Previous Next Lip-synching a live performance is considered a grave offense to many. It’s a shameful thing that insults the audience’s intelligence and pocket books, and in some cases can leave a musician’s reputation forever marred. Despite all of that, lip-synching is still a very common practice amongst artists. Sometimes it’s even required of them regardless of what they may think about it, but when news of the mimed performance hits the media it’s always a big scandal. Check out these 15 lip-synching artists who were caught in the act. Beyoncé Beyoncé’s performance of the National Anthem at the 2013 Presidential Inauguration for Obama’s second term left people in awe of her flawless voice. Turns out her flawless performance was a flawless recording. It was decided that a recording would be the best decision given that Beyoncé did not have a chance to rehearse with the Marine band for the song. Widespread speculation led to media coverage of this supposed scandal, but Bey didn’t seem too phased by it.

She definitely had an easier time of it than others on our list like… Ashlee Simpson The younger Simpson daughter had a chance to step out into the spotlight in 2004, free of her sister’s shadow. Too bad the spotlight was on her for all the wrong reasons. During a performance on Saturday Night Live Ashlee was supposed to sing two songs, “Pieces of Me” and “Autobiography,” but when it was time to perform the latter song, the words to “Pieces of Me” came booming out through the speakers yet again. Ashlee’s lips weren’t moving. An embarrassed Ashlee attempted to deflect the attention with a little jig, which of course, only brought more embarrassment. She could be seen teary eyed and apologetic at the end of the show. Britney Spears Photo: Victor Chavez/WireImage A lip-synching Britney Spears is hardly news or shocking, but still the public was disappointed to see her mouthing the words in her performace of “Womanizer” on the X Factor back in 2008 and down right pissed when she dared to feign a vocal performance on her Circus tour which saw fans walk out of the arena in Australia.

Milli Vanilli This not-so-dynamic duo represents the most popular and surprisingly tragic case of lip-syncing in music history, marking the quickest fall from grace since Adam bit the apple. The public became skeptical of the group’s singing ability when the recording of their hit “Girl You Know It’s True” kept repeating part of that line in the chorus as Milli Vanilli (Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan) attempted to play it off before running off stage during a live MTV performance. However, the straw that broke the camel’s back was when one of the real Milli Vanilli singers came forward out of anger that Rob and Fab were credited as singing on their US debut album in 1989. The next year Milli Vanilli’s founder Frank Farian confessed to the whole scheme resulting in the duo getting stripped of their Grammy Awards, dropped from Arista Records, and sued in 27 different lawsuits. Arista records also deleted their album from its catalog. A struggling and depressed Rob Pilatus died of an accidental drug overdose 8 years later.

50 cent Photo: WENN 50 Cent let the audience know right out the gate that his performance of “Amusement Park” would be of the lip-syncing variety when he opted to take off his jacket during his entrance onto the stage instead of singing along to the vocal track during the BET awards in 2007. Not too long afterwards, the vocals stopped altogether and all we heard was instrumental playing while 50 aimlessly wandered around the front of the audience giving out handshakes and waiting for the track to come back in. File this one under “Head-scratcher.” Jennifer Hudson Photo: AP Photo/Michael Dwyer Not all lip-syncing is an attempt by the artist to skirt a live performance, many times for high profile events the lip-syncing is sanctioned by the event director as was the case with Jennifer Hudson’s 2009 Natioanl Anthem performance. Hudson received a lot of flack for the incident as if it was her fault though the producer of the show required both she and Faith Hill to sing to back up tracks.

Whitney Houston The performance of “The Star Spangled Banner” that brought the public to tears at the 1991 Superbowl was, in fact, a previous recording of the song for “protection” in case any issues prevented the singer from being able to belt it perfectly on game day. While some were surprised and upset many people understood the pressure to have a flawless national anthem at the biggest sporting event in the US, and knew that, though she might have been lip-syncing, it was indeed Whitney’s powerful voice all the way. No Milli Vanilli stuff. Cheryl Cole Photo: WENN Cheryl has been accused of lip-syncing quite a few times in her not so long career. Her latest fiasco was October 2012 during a performance for the popularity charity Stand Up To Cancer. The music started, the dance heavy routine began, but no vocals materialized. Well, there were vocals but they were very whispered and wispy coming out of Cole’s mouth unto a mic that was not turned on, presumably to allow the audience only to hear the recording instead of her singing live.

The only problem was, yeah, no recording… Mariah Carey Photo: James Devaney/WireImage We all know Mariah can hit those crazy high notes but she sure didn’t seem like it when she lip-synced a song on the X Factor . The mega diva was a little bit too slow in lifting the mic to her perfectly primped lips as her squeaky high note rang out from the recording without her. Hardly ever embarrassed, she kept on singing but viewers can’t help but wonder if maybe those old pipes just ain’t what they used to be. Shakira The belly-dancing beauty was caught slipping as she mimed her way through “She Wolf” during a FIFA World Cup performance in 2010. Her hips might not lie but looks like her lips sure do. Ashley Tisdale One of Disney’s singing creations, Ashely Tisdale, got hit with criticism for lip-syncing to her song “Last Christmas” during her Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade performance in 2007. It wasn’t her fault though, it’s required for all performers to lip-sync during the parade!

