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lip-syncing is now okay

post #1 of 21
2/3/09 at 6:17pm
Thread Starter 
wow, Jennifer Hudson's pre-recorded rendition of the National Anthem is now available for DL on itunes. also it's totally open that she and Faith Ford both lip-synced their songs:

Jennifer Hudson Lip-Syncing National Anthem During Super Bowl XLIII

so now it's okay.

i realize she's just coming back from an emotional place, but this is just the beginning. in a few years i guess everyone will be open about doing it. singers will be more actors than anything else.
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post #2 of 21
2/3/09 at 6:23pm

Re: lip-syncing is now okay

At least it was actually her voice unlike the lip sync at the Beijing Olympics.

Seriously, though, just sing the damn song. I'd rather hear a real live performance with a few flaws than a perfect lip-sync.
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post #3 of 21
2/3/09 at 6:36pm

Re: lip-syncing is now okay

From what I understand, the producer of the Super Bowl show pretty much insisted they lip sync to pre-recorded tracks to avoid any disasters. I don't know how much the performers really had a choice in the matter.
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post #4 of 21
2/3/09 at 6:43pm

Re: lip-syncing is now okay

Just to be clear, I'm placing blame on everyone, not just the performer.
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post #5 of 21
2/3/09 at 8:03pm

Re: lip-syncing is now okay

Quote:
From what I understand, the producer of the Super Bowl show pretty much insisted they lip sync to pre-recorded tracks to avoid any disasters. I don't know how much the performers really had a choice in the matter.

The producers and network. While they put a tape delay on half-time (15 seconds) and then fix it after, they can't do that before the game, because a tape delay is specifically forbidden by the US government to prevent it's impact on illegal gambling. (people who bet on the coinflip... someone in the stadium could know the answer, place the bet, and win on insider knowledge, etc.)

Out of fear that an obscenity or other event could occur, and unable to pad and come out of it on time with a tape delay, the intro is always going to be lip-synched from here on, no matter who the performer is.

Dislike it all we want, that's going to be how it goes from here on.
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post #6 of 21
2/3/09 at 8:44pm

Re: lip-syncing is now okay

If it's going to be lip synced, why bother with the farce of a real performer? Save everyone the bother and the press releases, and just jumbotron the thing with pre-recorded video.

I have no problem with pre-recorded songs, but to present a "live" performance and then later reveal it was fake serves no good.

I suppose next we'll learn that the fighter plane flyover was digitally added for the TV audience.
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post #7 of 21
2/3/09 at 8:51pm

Re: lip-syncing is now okay

Quote:
I suppose next we'll learn that the fighter plane flyover was digitally added for the TV audience.

Or you're going to tell me that the yellow first-down line on the field is digitally added for the TV audience.
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post #8 of 21
2/3/09 at 9:47pm

Re: lip-syncing is now okay

Faith Ford sings?
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post #9 of 21
2/3/09 at 10:50pm

Re: lip-syncing is now okay

Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick Sun
Faith Ford sings?
I think he meant Faith Hill. Although, Murphy Browns not on anymore and the bills are still coming in. Ya never know...
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post #10 of 21
2/4/09 at 6:59am

Re: lip-syncing is now okay

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bryan X
Or you're going to tell me that the yellow first-down line on the field is digitally added for the TV audience.


The quartet at the inauguration played over a recording as well.

--
H
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post #11 of 21
2/4/09 at 7:09am

Re: lip-syncing is now okay

Quote:
Originally Posted by Holadem


The quartet at the inauguration played over a recording as well.

--
H
Maybe The Three Stooges had it right after all (the fact that they're a trio, and the differences in instruments, notwithstanding).

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post #12 of 21
2/4/09 at 7:16am

Re: lip-syncing is now okay

You know who I feel bad for....Milli Vanilli. Their careers were destroyed over this kind of thing (one of them committed suicide some time later) and now it's commonplace.
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post #13 of 21
2/4/09 at 7:17am

Re: lip-syncing is now okay

Quote from the producer:
Quote:
That's the right way to do it," Minor explains concerning Jennifer's live appearance. "There's too many variables to go live. I would never recommend any artist go live, because the slightest glitch would devastate the performance.
So now the slightest glitch would devastate the performance? Gimme a break. I still remember the bugler playing Taps at JFK's funeral made a mistake. It added to the emotion of the experience. It mirrored the lump in my throat. That producer is so full of BS.

Now if he's claiming that he did it because of Hudson's emotional state, that's another thing, but I don't get that from the quote. If her voice had broken while singing, there would have been millions of people feeling the emotion right with her. As it is, I think this is at least a little dishonest.

The quartet at the inauguration is more understandable. As I understand it, it was too cold for the instruments to be played. They should have, however, announced they were "lip-syncing."
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post #14 of 21
2/4/09 at 7:31am

Re: lip-syncing is now okay

In this case, I don't really care. I mean who watches the Super Bowl for a real, live musical performance? It's a nice distraction for some, I can understand, but if you're really hoping to fill your "live music" needs by watching the Super Bowl, then you don't really deserve good live music!

