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Do musicians have an obligation to sing live during a live performance?

Mariah Carey is getting slammed for her lip synching in light of the botched New Year's performance. When watching it, I couldn't help but remember a video I saw of Adele, in which her microphone went out during the performance and she joked that the people up front got a private concert and also made a remark that she always sang live- as if it was a badge of honor to do so. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I certainly applaud Adele's authenticity. 

What are your thoughts?



Adele's mic fails at 2:40, for those who want to see what happens.

Posted - January 5, 2017
Tags : None

Responses


  • 3375
    I saw the Mariah Carey performance and thought she acted completely unprofessional.  I was shocked she didn't even seem to know the words of her own songs, even if they were playing the wrong ones.

    To answer the question about lip syncing, I don't want to pay good money to see a performance that isn't authentic.  I do get that they may need a pre recorded background chorus, but I want to hear them, not a recording.
      January 5, 2017 10:17 AM MST
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  • 3934
    I recall the late Frank Zappa, who was an orchestral composer in addition to his rock music career, once held a "concert" where all of the musicians pretended to play their instruments while Zappa piped in recorded versions of his works. Apparently, few in the audience caught on to the ruse.

    I suppose it depends upon audience expectations. I personally would like performers to actually perform live, because it provides the opportunity to do something unexpectedly great (or sometimes awful, but that's pretty rare). However, let's face it, many popular muscians are dependent upon being able to do multiple takes, use studio processing, etc. to sound their best, and are not well-suited to live performances. Such musicians might be better off just synching to pre-recorded tracks.
      January 5, 2017 10:26 AM MST
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  • I heard on the radio that some older singers lip sync certain songs because their vocal range has diminished. The example was a 50's singer who had some falsetto parts, and simply can't sing them anymore. He still performs, and people want to see him, but fans want to hear the stuff he is renowned for. Can't recall his name exactly, was it Frankie-something?
      January 5, 2017 10:31 AM MST
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  • 3375
    This would be true.  I do remember when Robert Plant from Led Zeppelin was offered a cool 80 million dollars to tour with the remaining members a few years back.  He declined.  He could no longer hit those high notes that he was notorious for.  I respected that in him.  He wanted to be authentic and knew he couldn't deliver a true, live performance.

    As a side note, I did see him as a solo act in the late 80s and I can confirm he no longer had the range he once had.  He is a talented musician and his solo work was quite different then his hard rock from former years.
      January 5, 2017 11:10 AM MST
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  • Yes, yes they do.   That's what the fans are there to see and what they pay for. A real performance.  

    If anyone wanted to just see someone shaking their behind, dancing in sexy clothes, and looking hot they would just go to a strip club and get a much better show for a lot less money.

    That said Carey has been a joke for the past 20 years and is the epitome of a hot mess.
      January 5, 2017 10:32 AM MST
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  • 3375
    I agree.  She hasn't impressed me for many years before that mess on New Year's eve.  I think some of these musicians of today have little concept of performance without a lot of help in the background.
      January 5, 2017 11:12 AM MST
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  • She has talent,   she just lost here ability to use it well.   Too much warbling after awhile.   Oooh-ahh-ooohh-AHHHH,   a little is good but she does way too much and it's just a cheap spectacle after awhile.
      January 5, 2017 12:06 PM MST
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  • 3375
    She has always warbled.  As someone once said of her, "just because you can hit all those notes in a single lyric, doesn't mean you should."  I always thought she would actually sound better if all her music didn't entail that skill.
      January 5, 2017 1:53 PM MST
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  • Aye. It is mostly a showing off novelty with her.


    ( actually that person might have been me.   I kinda recall saying that on a SH thread once back when.) This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at January 5, 2017 7:04 PM MST
      January 5, 2017 2:09 PM MST
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  • 3907
    Hello JA:

    Nahh..  They have an obligation to put on a show.  Look.  It's hard to sing when your nipples are frozen stiff.

    excon
      January 5, 2017 10:37 AM MST
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  • they should (that's what the fans are therefor after all, and have paid good money to see them live) but there is nothing wrong with having back track in some of the more difficult parts (parts that they can't vocally recreate or match with the studio/album version) to help them out but their voices should still be more noticeable. This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at January 5, 2017 3:00 PM MST
      January 5, 2017 10:53 AM MST
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  • 32697
    Alot of them lip sync. Personally I don't want to pay to hear a recording. But I also don't listen to that kind of music. Mariah and other diva types where dancing is more of the performance than the singing. I prefer rock bands.
    The main reason she is getting flack is because she left the stage. She should have continued the show. Even if she had to use the crowd more to help with the words (she didn't seem to know) Ask the people to sing with her ...."come on y'all... sing it with me I know y'all know the words...."
     Just walking off the stage was unprofessional and disrespectful to the fans there.
      January 5, 2017 11:01 AM MST
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  • 3375
    She acted like a spoiled brat when things went wrong.  Being a professional should prepare you for things like that.  She makes millions to perform, so my empathy for her is little.
      January 5, 2017 11:13 AM MST
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  • 32697
    Exactly I agree 100% she should have found a way to continue the show. 
      January 5, 2017 1:50 PM MST
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  • Tell some jokes or make fun of it.   Hell just engage the audience in some banter for crying out loud.  This diva BS is over done and lame.
      January 5, 2017 2:03 PM MST
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  • Personally I think they should sing.. but you get what you pay for.. if you are into the mass produced, looks count more than talent kind then you are going to have to expect lip syncing.. as someone else said it would be a show rather than a concert/gig.. 


      January 5, 2017 11:34 AM MST
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  • 22891
    probably only if they were supposed to sing then
      January 5, 2017 1:37 PM MST
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  • I think that it would be like finding out that TV painter, Bob Ross, was actually doing this.


    Yeah, I want her to sing.
      January 5, 2017 4:43 PM MST
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  • 1002
    If you purchased tickets to see a live performance it should be live, I think. I didn't see either of your examples though, sorry.
      January 5, 2017 5:46 PM MST
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