According to an anonymous Saturday Night Live source, this isn't the first time a performer has been aided by a "guide" track -- a track that can be used to either fill out a performer's vocal or allow the singer to save wear and tear on their voice by mouthing along to the track. Ms. Simpson's voice coach has suggested that the performer's voice was worn out after rehearsals and they chose the latter course to protect her pipes -- Ashlee would lip-sync. Regrettably, evidence of this deception was exposed when someone cued up the wrong song and young Simpson was unprepared for what came out of her monitors.

Amusing as it may be to see such fakery exposed, my hope is that this event will have a greater effect than simply ending Ashlee Simpson's career. Increasingly technology has made it possible for weak vocal performances to be improved beyond all recognition in the studio and for performers to utter nary a single syllable while performing "live."

Using technology in one form or another to "cheat" has been part of the musical landscape for decades. In the early days of recording, vocalists were placed in reverberant rooms to fill out their voices. Later, these rooms were replaced by electronic devices that recreated these cavernous environments. When multi-track tape recorders came along, vocalists double-tracked their voices to fill them out. Today, sophisticated pitch correction devices and plug-ins are used to pull errant vocals into line.

And lip-syncing is hardly new. Any movie musical you've seen features performers lip-syncing over their pre-recorded tracks (and in the case of Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, over someone else's pre-recorded track). American Bandstand was famous for showing "live" performances from bands whose electric guitars and keyboards appeared to work without being plugged into amplifiers. Yet in these American Bandstand years, Ed Sullivan showcased some of these same bands and demanded that each one actually play and sing their songs -- no lip-syncing allowed. Sullivan and CBS seemed to feel that their audience deserved more than the band of the week aping their record.

Perhaps it's time we revisited those standards.

While it's easy to point fingers at Ashlee Simpson and her management team, the folks at Saturday Night Live bear a lot of the responsibility for allowing performers on the show who can't actually perform. If the show's standards are intended to mimic those of American Bandstand, say so. If not, make it clear to the musical guests that they're there to do the job for which they've been so wonderfully compensated -- sing and play your damned instrument.

Likewise, when the latest Madonna/Brittney Spears/Janet Jackson/Hillary Duff/Whoever Legion of a Thousand Dancers Extravaganza rolls into town, the back of the US$80 ticket might bear these words "This performance is enhanced with pre-recorded material. The performers will be far too breathless from gyrating across the stage to actually sing."

"But, but, but..." I can imagine the music machine sputtering, "how can we keep parading a steady supply of impossibly beautiful talent before the public if that talent has to simultaneously pose, preen, dance, and sing? Something's got to give!"

I agree. Something's got to give. As I recall, Janis Joplin was no beauty queen and Aretha Franklin did little more than sway when she sang. These performers used the technology of the day to enhance their recordings, but when it came time to deliver -- sing with every ounce of their souls -- they did it honestly, risking bad notes and a trashed voice.

Offering anything less is shameful.

URL http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php?id=412512581

Music is suppose to be played by musicans. To be a musican is prehaps part of the problem. It takes actual talent to be able to preform "live" in the truest sense of the word. Talent isn't just dispersed and then is magically there when needed. It takes years to develop it and the biggest portion of it is practice.

Now entertainers are something else. The varing degree of difficultly depends upon the skill, ability, and the actually material to present. You can be an entertainer without having to spend as much time in gathering up the skills to actually play an instrument or develop a god given talent into something worth hearing.

The music industry has a lot of the blame to shoulder for this sort of acceptance by artists to cheat in performing live. The corporation mentality of turning bucks coupled with the accountant theme of how much it costs has turned the music industry into one of entertainers and not necessarily musicans. To my amazement I have heard over and over again editorials stating that one of the problems in why the music industry isn't doing better is the corporate view of grabbing one made hit after another and then wondering why no one wants to buy the music. It is most convient that the p2p and internet showed up or far more heads would roll inside the corporate walls of the majors.

The products turned out by the majors have been cheapened. It doesn't strike me to pay 80 dollars to go see dancers dance to music, I can walk in a night club and for the door price (if there is one) I can see dancers all night long if that is the desire.

Record companies used to cultivate promising new artists and allow them to develop. Today, even if you are very talented it is almost impossible to break into the music business. There is a lot of great talent out there-unfortunately it will probably never be heard.

And these parasites at the majors still pretend to believe that they no longer sell CDs because of the P2P?

And the worst is that some congressmen and judges believe them!

We are governed by moron and believe me it is time for a big huge clean up!