On a serious note, I'm sure someone in the network studios has studied this and can provide me an answer, but when was it decided that everyone who watches football is a country music fan? I really hate the "Are you ready for some football" that precedes MNF and that Faith Hill sang a variation on. And for all of the people I know who watch it, no one actually likes them. There must be a huge demographic who does, though, because it doesn't seem to be going away...I mean it's not even *good* country music! I mean, when the formula can be broken down to:

[Superstar 1 on Team A] and [Superstar 2 on Team B] are ready for a fight
All my rowdy friends are here on Monday night

- Repeat ad nauseum every week -

That's just sad.
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post #15 of 21
2/4/09 at 7:43am

Re: lip-syncing is now okay

The NFL has required a "backup track" since 1993, so I'm not sure why this is such big news this year.

Quote:
You know who I feel bad for....Milli Vanilli. Their careers were destroyed over this kind of thing (one of them committed suicide some time later) and now it's commonplace.

How is it "this kind of thing"? Milli Vanilli sold millions of albums under false pretense. They did none of the singing, it was all done by studio artists.

Jennifer Hudson had to perform over a backup track because she was required to.

I don't see the similarities.
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post #16 of 21
2/4/09 at 9:13am

Re: lip-syncing is now okay

Quote:
How is it "this kind of thing"?

They just did it in China for the Olympics

And really, would the whole Milli Vanilli thing have the same impact today? It seems to me more today that the music business is more about the act than the actual music. If it was revealed that Britney Spears never did her her own singing, would that really matter to people?

Quote:
Milli Vanilli sold millions of albums under false pretense.

Why should people really care so much about that? The songs on the album that someone bought are still the same no matter who is actually on the cover. The only crime here is that the people who actually sang didn't get proper credit. But they might have known that was the deal anyway.
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post #17 of 21
2/4/09 at 11:04am

Re: lip-syncing is now okay

So you really don't see the difference between finding out that an established artist never actually sung any of his song, vs an established artist who openly lip-synchs at the occasional venue, to her own voice, because the venue requires it? You really think these are comparable situations?

Quote:
Why should people really care so much about that? The songs on the album that someone bought are still the same no matter who is actually on the cover.
This is disingenuous in the extreme. If you found out today that your favorite artist was a fraud, you wouldn't care?

As it happens, Milli Vanilli was my favorite group (I know I am gonna regret admitting this in public. Yes I was young).

--
H
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post #18 of 21
2/4/09 at 1:27pm

Re: lip-syncing is now okay

Quote:
So you really don't see the difference between finding out that an established artist never actually sung any of his song, vs an established artist who openly lip-synchs at the occasional venue, to her own voice, because the venue requires it? You really think these are comparable situations?


I wasn't directly making a comparison between what I am saying and what happens at the Super Bowl. I did mention the China Olympics incident, and although what happened there did make the news, it never materialized into anything that would be considered public outrage.

Quote:
If you found out today that your favorite artist was a fraud, you wouldn't care

Why should I care all that much, I can still play the albums and they would sound exactly the same. I would be hesitant to see a live show, but I don't see myself enjoying the music any less
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post #19 of 21
2/4/09 at 2:17pm

Re: lip-syncing is now okay

Peter Gabriel lip synched his performance of "Imagine" at the Olympics last year too. But he recorded it just a few days before, custom, for the event. It is not as if it was singing along to one of his cds.

I've seen singers trying to sing live in coliseums only to be flustered by the acoustics bouncing back their voices. Unless they have really good ear plugs to cancel it out, and in-ear-monitors, they can get pretty lost in a venue that was not designed with acoustics in mind.

So maybe the network was just afraid that a technical snafu with the earplugs and IEM could result in disaster (as opposed to concern that the performer will start ad-libbing swear words).
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post #20 of 21
2/4/09 at 2:49pm

Re: lip-syncing is now okay

I was in Raymond James Stadium this past December for a football game and had seats where I was close enough to be able hear the performer directly during the national anthem (it was a saxophone performance). There is a huge delay from the microphone to ear over the loudspeakers. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.5 to 3 seconds. I was shocked the saxophonist didn't screw up at all, because hearing it from the instrument and also from the speakers on a huge delay was extremely disconcerting.
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post #21 of 21
2/4/09 at 3:01pm

Re: lip-syncing is now okay

Quote:
Originally Posted by nolesrule
I was in Raymond James Stadium this past December for a football game and had seats where I was close enough to be able hear the performer directly during the national anthem (it was a saxophone performance). There is a huge delay from the microphone to ear over the loudspeakers. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.5 to 3 seconds. I was shocked the saxophonist didn't screw up at all, because hearing it from the instrument and also from the speakers on a huge delay was extremely disconcerting.
I know what you mean. I have had trouble with this when I have performed on the organ in large churches (or when I have turned pages for other organists). The reverberation is sometimes very disconcerting. You just have to keep playing, even though the notes you are playing are not heard until a full second (or more) afterward. It's quite a challenge, for sure. The most difficult experience I ever had with this was turning pages for my friend who gave a recital at the Washington Cathedral some twenty-five or so years ago.
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