Chris Brown Photo: WENN With all the dancing Chris Brown does is it really a big deal if he lip-syncs? Still, it was a big deal to many people when he got down with the mime during his song “Turn Up the Music” at the 2012 Billboard Music Awards. Spunky singer Pink tweeted about the incident saying “One day if I lip-sync, I hope I do it as well as him.” Lindsay Lohan Starting your music career with a lip-syncing scandal while singing a song about stopping rumors when you’re already not a great singer isn’t the best way to actually stop rumors. Lindsay, who surprisingly went platinum with her debut album Speak, seemed to have forgotten the lyrics to her first single “Rumors” while she was attempting to lip-sync with the track. Katy Perry Photo: WENN This one was just too amusing not to include on our list. It’s a lip-syncing of sorts. More like instrument-syncing. Perry pretended to play the flute to a flute instrumental of Jay-Z’s “Big Pimpin'”.

She was just so pleased with her faking until she forgot that there was one more string of notes to play and took the flute from her lips as the music played without her. An embarrassed Perry pulls the flute apart and does an awkward giggle in admission of her folly. See for your self here. Christina Aguilera Photo: Joe Maher/Gulfpics/WENN Yes, even Christina Aguilera has been accused of lip-synching. Fans were upset believing that X-Tina had been miming through her whole set during a Madison Square Garden show in 2007 when she suddenly had “a technical problem.” Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next CriticXtreme Now many of you should understand why DigiDesign (the makers of ProTools) are so rich! This recording application and Auto Tune gave a lot of non-talented people a career. The next time you see these folks on the street or at a staged paparazzi event, don’t have a pen and pad for autographs, carry a mic and ask them to blow.

Watch with the quickness how they “blow” right past you. They can’t freestyle without either of these applications. So if you’re real fans understand that these people are real fake. Cameron Collins What an insult to the public’s intelligence. If I went to a concert of any of these performers and I found out they lip synced I would demand my hard earned money back. Talk about cheap entertainers. This should be outlawed. If you are a real singer then sing live. Never show us a fake voice. What a slap in the face of all the wonderful fans who made them what they are. I am outraged! July 1989 Milli Vanilli Lip Singing july 1989 milli vanilli lip singing july 1989 milli vanilli lip singing Milli Vanilli on Yahoo! Music In July 1989, during a live performance. . Like the group Milli Vanilli, Whigfield was accused of not singing her own songs.. Given the recent Milli Vanilli lip synching. Milli Vanilli 10.12.2006 · Milli Vanilli was a pop and dance music ensemble formed by.

as rumors and allegations of on-stage lip-synching. In July 1989, during a live performance recorded by MTV. Articles about Milli Vanilli Music Group. 27.11.2006 · The first Milli Vanilli album was All or Nothing (see 1988. In July 1989, during a live performance recorded by MTV. R&B & Soul; Rap and Hip-Hop; Rock and Pop; Singing Milli Vanilli - Music Sage 26.01.2010 · ... claimed to be the real Milli Vanilli as early as the fall of 1989. Milli Vanilli lip synched to singing by completely different people. Nevertheless, Milli Vanilli. Milli Vanilli 16.02.2007 · ... to make movie of Milli Vanilli story · Lip-synching. It is July 1989 and Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus of Milli Vanilli are on stage in. An album of their real singing as. Who ratted Milli Vanilli out? - Yahoo!. ...

free streaming MP3s, music videos and photos of Milli Vanilli. show sponsored by Guinness that features a singing booth. Made it to number 1 in July 1989, it went gold. If Milli Vanilli were fakes, then who. ... of a 1989 Grammy because of its lip-synching, making it synonymous with the practice." Yes, Milli Vanilli lip-synched. that you're singing live a song you actually sung. Milli Vanilli. Category: milli Vanilli 19.04.2007 · Uploaded by StopDeleting on Apr 19, 2007 Made it to number 1 in July 1989, it went gold. Category: Music Tags: Milli Vanilli Girl You Know It's True Rob and Fab Lip. Milli Vanilli « ezho MUSIC AND TUBES Made it to number 1 in July 1989, it went gold.. Milli Vanilli performing "Girl You Know it's True" on the. smoothE.tv Smooth-E parodies Lil Wayne's "A Milli" to give lip.

YouTube - ‪ Milli Vanilli- Baby, Don't. Made it to number 1 in July 1989, it went gold. (more). Milli Vanilli on Top Of The Pops with a good version of "Girl. tv Smooth-E parodies Lil Wayne's "A Milli" to give lip. Fab from Milli Vanilli speaks on. When a musical act is caught lip syncing in concert. (From the July 21, 1989 Milli Vanilli. played before she started singing on Saturday Night Live. lip syncing milli vanilli music. Articles about Milli Vanilli - New York. Category: milli Vanilli on WN Network delivers the latest Videos. Made it to number 1 in July 1989, it went gold.. All or Nothing (remix album) ( 1989) Girl You Know It's True. Milli Vanilli - Biography - The. ... Vanilli Fan - Back in the spring of 1989 when Milli Vanilli. office was broken into over the 4th of July. Milli Vanilli was caught lip-syncing to their songs in concert.

