Cardi B. Concert performers who lip sync

[Sunburn74]

I find this story so interesting.

Cardi B throws microphone into crowd at gig after being hit by drink

The rapper was reacting to having a drink hit her on stage while she was performing.

www.bbc.com

Basically cardi B is on stage. Someone throws something at her from the crowd. She sees the person and throws her microphone at him. Her voice/song however keeps playing and it's clear she was lip syncing the whole time (cardi B is yelling at him, but the background is her voice singing the song).

Whilst lip syncing is super common in some settings, there are two things I find surprising
1) artists continue to do it in situations where there is crowd interaction that can reveal the practice
2)people continue to pay thousands of dollars to see artists like Beyonce, Taylor swift, etc when likely they are lip syncing the whole time.

It would be nice if artists had to have a disclosure at the ticket sale about whether or not the performance was lip synced or not. Maybe congress should pick it up.

 

[VashHT]

Yeah I can't respect it at all. I've heard people defend it by saying these performers are dancing and doing shit so they can't sing but to me that just means they should be dancing around less and actually performing their music. I always imagine the type of people that like this stuff are the type who go to a concert and complain the songs don't sound exactly like the album version even if the live performance was really good.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

I've always liked smaller, more intimate venues for this reason. Lip Syncing in those situations would be way too easy to expose.

If I am close enough to the stage I can hear both the singer's unamplified voice as well.

 

[Homerboy]

I find this story so interesting.

Cardi B throws microphone into crowd at gig after being hit by drink

The rapper was reacting to having a drink hit her on stage while she was performing.

www.bbc.com

Basically cardi B is on stage. Someone throws something at her from the crowd. She sees the person and throws her microphone at him. Her voice/song however keeps playing and it's clear she was lip syncing the whole time (cardi B is yelling at him, but the background is her voice singing the song).

Whilst lip syncing is super common in some settings, there are two things I find surprising
1) artists continue to do it in situations where there is crowd interaction that can reveal the practice
2)people continue to pay thousands of dollars to see artists like Beyonce, Taylor swift, etc when likely they are lip syncing the whole time.

It would be nice if artists had to have a disclosure at the ticket sale about whether or not the performance was lip synced or not. Maybe congress should pick it up.

There's a difference between using backing tracks and straight up lip-syncing. I think your artists like Beyonce, Taylor swift, etc rely on the backing vocals tracks more than a legit lipsync.

 

[nakedfrog]

I've always liked smaller, more intimate venues for this reason. Lip Syncing in those situations would be way too easy to expose.

If I am close enough to the stage I can hear both the singer's unamplified voice as well.

I'm pretty much done with any venue over 1,000 people at this point.

 

[Stokely]

My impression is that a lot of shows have tracks for just about everything "just in case". I don't really know, I've seen one or two big shows in 20 years. Tracks are big reason why I don't spend the money.

I'm in a small-time cover band, we play on average once a weekend and even at our level a lot of bands run tracks. I hate them, I'll quit before i do it, but audiences don't give a shit. Milli Vanilli's scandal (look it up, you whipper snappers) wouldn't even be a blip on the news today. It's getting to the point where bands who don't run tracks can have a hard time competing--gee, we don't sound perfect because we are actually singing and performing live, what a concept!

I don't hate the players, I hate to game, to be sure. If your bills are paid by your gigs, you do what you have to.

Now, tracks don't necessarily mean lip-synching, which is even worse than tracks karaoke and completely fake.

 

[evident]

My impression is that a lot of shows have tracks for just about everything "just in case". I don't really know, I've seen one or two big shows in 20 years. Tracks are big reason why I don't spend the money.

I'm in a small-time cover band, we play on average once a weekend and even at our level a lot of bands run tracks. I hate them, I'll quit before i do it, but audiences don't give a shit. Milli Vanilli's scandal (look it up, you whipper snappers) wouldn't even be a blip on the news today. It's getting to the point where bands who don't run tracks can have a hard time competing--gee, we don't sound perfect because we are actually singing and performing live, what a concept!

I don't hate the players, I hate to game, to be sure. If your bills are paid by your gigs, you do what you have to.

Now, tracks don't necessarily mean lip-synching, which is even worse than tracks karaoke and completely fake.

