Milli Vanilli

[Milkymagic]

My timing sucks, but I gotta ask...what's your take on the lip-synching maestros Milli Vanilli? Girl You Know It's True? Not true? They were kinda buff? Let me hear it! C'mon, I know you guys heard've Milli Vanilli!

By the way, my dad had their album...I've never heard so many freaky rhythms and beats in my life. But I think it won its grammy for being so brilliantly campy, or maybe everyone was on acid...

[Emeraldas]

I don't think that most pop singers do much that's very different from what they did.

It's sad that one of them committed suicide a few years ago.

[Mana]

C'mon, I know you guys heard've Milli Vanilli!

Actually, I've heard OF them, but I don't think I've ever actually heard their music. Speaking of music, we do have a forum just for it... *moves thread*

[Milkymagic]

I appreciate it Mana, it's just when the subject's not anime related, I always get mixed up and put it in Miscellaneous. Guess it wasn't a bad idea to add into the one that says "Campus Radio Hotline."

It was pretty sad to hear about that suicide, especially when you consider the fact their producer (who was the mastermind) got away without so much as a scratch, and the blame was put on both the visual performers.

Also, I can agree that lip-synching is probably more common than we hope to realize...

But I can definitely identify a good "live performance" in the same token (you can hear the instruments more acutely, and the vocalist actually gets tired after a while).

[soundchazer]

My timing sucks, but I gotta ask...what's your take on the lip-synching maestros Milli Vanilli? Girl You Know It's True? Not true? They were kinda buff? Let me hear it! C'mon, I know you guys heard've Milli Vanilli!

By the way, my dad had their album...I've never heard so many freaky rhythms and beats in my life. But I think it won its grammy for being so brilliantly campy, or maybe everyone was on acid...

Nah... it was just a product of their time. Unfortunately, pop since the late 80s has not really changed all that much. Before then, you could have not so good-looking people with loads of talent make pop music and succeed. Now all you need is big boobs, a flashy smile and a dance routine. Milli Vanilli were the poster children of that movement.

[Mouse]

Pop music today may rely heavily on lip-synched performances so the "artist" can properly shake their booty, but at least somewhere in the digitized recording is their own voice.

During Milli Vanilli's heyday I didn't like their music or their looks so I really wasn't heartbroken to discover they couldn't sing. Frankly, I didn't like the voice of the guy that was singing. But I was annoyed by their innocent act, pretending they were just a couple of lost foreign boys that didn't know any better. Yeah right. :rolleyes2 Sure Frenchy and Fabio took most of the heat that should have gone to their manager, but that's what you get for willingly putting yourself on stage instead of behind it.

And why the sudden interest in something that happened more than 15yrs ago, Milkymagic? Is it because the French guy has that new album due out?

[Emeraldas]

Pop music today may rely heavily on lip-synched performances so the "artist" can properly shake their booty, but at least somewhere in the digitized recording is their own voice.

That's what they want you to think. :P

As far as I'm concerned, you don't have to have talent to be auto-tuned and have your voice digitally tweaked, so they might as well be fake.

[Tamanegi Sensei]

Milli Vanilli? Positive Energy? Yeah Blame it On the Rain why don't ya. One hit wonder is the best way to describe them.

[soundchazer]

Milli Vanilli? Positive Energy? Yeah Blame it On the Rain why don't ya. One hit wonder is the best way to describe them.

Actually, they were not a one hit wonder.

They were so popular at the time they had 3 number 1 singles and a number 2: Girl you know is true, Baby don't forget my number, Girl I'm gonna miss you and Blame it on the rain. They sold seven million copies of their first album in the U.S. alone and 30 million singles worldwide.

[Blue Audio]

Viva 1990.

[fugupinkeye]

Actually, they were not a one hit wonder.

They were so popular at the time they had 3 number 1 singles and a number 2: Girl you know is true, Baby don't forget my number, Girl I'm gonna miss you and Blame it on the rain. They sold seven million copies of their first album in the U.S. alone and 30 million singles worldwide.

yep, and I think that was partly why people really felt like they'd been had. They'd gotten behind several tunes by them. Sadly they got caught doing what so many were and still are doing.

[soundchazer]

Agreed, that is pretty much why it was such a scandal at the time. I know people who were under 6 or 7 years old at the time fail to grasp just how big they were. It is like putting Britney Spears, the Backstreetboys and N'Sync together.

Today it is even worse... as stated before, there are so many gadgets that can be used in studio and live performances to auto-tune singing, that you really only need a good looking body, a catchy tune and a dance routine to make it in the pop world. Many of those were not available back then, so it did catch people by surprise.

[Milkymagic]

Mouse hit my interest on the button (his new album's called Roll), plus I got caught up in some conversation about pop stars with some folks at work. I agree with Soundchazer entirely about physical looks, I mean, Phil Collins was no stud in his heydey (nor was the rest of Genesis). Indeed, Milli Vanilli was only the tip of the iceberg for many other stars to jump right into (also glad Chazer realized their popularity, they were friggin' huge!) as other stars like Ashlee Simpson and what have you were other poorly conducted pop "extavaganzas." Also, Emeraldas has a point with the studio's role with creating the star...

Will the real Milli Vanilli please stand up?