Milli Vanilli Lip, synching, dance, Music, 80s, 1989, Club,. Made it to number 1 in July 1989, it went gold. Tags: Milli, Vanilli,. fabrice Morvan Aka Milli Vanilli Singing 100 % live. The Age Blogs: Trash Talk July 7, 1989 | DENNIS HUNT, Arts and entertainment reports. Since they earned millions for not singing a note, they. Regarding the articles in Calendar on the Milli Vanilli lip. 20 Years Ago Today, Milli Vanilli Lost Their Grammy For Lip Syncing Someone Else's Songs 20 Years Ago Today, Milli Vanilli Lost Their Grammy For Lip Syncing Someone Else's Songs Lip sync fails are not uncommon these days. But November 19, 1990 saw the culminating moment of one of the most shameful not-actually-singing debacles in pop music history: it was the day Milli Vanilli was stripped of their Grammy. Advertisement Milli Vanilli started as the brainchild of German producer and songwriter Frank Farian.

In early 1988, Farian recorded a group album with a slew of vocalists, but, finding them unmarketable, recruited dancer/models Robert Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan to front the group when the album was released in the summer of that year. Note that singing is not, at this point, on their resume. If the European record didn't necessarily state that the handsome frontmen were the ones actually singing the songs, by the time the American album, reworked extensively by Arista Records, was released in early 1989, all trace of the original vocalists had vanished. After a string of three number 1 hits and a Grammy for Best New Artist, Pilatus and Morvan had essentially become the entirety of "Milli Vanilli." But things started to unravel at a live MTV performance later that year. During "Girl You Know It's True," one of the group's hit songs, the backing track skipped, repeating the phrase "girl you know it's true" over and over and over again. They weren't really singing!

No one at the concert seemed to really notice or if they did they didn't really care, but the media started to scrutinize the group's recordings, and on November 12, Farian conceded that Morvan and Pilatus did not sing Milli Vanilli's songs. Four days later, on November 19, Milli Vanilli was stripped of their Grammy. That wasn't the end of Milli Vanilli—they recorded a second album as "the Real Milli Vanilli"—and it certainly wasn't the end of lip synching—hello, Ashley Simpson !—but it certainly remains one of the most high-profile song and dance fake-outs in music history. And you have to wonder: If not for that faulty backing track, that one technological hiccup in a vast system of amps and lights and microphones and music, would we even know the truth about Milli Vanilli today? Gear from Kinja Deals Beyonce, Other Stars, and Lip-Synching - ABC News Beyonce, Other Stars, and Lip-Synching By SHEILA MARIKAR, LUCHINA FISHER ( @luchina ) and JENNIFER ABBEY Jan.

23, 2013 ABCNEWS.com Beyonce is embroiled in controversy over whether she lip-synced her beautiful rendition of the national anthem during President Obama's inauguration . But if she did, she's not the only one to have faked it. Apparently, more and more artists agree. Lip-syncing, once considered an industry taboo, has become expected for pop stars like Britney Spears, who are perhaps better-known for their performances and personality than their singing ability. But, surprisingly, it has also become de rigueur for some of the best singers and musicians who perform at high-stakes live events such as the Super Bowl. "That's the right way to do it," Rickey Minor, who has produced numerous Super Bowl pregame performances and is now the band leader on Jay Leno's "Tonight Show," told the Associated Press in 2009. "There's too many variables to go live. I would never recommend any artist go live because the slightest glitch would devastate the performance." Beyonce to Face Lip-Synch Backlash?

Top vocal coach Jan Smith, whose voice clients include Rob Thomas, Colbie Caillat, Justin Bieber, Usher and many other big names, told ABC News Radio that performing in cold weather can sometimes trip up even the best vocalists -- and it was cold in Washington, D.C. on Monday. "The vocal cords, which most people don't know, are in the windpipe and so when a singer breathes in cold air, it's kinda like...jumping into cold water," Smith said. "It restricts the cartilage and can sometimes create variances that way, or difficulties for singers to be able to perform well outside." In addition, Smith said, "The Star-Spangled Banner" is one of the most difficult songs to sing live, even for a Grammy-winning professional like Beyonce. 6 People Who Should Have Lip-Synched National Anthem "[It's] a song that spans about 1.5 octaves, and it kind of scares most singers to death just because of where it hits them in their voice," Smith explained. "It usually splits their voice in half, and singers are not, typically, as comfortable in the high end parts or crossing over into falsetto.

So, it's kind of a tricky song for most people." "Being old school and really, you know, priding myself on great live performances, I encourage my artists to do that always," Smith added. "But you know, there are sometimes reasons that people have to choose to do otherwise, and it can vary from...[the] elements, to sickness, to whoever knows." Aretha Laughed About Beyonce Lip-Synch Controversy Ultimately, former Billboard executive editor Robert Levine believes not all lip-synching is bad, especially when it comes to the national anthem. "It's a prerecording of [the artist]," he told ABCNews.com in 2009. "The 'fakeness' is that it's not really live, not that it's not really [them]." Click through to see a list of other lip-synching performers who made headlines. Michael Zagaris/Getty Images Whitney Houston Whitney Houston's performance of the national anthem at the 1991 Super Bowl was considered a benchmark for many artists. But even Houston lip-synced that performance. "The music was pre-recorded, and so was the vocal," Minor, who was Houston's musical director at the time, confirmed last February.