I was staying at a hotel in waikiki for 2 weeks and each night they had an "acoustic" pop cover artist with a guitar at their bar. I would say 9 out of 10 performances they werent even playing their guitar and it was just coming from the track.

 

[purbeast0]

There's a difference between using backing tracks and straight up lip-syncing. I think your artists like Beyonce, Taylor swift, etc rely on the backing vocals tracks more than a legit lipsync.

Ding Ding DIng! Winrar!

 

[nakedfrog]

I was staying at a hotel in waikiki for 2 weeks and each night they had an "acoustic" pop cover artist with a guitar at their bar. I would say 9 out of 10 performances they werent even playing their guitar and it was just coming from the track.

Wow, it's not hard to find some schmuck to actually play covers on an acoustic guitar.

 

[eelw]

I'm pretty much done with any venue over 1,000 people at this point.

Lol plenty of performers can project in a theatre in a 2-3000 seat house. But not these pop stars though.

 

[Stokely]

Wow, it's not hard to find some schmuck to actually play covers on an acoustic guitar.

It's hard to find ones that don't suck. And even if it's easy, it's even easier to just play a track.

Our guitarist has one day off this month between band and solo gigs, so it's understandable why people like that would want tracks. On some of those days he has two gigs, that's a shit ton of singing. Again I don't blame the players. Audiences just don't care. If all the musicians went away tomorrow in favor of DJs or Max Headroom-style AI, probably only the older people would care as a group. Eh, things change, I certainly got to play my share of gigs so I am not really complaining. I'm sure some old dude from the 70s would look at my keyboard rig and think it's cheating to not be lugging around a leslie speaker or rhodes...

 

[nakedfrog]

Lol plenty of performers can project in a theatre in a 2-3000 seat house. But not these pop stars though.

Okay? Is that meant to make me want to go to larger venues somehow? I'm not depending on hearing their vocals without a mic, that's not a factor in my decision to eschew larger venues.

It's hard to find ones that don't suck. And even if it's easy, it's even easier to just play a track.

Our guitarist has one day off this month between band and solo gigs, so it's understandable why people like that would want tracks. On some of those days he has two gigs, that's a shit ton of singing. Again I don't blame the players. Audiences just don't care. If all the musicians went away tomorrow in favor of DJs or Max Headroom-style AI, probably only the older people would care as a group. Eh, things change, I certainly got to play my share of gigs so I am not really complaining. I'm sure some old dude from the 70s would look at my keyboard rig and think it's cheating to not be lugging around a leslie speaker or rhodes...

IDK, I've been playing in open jams for over a decade and it's surprising to me how many talented people there are out there. But if they're going to just play a track, why bother having a person there with a guitar?

 

[Sunburn74]

There's a difference between using backing tracks and straight up lip-syncing. I think your artists like Beyonce, Taylor swift, etc rely on the backing vocals tracks more than a legit lipsync.

What is backing tracks? Never heard of that before

 

[Stokely]

Oh I agree there are a ton of talented people. But I think it's pretty hard to make a show when it's just you and a guitar. I've always played in bands and it's easier to hide

As far as your question, I've often wondered the same thing. I guess at that point you are basically an animatronic, the musical equivalent of one of those guys flipping a sign around as advertisement. The thing I don't really get is the bands doing complex synced up tracks and sequences....why not just play along with an mp3 at that point?

Edit: "backing tracks" are pre-recorded performances that bands play along with. Often it's for instruments that they don't have on stage...big acts will play tracks of strings or keyboards when they don't have a keyboard player for instance. The ones I can't stand are tracks of vocals, but that's because our band works super hard at pulling off 3-4 part harmony so the perfect vocal tracks are the epitome of cheating in my book.

 

[cytg111]

I find this story so interesting.

Cardi B throws microphone into crowd at gig after being hit by drink

The rapper was reacting to having a drink hit her on stage while she was performing.

www.bbc.com

Basically cardi B is on stage. Someone throws something at her from the crowd. She sees the person and throws her microphone at him. Her voice/song however keeps playing and it's clear she was lip syncing the whole time (cardi B is yelling at him, but the background is her voice singing the song).

Whilst lip syncing is super common in some settings, there are two things I find surprising
1) artists continue to do it in situations where there is crowd interaction that can reveal the practice
2)people continue to pay thousands of dollars to see artists like Beyonce, Taylor swift, etc when likely they are lip syncing the whole time.

