong Together completely fell apart. Good thing no lawyer got involved with the production company.