Minor said that in a crowd that large and loud, it was impossible for Houston to hear herself. Though she did sing, it was her pre-recorded voice that the audience heard. Here's another surprise: Minor and Houston changed the national anthem to ensure a better performance. "The original version is in 3/4 time, which is more like a waltz," Minor explained. "What we tried to do was to put it in 4/4 meter… We wanted to give her a chance to phrase it in such a way that she would be able to take her time and really express the meaning." Minor was nervous that the altered anthem wouldn't be well received, but that story, at least, has a happy ending: Houston's performance electrified the stadium and soon after, popular demand prompted Houston's record label to release a single that hit the top 20 on the Billboard charts. Getty Images Jennifer Hudson "American Idol" alum Jennifer Hudson caused some commotion when it was discovered that she lip-synced the national anthem to a previously recorded track at the 2009 Super Bowl. Faith Hill, who sang "America The Beautiful" before her, also lip-synced.

They did so at the request of Minor, who was the pregame show producer. Minor told The Associated Press at the time that he insisted Hudson and Hill use the tracks the National Football League requires them to submit a week before the game. According to "The Making of the Super Bowl: The Inside Story of the World's Greatest Sporting Event" by former league executive director Don Weiss, the NFL has required performers to have a backup track since 1993, when country crooner Garth Brooks threatened to leave the stadium minutes before he was scheduled to perform unless NBC played his new video. Brooks had previously refused to prerecord the anthem, which meant the league had nothing to play in his place if he left. Ultimately the show's executive producer agreed to play a portion of Brooks' video if the NFL would agree to roll back the kickoff time by three minutes. Weiss did and Brooks' performance went on without a hitch. And the league made a backup recording a requirement. Dave Hogan/Getty Images Kanye West No one ever said it would be easy, Yeezy.

Kanye West added himself to the roster of music's most infamous on-stage mishaps in December 2008 when he failed to nail his performance of "Love Lockdown" on "Saturday Night Live." To be fair, West's greatest strengths lie in rapping and producing. "Love Lockdown" and the album from which it hails, "808's and Heartbreak," are West's first foray into singing. But whether by his own fault or because of his audio equipment, his attempt to serenade "SNL's" audience came off as feeble at best, fueling rumors that he requires a little help in the vocals department. From the moment West got on the mic, it was clear something wasn't right. Levine from Billboard speculated that West's weak voice had to do with a glitch in the autotune feature many artists use to stay on pitch while recording in the studio and rocking out live. But even if West didn't lip-sync, Tyler Gray, Blender magazine's senior editor, wasn't letting him off the hook. "He was cheating," Gray said in 2009.

"At the end of the day, did he make up for that lackluster element of his performance with something that balanced it out? I don't really think so. It was neat visuals, but the music wasn't quite up to par." Angel Delgado/Clasos.com/LatinContent/Getty Images Britney Spears With pop stars like Britney Spears, it's all but expected that lip-syncing will go hand in hand with a live performance. It's an open secret in the music industry, the product of audiences expecting artists to sound the same on albums and onstage. Spears' November 2008 performance of "Womanizer" on the U.K. TV show "The X Factor" was panned by critics because she reportedly lip-synced, although "X Factor" judge Simon Cowell didn't seem to mind. The "American Idol" mainstay gave the rebounding pop icon a standing ovation after her gig. But the pop princess caused controversy again, accused of lip syncing on stage during the Australia leg of her "Circus" tour, in 2009.

According to People magazine, about 100 infuriated fans ditched Spears' Perth show in November 2009, blaming her subpar performance and lack of real singing. The following day, singer/songwriter John Mayer, who's also in the Outback, posted the following update to his Twitter account: "If you're shocked that Britney was lip-syncing at her concert and want your money back, life may continue to be hard for you." Martin Fraser/Getty Images Madonna At London's annual Q Awards show in 2004, Elton John bashed Madonna for not performing up to par on her Re-Invention tour, saying, "Madonna, best f-- live act? F**k off. Since when has lip-syncing been live? Anyone who lip-syncs in public onstage when you pay [about $169 per ticket] to see them should be shot." But Madonna's publicist fought back, saying, "Madonna does not lip-sync, nor does she spend her time trashing other artists. She sang every note of her Re-Invention tour live and is not ashamed that she was paid well for her hard work." The debate didn't stop there.

