(Photos by Bauer Griffin, Flynet Pictures, Getty Image)
We've all seen it. The embarrassing moment in a pop star's career where the music just doesn't quite match up to what their mouths are doing. It's happened to teen idols, rappers with tough guy reputations, and now Beyonce finds herself in the crosshairs of a lip-synching controversy after her suspicious rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner."
On the one hand, lip-synching is understandable. You have to be in some seriously good shape to do choreographed numbers and simultaneously sing like you do in the studio. Unfortunately this is one excuse Beyonce can't use — it wasn't like she was belting out the "National Anthem" while doing the "Single Ladies" dance for the Obamas. Bey's not alone though. In fact there's a whole history of pop stars faking it when they just as easily could have been singing the real deal... unless, of course [gasp], they can't actually sing.
These guys know what I'm talking about. Milli Vanilli
Sure, lip-synching existed long before '80s duo Milli Vanilli came around, but they are the quintessential example of career-ending lip-synching controversies because it exposed them not only as live show fakers, but also as complete recording frauds. The infamous Rob and Fab, who fronted Milli Vanilli, never actually sang a note on any song, live or otherwise. It was some other dudes who weren't so, shall we say, aesthetically pleasing. The Milli Vanilli dream came crashing down that one infamous night when their vocal tape jammed.
I know, what a mess. Lindsay LohanRemember back in 2004 when
Lindsay Lohan was still pulling off the well-adjusted routine, and was kick-starting her venture into a music career? You mean you don't remember her classic song "Rumors"? That might be because 1) it was an absolutely horrid song, and 2) because LiLo lost quite a bit of credibility when fans realized all her performances were clearly just a recording and she couldn't really sing without some major studio help. As you can see from the clip below, even her youngest admirers seem sadly unimpressed when Lindsay forgets to move her mouth (particularly in the 2:10 to 2:30 stretch).
Oh, those poor guys in her backing band. They probably had dreams of following in the footsteps of rock's greats, and here they are stuck trying to add "edge" to a song about a rich and publicity hungry girl's need for privacy. Surely with every headbang they thought to themselves, "Oh god, I totally sold out."
Jude Law, simply disgusted Ashlee SimpsonThe last video above is conveniently titled "Lindsay Lohan pulls an
Ashlee Simpson" because earlier that same year, Jessica's little sister found herself in one of the biggest lip-synch fails in pop music history, and she did so on national TV no less. Simpson was all set to perform her second song of the night for
Saturday Night Live when the backing track for the song she already played came on instead. Although her band rolled with the control room's mistake (because they can actually play), Ashlee was too thrown off to fake faking it. Her only resort to cope with the embarrassment was to dance a ridiculously awkward jig.
Be cool, 50... be cool. 50 CentEven the toughest guys in hip-hop can be made to look impotent and silly when their prerecorded live performance backfires on them. Just ask
50 Cent, who took multiple gunshots to the chest, but still needed a backing track when he performed live at the BET awards in 2007. The rapper's cover was blown when he repeatedly missed his cues and fell victim to a technical mishap that left the music playing in a loop without the expected recorded vocals to go along with it. The whole thing was a mess, but 50 just kept struttin'... no shame in his game.
No flute for you. Katy PerryKaty Perry is the most recent egregious violator of the lip-synch slip-up, although Perry's oops moment didn't even involve her singing, and it might actually be a calculated part of her live show. Perry got caught when she forgot to "play" what she called a flute (really a bedazzled recorder) along with the backing track. Although footage of the mistake makes Perry look pretty embarrassed as she admits, "Okay, I lied; I can't play the flute," there's conflicting reports as to whether or not the gaffe was intentional. Perry supporters contend it was a planned joke. Either way, it's funny, and proof that little damage is done when you actually own up to what you can't do.
Lady GagaAs we said earlier, performers who are more about show than voice, or who have to dance and get all theatrical at their concerts have somewhat of a pass when it comes to using a backing track for their vocals. But
Lady Gaga lost her shot at such a pass when she went on this self-righteous tirade:
Okay, we get it. Gaga has a great voice, and she's proud that her fans get genuine singing when they come to her shows. But it seems pretty clear to me from the footage below that Lady Monster isn't living up to her promise of being 100 percent real 100 percent of the time. In one video, the vocals stay the same no matter where the mic goes (suspicious), and in the other, she biffs it hard and doesn't miss a note (impossible).
Mariah Carey
Similar to Gaga, we all know that
Mariah Carey can sing; she's proven herself enough, and also like Gaga, has gone on record saying she would never be part of the lip-synching trend because her music is "all about the singing." Which is why it's confusing to watch her very obviously lip-synch her way through this performance. Maybe she's lost it. Carey can't even use the "I'm dancing during my show" excuse seeing as she can hardly walk down three steps without assistance.
What'd ya expect? Britney SpearsThis list wouldn't be complete without one of the queens of lip-synching: Miss
Britney Spears. Is anyone still being fooled by Spears' blatant use of backing track in everything from her stadium tours to her talk show performances? The thing with Spears is that she doesn't even dance anymore, at least not like she used to. She just kind of wiggles in one place, which means the aerobic workout of a stage show is no longer a legit excuse for phoning in the vocals.
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