Ah, but you know what'll happen. The 12 year olds that listen to the younger Simpson's recordings will still go out and buy her album and blame her "band" for the boo boo and not believe that people actually do lip sync.

All I could add to this is that Ashleegate (as this may come to be known) is symbolic (if not part and parcel) of what's wrong with the RIAA in a nutshell -- or is that nutcase? You decide . . .

Remember, way back when, Milli Vanilli were also RIAA "artists" . . . and look what happened to THEM.

I think this little incident exposes a serious flaw in the RIAA artist creating machine.

How many folks reading this have listened to studio albums & then a live rendition & thought "is this the same person?" The lack of actual vocal talent is so blatant, its a wonder the RIAA member companies can sell any CDs at all.

I could only have hoped Ashlee "Acid Reflux" Simpson WOULD'VE dropped her pants, that at least would honestly show where her talent lies, cause it certainly isn't located from the neck up.

if you pay for a live show, and its lip sync'd isnt that fraud?

squalid

No, in body, she actually she showed up, although if they could find a way around that, I'm sure they'd try.

squalid brings up a good point. I think we should get legislation passed to protect consumers from fraud. A law that says that if any prerecorded material is used in a live show, that such events must be disclosed on the TICKET and ADVERTISING before the sale. I wonder what would happen to sales if such facts were disclosed?

It would be interesting to know just how much lip syncing is actually used in big concerts. I suppose one could argue that if the audience normally can't tell the difference, then what difference does it make if they lip sync.

This reminds me of a few concerts I attended with a buddy of mine in California who happened to be a fairly talented vocalist and keyboard player. He used to get upset over the fact that some artists (like, for example, Joe Satriani) didn't use keyboard players but instead used pre-recorded synthesizer accompaniment. I suspect that this buddy would be just as upset about Simpson.

There is a big difference between the "live" performances on American Bandstand and live performances on television shows and at concerts. Everyone knew that the artists were "pretending" to sing and play with the recording on Bandstand. They just wanted to see the artists.
What is going on now is deception. Microphones and monitors are set up. The sound is brought up at the end of the performance to again deceive the viewer/listener into believing that it is a live performance. Some industry people refer to the "guide track" as an "enhancement track". It's still fraud.
Few pop artists wish to comment on Ashlee Simpson's secret being revealed because it is an accepted practice. I think this revelation was a good thing, and I think SNL should bear some responsibility for their part in this charade. There should be disclosure.
Squalid, a group of concert-goers filed a lawsuit against a particular band (might have been Creed) for giving a lousy concert. I don't know what became of that.

My computer isn't playing an MP3... it's sound-synking...

as for Creed:
Thursday, September 18, 2003
Creed Fans' Lawsuit Dismissed
A Chicago judge has dismissed a two million dollar lawsuit filed by four fans against their favourite band - Creed. The suit, filed earlier this year accused singer Scott Stapp of appearing too intoxicated to perform during a Chicago show last December. Crowd accounts had Stapp rolling around on stage before apparently passing out. Though the case was dismissed, the judge said the fans can amend their complaint. The plaintiff's plan is to argue that Creed touts its image as being family-friendly and high-quality but failed to deliver that to fans.

At the time Stapp said that he was not intoxicated during the show and that he had not passed out at all, but that he was simply lying down onstage in what he described as "a symbolic, personal gesture."

So it was Creed, dmannjr...and over a year ago. Too late to do anything now, I guess. I found this: http://www.creedsucks.com/

My two cents..

Any IDIOT can lip sync (Ashlee Simpson, Hilary Duff, Britney Spears, Madonna, etc. etc. right on down the line), but people shouldn't be paying big bucks to watch somebody lip sync... If they are, I'll be holding a concert of all the songs I can lip sync to...

The REAL musicians are the ones who can actually sing their songs while standing on the stage in front of thousands of screaming fans. Extra credit if they can dance.

The REAL musicians don't have record contracts and thus, don't have access to eMTv or radio or national broadcast, and thus, are excluded from the arena/concert hall. And thus, you never heard of them...

...that is, UNLESS you

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Shmoo

If this woman's voice was so trashed by acid-reflux why was she even on a stage?!? It's a scam!!

"The sound is brought up at the end of the performance to again deceive the viewer/listener into believing that it is a live performance." - Lachatte's post above.

Well, Lachatte, I suspect that in today's world some producers define "live performance" as meaning that the performing 'artists' are alive on stage (as opposed to being dead).