In an attempt to help out his pop star friend, actor Rupert Everett added fuel to the fire, telling the British media, "Madonna sings everything she can sing. ... But, if she goes into a dance routine, she's got to dance. You can't breathe and dance and sing at the same time." Getty Images Ashlee Simpson Ashlee Simpson's lip-sync on "Saturday Night Live" may be one of the most infamous in history. Attempting to perform "Autobiography," her second song of the night, Simpson found herself singing along to the music and lead vocals of her first song "Pieces of Me." She held the microphone at her side as her canned voice boomed across the studio, danced an awkward jig and then ran off the stage as the vocal recording was shut off and NBC cut away to a commercial. At the end of the show, "SNL" host of the night Jude Law quipped, "What can I say? Live TV." Simpson, standing next to him, blamed the mishap on her musicians. "My band started playing the wrong song," she said.

"I didn't know what to do, so I thought I'd do a hoedown." A statement issued by Geffen Records, Simpson's label, claimed there was "a computer glitch," while a representative for the show said that the song that came up was a backing track. The following Monday, Simpson called into MTV's "Total Request Live" and explained that because of complications arising from "severe" acid reflux she had lost her voice and that her doctor had advised her not to sing. But the incident tarnished Simpson's rep for months. In January 2005, Simpson performed "La La" during the halftime show for the Orange Bowl in Miami and got boos from the crowd of more than 70,000 spectators. Simpson attempted to build credibility in '05 with a U.S.-Canada tour that she described to reporters as "stripped down," without effects like pyrotechnics, just "me and my band getting out there and having fun." Ron Galella/WireImage/Getty Images Milli Vanilli Then there are the lip-sync scandals that taint an act for life.

In 1989, the dreadlocked duo from Deutschland were performing their hit "Girl You Know It's True" during an MTV-recorded show in Bristol, Conn., when their vocal track began to skip. While fans at the concert didn't seem to care, critics took note and began questioning the merits of Milli Vanilli members Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan. A year later, in November 1990, media scrutiny led the group's manager to reveal that Milli Vanilli didn't actually sing on their Grammy and American Music Award-winning records. Four days later, the band's 1990 best new artist Grammy was withdrawn. Arista Records dropped the duo from its roster and deleted their album from their catalog, taking "Girl You Know It's True" out of print. Despite subsequent albums and attempts at a comeback, Milli Vanilli never shed its status as one of pop music's most legendary cautionary tales, an example unlikely to be repeated by reputable artists.

Join the Discussion Lip-Syncing | List of Videos of Celebrities Caught Lip Syncing During Live Performances The 13 Greatest Lip Syncing FAILs By Chaz Fletcher 131k views 14 items tags f t p @ Lip syncing is what you do when you're more famous than talented. These are videos of celebrities , famous singers and "artists" being caught lip syncing at the worst possible times. Technology is both a blessing and a curse for the music industry. On one hand, it has made it easier for people without money for studio time to create music out of their bedroom. Unfortunately there is also a dark side to it with the auto-tuning and even worse, lip syncing. Lip syncing is when an artist, for whatever reason decides that they cannot actually sing in front of the audience that has come and paid for them to do just that, so they have a backing track play during the performance and they just mouth along to it, just like you do in your car -- only with dancing. (We're looking at you, Milli Vanilli.) Now, there are some cases where lip syncing could be acceptable.

First, if you are making a music video since there is no way to perform live and have it turn out sounding good. We'll even let it slide for those singers who actually dance *a lot* and perform in their acts like Michael Jackson, since there is no way, during their higher energy numbers, that they can possibly get enough breath to push out the song and they don’t want to disappoint their fans. Perfectly fine. What singers have been caught lip syncing? The issue comes in when you are using the backing track just so you don’t have to do your job. It’s lazy and unprofessional. What’s even worse is when they do it poorly. The list below is the worst cases of lip syncing caught on tape and put on the web. Collection Photo: user uploaded image Z G Options B Comments & Embed 1 8 Famous Lip-Syncing Scandals 8 Famous Lip-Syncing Scandals 8 Famous Lip-Syncing Scandals (ABC News) More Beyonce is embroiled in controversy over whether she lip-synced her beautiful rendition of the national anthem during President Obama's inauguration . But if she did, she's not the only one to have faked it.

Apparently, more and more artists agree. Lip-syncing, once considered an industry taboo, has become expected for pop stars like Britney Spears, who are perhaps better-known for their performances and personality than their singing ability. But, surprisingly, it has also become de rigueur for some of the best singers and musicians who perform at high-stakes live events such as the Super Bowl. "That's the right way to do it," Rickey Minor, who has produced numerous Super Bowl pregame performances and is now the band leader on Jay Leno's "Tonight Show," told the Associated Press in 2009. "There's too many variables to go live. I would never recommend any artist go live because the slightest glitch would devastate the performance." Beyonce to Face Lip-Synch Backlash? Top vocal coach Jan Smith, whose voice clients include Rob Thomas, Colbie Caillat, Justin Bieber, Usher and many other big names, told ABC News Radio that performing in cold weather can sometimes trip up even the best vocalists -- and it was cold in Washington, D.C. on Monday.