It would be nice if artists had to have a disclosure at the ticket sale about whether or not the performance was lip synced or not. Maybe congress should pick it up.

I dont get it. Why do you guys want that live version, its crap compared to the finished polished produced product… you go to see a show and have the audio at the same time, why not get the best?

Listening to one of my rock stations every now and then some fool will play a number from a live album… thats a mandatory dick punch.

 

[Vic]

What is backing tracks? Never heard of that before

Most pop vocals are actually several vocal takes dubbed over each other to create the effect of the vocalist harmonizing with themselves.

 

[Greenman]

I dont get it. Why do you guys want that live version, its crap compared to the finished polished produced product… you go to see a show and have the audio at the same time, why not get the best?

Listening to one of my rock stations every now and then some fool will play a number from a live album… thats a mandatory dick punch.

Why go see a show if it's a recording? I've seen more bands live than I can remember, and the most memorable live performance I ever seen was a new years eve concert featuring the Allman Brothers Band. Boz Scaggs and Jerry Garcia showed up and played with the Allman Brothers until 4:00 AM. You don't get that from a prerecorded show.

 

[Vic]

Why go see a show if it's a recording? I've seen more bands live than I can remember, and the most memorable live performance I ever seen was a new years eve concert featuring the Allman Brothers Band. Boz Scaggs and Jerry Garcia showed up and played with the Allman Brothers until 4:00 AM. You don't get that from a prerecorded show.

Dude.. that show was in 1973.

 

[FelixDeCat]

Until this year I did not even know this person existed. I went to McDonalds and got breakfast in February. The bag said "Cardib and Offset". I was thinking cardib and offset? What does that mean?

 

[evident]

Okay? Is that meant to make me want to go to larger venues somehow? I'm not depending on hearing their vocals without a mic, that's not a factor in my decision to eschew larger venues.

IDK, I've been playing in open jams for over a decade and it's surprising to me how many talented people there are out there. But if they're going to just play a track, why bother having a person there with a guitar?

for the feels and vibe of the bar.... bar i'm calling out is rumfire in the sheraton in waikiki

 

[VashHT]

I dont get it. Why do you guys want that live version, its crap compared to the finished polished produced product… you go to see a show and have the audio at the same time, why not get the best?

Listening to one of my rock stations every now and then some fool will play a number from a live album… thats a mandatory dick punch.

The whole point of a live show is to see the band actually perform the music, there are plenty of live versions I prefer to the recorded versions tbh. Nothing ruins a band for me more than going to see them live and they sound like garbage, who cares if they can polish up their songs for an album if they can't actually play their shit.

 

[cytg111]

The whole point of a live show is to see the band actually perform the music, there are plenty of live versions I prefer to the recorded versions tbh. Nothing ruins a band for me more than going to see them live and they sound like garbage, who cares if they can polish up their songs for an album if they can't actually play their shit.

Again. I dont get it .

 

[Eos]

I've always liked smaller, more intimate venues for this reason. Lip Syncing in those situations would be way too easy to expose.

If I am close enough to the stage I can hear both the singer's unamplified voice as well.

My first close to the stage concert (2nd row) was Rush in Portland in 1997. I could occasionally hear Neil's snare over the house. This was before front fill was ubiquitous, but still. The dude was whacking the shit out of that drum.

 

[nakedfrog]

I dont get it. Why do you guys want that live version, its crap compared to the finished polished produced product… you go to see a show and have the audio at the same time, why not get the best?

Listening to one of my rock stations every now and then some fool will play a number from a live album… thats a mandatory dick punch.

I used to feel that way when I was a teenager, before I started going to concerts.
Now that I've seen bands that sounded nearly identical to the album, with minimal crowd interaction, those ones are the ones that make me feel like I would have been better off staying at home and listening to the album.

 

[cytg111]

I used to feel that way when I was a teenager, before I started going to concerts.
Now that I've seen bands that sounded nearly identical to the album, with minimal crowd interaction, those ones are the ones that make me feel like I would have been better off staying at home and listening to the album.

Hmm.. I guess its a moot point, AI is destined to fill the gap between lipsync and autotune, so you will have the improvised stuff and the quality at the same time.