WARNING: This Concert Features Lip Syncing

[NightShiftLoser]

Australia is all at once completely awesome, and a little slow. Tons of people were pissed off that Britney Spears was *gasp* lip syncing her last show in Australia. They are now demanding warnings be advertised for shows where the artist may be lip syncing.

I'm all for it, because it would stop artists from cheating their way through a set, but I can't believe they were amazed she didn't actually sing during her show.

What are your thoughts?

[Dr. Steven JicKurtesy Mames]

Sounds like typical Australia to me... we want to everything straight-up. No bullshitting around. I have to say that this idea is one of the most idiotic ideas in essence though. How can you ask for an advertisment about someone who will be lip syncing in a concert? This would completely kill everything about the concert and ultimately a lower draw rate. People do realise that performers like Britney do indeed go for the entertainment side more than the actual singing, but having signs being posted around claiming "Oh, Ms. Spears ain't singing" is just a stupid business move... if people already know, why even bother with the sign?

[I Am Phenom]

I don't get what the big deal is about lip syncing. Why does everyone care so much if an artists doesn't sing a song on stage that they have already sang one hundred times before?

Is it going to take away from the performance? Not likely. You might hear a little difference in their voices but not enough for it to matter. You are still going to get all the glitz and bright lights of the live performance. You are still going to get to see the dancing and all of that.

If it is a song that the artist has recorded and made famous, I don't see why they can't lip sync it since it is their song. If it isn't their song, then they should, by all means sing it.

[NightShiftLoser]

As a metal fan, I'd be pretty pissed off if I went to see Slayer or Megadeth, and never once saw Tom or Dave open their mouths. I'd demand a refund, and never see either band ever again. That's why I'm all for the "warnings".

If anything, it'll stop shitty performers from going there, and work towards them achieving any more undeserved success. Trust me, seeing a real artist on stage is far better than seeing a group of wannabes dancing around like they did something amazing.

[I Am Phenom]

Originally Posted by NightShiftLoser

As a metal fan, I'd be pretty pissed off if I went to see Slayer or Megadeth, and never once saw Tom or Dave open their mouths. I'd demand a refund, and never see either band ever again. That's why I'm all for the "warnings".

Well I'm not a metal fan and have never seen a metal performance, so I don't know about that.

Originally Posted by NightShiftLoser

If anything, it'll stop shitty performers from going there, and work towards them achieving any more undeserved success. Trust me, seeing a real artist on stage is far better than seeing a group of wannabes dancing around like they did something amazing.

So you aren't into the whole dancing around and stuff like that? I guess it is a matter of taste. Trust me, people didn't go to Michael Jackson concerts and worry, "OMG is he going to be actually singing or lip syncing?" They went for his spectacular shows. People have heard him sing the songs before, so it doesn't matter if he did it again on stage or not.

I've been to an Usher concert before and it was amazing. Not once did I wonder if he was lip syncing or not. He had so much in his performance that it didn't matter. You were going to be entertained either way.

I guess it's a matter of taste really.

[HBK-aholic]

Have you seen the energy some of these people put into their shows? They're dancing and running around the stage for at least half the show, and a majority of the songs. With them exerting so much energy dancing how bad do you think the singing would be? Basically, they can't win either way, they'd be criticised for sounding bad, or they'd be criticised for not singing. Clearly, you all want to go to a show simply to see the singer stood in the middle of the stage singing song after song with nothing else. Sounds fun.

Having a disclaimer maybe at the bottom of an advert that they were lip-synching could easily happen, and I'm with NSL it'd be a good idea. Again, would stop people complaining they paid to see a performer 'sing' and they didn't. But I have no problem with an artist lip-synching in a big concert.

[xfearbefore]

Does this surprise anyone, seriously? It's fucking Britney Spears, she has the talent of a rotting corpse in a dumpster. Of course she's lip syncing, to do otherwise might actually require her to be talented at something other than shaking her ass, so you know that's out of the question.

I have no respect for those that lip-sync, particularly at a live concert. That's just bullshit and a big "Fuck You" to the fans.

[MattMoses]

Lip-syncing is a pile of shit, it really is. There should be a disclaimer if an act is going to choose to pretend to use their apparent talent to perform infront of an audience who pay good money to see them. I see it as nothing but paying to listen to a CD you could listen to at home on your stereo or your computer; essentially that's all it is. Personally I've never been a big fan of watching acts stumble around stage who more often than not half-ass some generic dance routine with a bit of pyro thrown in to make it seem more spectacular.

Even artists who aren't great at singing (Robbie Williams, James Hetfield) always perform their shit live, and let me tell you, it's a hell of a lot more energetic than watching an act mime their words and walk around the stage. As for the "they dance and run around so they'd be tired to sing" comment, lord, give me strength. Bruce Dickinson, a 51 year-old man runs around on stage for two hours every performance giving stellar vocal performances.

[NightShiftLoser]

Originally Posted by MattMoses

Even artists who aren't great at singing (Robbie Williams, James Hetfield) always perform their shit live, and let me tell you, it's a hell of a lot more energetic than watching an act mime their words and walk around the stage. As for the "they dance and run around so they'd be tired to sing" comment, lord, give me strength. Bruce Dickinson, a 51 year-old man runs around on stage for two hours every performance giving stellar vocal performances.

Listen to the man.

I saw Ozzy twice within the last 4 years, and as sober as he was, he made sure to turn the show into a spectacle. He ran from end to end, jumped around, and sang his heart out. Except for Road To Nowhere, you couldn't understand a word he said, but you loved it. You were witnessing a great stage performer. There's no excuse for not giving your fans their money's worth.

[I Am Phenom]

Originally Posted by MattMoses

Lip-syncing is a pile of shit, it really is. There should be a disclaimer if an act is going to choose to pretend to use their apparent talent to perform infront of an audience who pay good money to see them. I see it as nothing but paying to listen to a CD you could listen to at home on your stereo or your computer; essentially that's all it is. Personally I've never been a big fan of watching acts stumble around stage who more often than not half-ass some generic dance routine with a bit of pyro thrown in to make it seem more spectacular.

You've obviously never been to the types of concerts that I have been to. The performers that I like to watch, Michael Jackson, Usher, Beyonce, and so on, perform their routines with so much energy and percision that it's amazing to watch. They don't stumble around and do generic moves. I've heard them sing their songs before, I don't need to hear them sing it again live. What's going to change about it?

I have a solution though. I'm going to go back to MJ, because, let's face it, he was the greatest entertainer that the world has ever seen. He would often record a completely different version of his songs for his live performances and he would lip sync them on stage. However, they were different from the CD so it made everyone happy. Like this one below:



Would that work for you all?