"The vocal cords, which most people don't know, are in the windpipe and so when a singer breathes in cold air, it's kinda like...jumping into cold water," Smith said. "It restricts the cartilage and can sometimes create variances that way, or difficulties for singers to be able to perform well outside." In addition, Smith said, "The Star-Spangled Banner" is one of the most difficult songs to sing live, even for a Grammy-winning professional like Beyonce. 6 People Who Should Have Lip-Synched National Anthem "[It's] a song that spans about 1.5 octaves, and it kind of scares most singers to death just because of where it hits them in their voice," Smith explained. "It usually splits their voice in half, and singers are not, typically, as comfortable in the high end parts or crossing over into falsetto. So, it's kind of a tricky song for most people." "Being old school and really, you know, priding myself on great live performances, I encourage my artists to do that always," Smith added.

"But you know, there are sometimes reasons that people have to choose to do otherwise, and it can vary from...[the] elements, to sickness, to whoever knows." Aretha Laughed About Beyonce Lip-Synch Controversy Ultimately, former Billboard executive editor Robert Levine believes not all lip-synching is bad, especially when it comes to the national anthem. "It's a prerecording of [the artist]," he told ABCNews.com in 2009. "The 'fakeness' is that it's not really live, not that it's not really [them]." Click through to see a list of other lip-synching performers who made headlines. Whitney Houston Whitney Houston's performance of the national anthem at the 1991 Super Bowl was considered a benchmark for many artists. But even Houston lip-synced that performance. "The music was pre-recorded, and so was the vocal," Minor, who was Houston's musical director at the time, confirmed last February. Minor said that in a crowd that large and loud, it was impossible for Houston to hear herself. Though she did sing, it was her pre-recorded voice that the audience heard.

Here's another surprise: Minor and Houston changed the national anthem to ensure a better performance. "The original version is in 3/4 time, which is more like a waltz," Minor explained. "What we tried to do was to put it in 4/4 meter… We wanted to give her a chance to phrase it in such a way that she would be able to take her time and really express the meaning." Minor was nervous that the altered anthem wouldn't be well received, but that story, at least, has a happy ending: Houston's performance electrified the stadium and soon after, popular demand prompted Houston's record label to release a single that hit the top 20 on the Billboard charts. Jennifer Hudson "American Idol" alum Jennifer Hudson caused some commotion when it was discovered that she lip-synced the national anthem to a previously recorded track at the 2009 Super Bowl. Faith Hill, who sang "America The Beautiful" before her, also lip-synced. They did so at the request of Minor, who was the pregame show producer. Minor told The Associated Press at the time that he insisted Hudson and Hill use the tracks the National Football League requires them to submit a week before the game.

According to "The Making of the Super Bowl: The Inside Story of the World's Greatest Sporting Event" by former league executive director Don Weiss, the NFL has required performers to have a backup track since 1993, when country crooner Garth Brooks threatened to leave the stadium minutes before he was scheduled to perform unless NBC played his new video. Brooks had previously refused to prerecord the anthem, which meant the league had nothing to play in his place if he left. Ultimately the show's executive producer agreed to play a portion of Brooks' video if the NFL would agree to roll back the kickoff time by three minutes. Weiss did and Brooks' performance went on without a hitch. And the league made a backup recording a requirement. Kanye West No one ever said it would be easy, Yeezy. Kanye West added himself to the roster of music's most infamous on-stage mishaps in December 2008 when he failed to nail his performance of "Love Lockdown" on "Saturday Night Live." To be fair, West's greatest strengths lie in rapping and producing.

"Love Lockdown" and the album from which it hails, "808's and Heartbreak," are West's first foray into singing. But whether by his own fault or because of his audio equipment, his attempt to serenade "SNL's" audience came off as feeble at best, fueling rumors that he requires a little help in the vocals department. From the moment West got on the mic, it was clear something wasn't right. Levine from Billboard speculated that West's weak voice had to do with a glitch in the autotune feature many artists use to stay on pitch while recording in the studio and rocking out live. But even if West didn't lip-sync, Tyler Gray, Blender magazine's senior editor, wasn't letting him off the hook. "He was cheating," Gray said in 2009. "At the end of the day, did he make up for that lackluster element of his performance with something that balanced it out? I don't really think so. It was neat visuals, but the music wasn't quite up to par." Britney Spears With pop stars like Britney Spears, it's all but expected that lip-syncing will go hand in hand with a live performance.

It's an open secret in the music industry, the product of audiences expecting artists to sound the same on albums and onstage. Spears' November 2008 performance of "Womanizer" on the U.K. TV show "The X Factor" was panned by critics because she reportedly lip-synced, although "X Factor" judge Simon Cowell didn't seem to mind. The "American Idol" mainstay gave the rebounding pop icon a standing ovation after her gig. But the pop princess caused controversy again, accused of lip syncing on stage during the Australia leg of her "Circus" tour, in 2009. According to People magazine, about 100 infuriated fans ditched Spears' Perth show in November 2009, blaming her subpar performance and lack of real singing.

The following day, singer/songwriter John Mayer, who's also in the Outback, posted the following update to his Twitter account: "If you're shocked that Britney was lip-syncing at her concert and want your money back, life may continue to be hard for you." Madonna At London's annual Q Awards show in 2004, Elton John bashed Madonna for not performing up to par on her Re-Invention tour, saying, "Madonna, best f-- live act? F**k off. Since when has lip-syncing been live? Anyone who lip-syncs in public onstage when you pay [about $169 per ticket] to see them should be shot." But Madonna's publicist fought back, saying, "Madonna does not lip-sync, nor does she spend her time trashing other artists. She sang every note of her Re-Invention tour live and is not ashamed that she was paid well for her hard work." The debate didn't stop there. In an attempt to help out his pop star friend, actor Rupert Everett added fuel to the fire, telling the British media, "Madonna sings everything she can sing. ...

But, if she goes into a dance routine, she's got to dance. You can't breathe and dance and sing at the same time." Ashlee Simpson Ashlee Simpson's lip-sync on "Saturday Night Live" may be one of the most infamous in history. Attempting to perform "Autobiography," her second song of the night, Simpson found herself singing along to the music and lead vocals of her first song "Pieces of Me." She held the microphone at her side as her canned voice boomed across the studio, danced an awkward jig and then ran off the stage as the vocal recording was shut off and NBC cut away to a commercial. At the end of the show, "SNL" host of the night Jude Law quipped, "What can I say? Live TV." Simpson, standing next to him, blamed the mishap on her musicians. "My band started playing the wrong song," she said. "I didn't know what to do, so I thought I'd do a hoedown." A statement issued by Geffen Records, Simpson's label, claimed there was "a computer glitch," while a representative for the show said that the song that came up was a backing track.

The following Monday, Simpson called into MTV's "Total Request Live" and explained that because of complications arising from "severe" acid reflux she had lost her voice and that her doctor had advised her not to sing. But the incident tarnished Simpson's rep for months. In January 2005, Simpson performed "La La" during the halftime show for the Orange Bowl in Miami and got boos from the crowd of more than 70,000 spectators. Simpson attempted to build credibility in '05 with a U.S.-Canada tour that she described to reporters as "stripped down," without effects like pyrotechnics, just "me and my band getting out there and having fun." Milli Vanilli Then there are the lip-sync scandals that taint an act for life. In 1989, the dreadlocked duo from Deutschland were performing their hit "Girl You Know It's True" during an MTV-recorded show in Bristol, Conn., when their vocal track began to skip. While fans at the concert didn't seem to care, critics took note and began questioning the merits of Milli Vanilli members Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan.

A year later, in November 1990, media scrutiny led the group's manager to reveal that Milli Vanilli didn't actually sing on their Grammy and American Music Award-winning records. Four days later, the band's 1990 best new artist Grammy was withdrawn. Arista Records dropped the duo from its roster and deleted their album from their catalog, taking "Girl You Know It's True" out of print. Despite subsequent albums and attempts at a comeback, Milli Vanilli never shed its status as one of pop music's most legendary cautionary tales, an example unlikely to be repeated by reputable artists. Reblog Music's Top 5 Lip-Sync Scandals - ABC News Music's Top 5 Lip-Sync Scandals By SHEILA MARIKAR Email No one ever said it would be easy, Yeezy. Kanye West added himself to the roster of music's most infamous on-stage mishaps Saturday when he failed to nail his performance of "Love Lockdown" on "Saturday Night Live." To be fair, West's greatest strengths lie in rapping and producing.

"Love Lockdown" and the album from which it hails, "808's and Heartbreak," is West's first foray into singing. But whether by fault of his own or because of his audio equipment, his attempt to serenade "SNL's" audience came off as feeble at best, fueling rumors that he requires a little help in the vocals department. Ashlee Simpson, Britney Spears , Madonna and Milli Vanilli -- to greater and lesser degrees, they've all been accused of the same thing. Check out the performances that stirred scandal, and the verdict on whether or not each artist committed what many fans regard as the greatest on-stage sin of all: lip-syncing. Kanye West From the moment West got on the mic at "SNL," it was clear something wasn't right. Rob Levine, executive editor of Billboard magazine, speculated West's weak voice had to do with a glitch in the autotune feature many artists use to stay on pitch while recording in the studio and rocking out live. "Autotune allows you to hit every note perfectly. You're not going to be sharp or flat," Levine said.

"I think the effect wasn't fully realized, [the autotune] might have been set up wrong. But it's foolish to suggest he was lip-syncing. If he were lip-syncing, it would've sounded exactly the way he wanted it to." But even if West didn't lip-sync, Tyler Gray, Blender magazine's senior editor, isn't letting him off the hook. "He was cheating. At the end of the day, did he make up for that lackluster element of his performance with something that balanced it out? I don't really think so. It was neat visuals, but the music wasn't quite up to par," said Gray. "In the beginning, he got an A for effort because he was trying to break the mold," Gray said, referring to West's branching out from typical hip-hop techniques. "But the effort grade only goes so far. Now he actually has to sound good. And he didn't. He sounded like a bad talent show." Britney Spears With pop stars like Britney Spears, it's all but expected that lip-syncing will go hand in hand with a live performance.

Levine called it an open secret in the music industry, the product of audiences expecting artists to sound the same on albums and on stage. Do Fans Come to Hear Britney or See Britney? "Traditionally, jazz and opera had singers who were technically great singers, whereas in rock you had singers. But if they were a little sharp or a little flat, but no one really cared because they weren't expected to be perfect," he said. "As pop music becomes more artificially perfect, kids who grew up on that aesthetic want that perfection. When you're used to everything being on pitch, you don't want to hear anything else." As a result, stars like Spears often perform with backup tracks to ensure they sound as perky and on pitch on stage as they do on their albums, after producers spend hours fine-tuning their voices. Spears' November performance of "Womanizer" on the U.K. TV show "The X Factor" was panned by critics because she reportedly lip-synced although "X Factor" judge Simon Cowell didn't seem to mind. The "American Idol" mainstay gave the rebounding pop icon a standing ovation after her gig. Levine thinks fans should stop expecting everything from Spears and her ilk.

"No one is going to go see Britney because she's a great musician," he said. "She's a good singer, but she's a personality. She's a phenomenon. She's not an artist, she's a pop star.". But Tyler argued that Spears could up the ante, saying her "dancing is pretty physical but it's not so grueling that she shouldn't be able to sing as well." Madonna Unlike Spears, Madonna's routine on her Sticky & Sweet world jaunt and on tours past is more suited to marathon runners than musicians. The 50-year-old queen of pop performs high kicks and running jumps as she bounds across stage, yet never seems to struggle for breath. It's a tell-tale sign she's probably performing with a backup voice track. "If you look at the way pop stars perform, the way they're twirling, running, being carried, dancing on the stripper pole upside down -- they can't possibly be singing every word of every verse," said Levine. "A lot of times it's blended, they might be singing with a safety net. Any pop singer putting on a full dancing show is not singing every word in those songs.

The fact that they're not breathing hard should be enough to clue you in." At London's annual Q Awards show in 2004, Elton John bashed the pop star for not performing up to par on her Re-Invention tour, saying "Madonna, best f-- live act? F-- off. Since when has lip-syncing been live? Anyone who lip-syncs in public on stage when you pay [about $169 per ticket] to see them should be shot." Madonna Denies Lip-Syncing Liz Rosenberg, the Material Girl's publicist, shot back, "Madonna does not lip-sync, nor does she spend her time trashing other artists. She sang every note of her Re-Invention tour live and is not ashamed that she was paid well for her hard work." The debate didn't stop there. In an attempt to help out his pop star friend, actor Rupert Everett added fuel to the fire, telling the British press, "Madonna sings everything she can sing. ... But, if she goes into a dance routine, she's got to dance.

You can't breathe and dance and sing at the same time." Ashlee Simpson Some stars couldn't cry libel or count on their celeb friends for defense when it comes to lip-syncing accusations. Ashlee Simpson, the pop-punk younger sister of Jessica Simpson, learned that after her headline-making October 2004 blunder on "Saturday Night Live." Attempting to perform "Autobiography," her second song of the night, Simpson found herself singing along to the music and lead vocals of her first song "Pieces of Me." She held the microphone at her side as her canned voice boomed across the studio, danced an awkward jig and then ran off the stage as the vocal recording was shut off and NBC cut away to a commercial. At the end of the show, "SNL" host of the night Jude Law quipped, "What can I say? Live TV." Simpson, standing next to him, blamed the mishap on her musicians. "My band started playing the wrong song," she said.

"I didn't know what to do so I thought I'd do a hoedown." A statement issued by Geffen Records, Simpson's label, claimed there was "a computer glitch," while a representative for the show said that the song that came up was a backing track. The following Monday, Simpson called into MTV's "Total Request Live" and explained that because of complications arising from "severe" acid reflux she had lost her voice and that her doctor had advised her not to sing. But the incident tarnished Simpson's rep for months. In January 2005, Simpson performed "La La" during the halftime show for the Orange Bowl in Miami and got boos from the crowd of more than 70,000 spectators. Simpson attempted to build credibility in '05 with a U.S.-Canada tour that she described to reporters as "stripped down," without effects like pyrotechnics, just "me and my band getting out there and having fun." Milli Vanilli Then there are the lip-sync scandals that taint an act for life.

In 1989, the dreadlocked duo from Deutschland were performing their hit "Girl You Know It's True" during an MTV-recorded show in Bristol, Conn., when their vocal track began to skip. While fans at the concert didn't seem to care, critics took note and began questioning the merits of Milli Vanilli members Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan. Lip-Syncing No Longer Shocking A year later, in November 1990, press scrutiny led the group's manager to reveal that Milli Vanilli didn't actually sing on their Grammy and American Music Award-winning records. Four days later, the band's 1990 best new artist Grammy was withdrawn. Arista Records dropped the duo from its roster and deleted their album from their catalog, taking "Girl You Know It's True" out of print. Despite subsequent albums and attempts at a comeback, Milli Vanilli never shed their status as one of pop music's most legendary cautionary tales, an example never to be repeated by reputable artists. Though, Levine emphasizes, nearly two decades after the Milli Vanilli debacle, lip-syncing is still going strong.

"Years ago, when it was revealed that Milli Vanilli was lip-syncing, it was practically a scandal. People were honest to God shocked," he said. "These days, anyone who's the least bit surprised by this is really naive." 0 Shares

Question: What musical group was caught lip-synching in 1989?
Answer: Milli Vanilli