I heard that Britney Spears lip-syncs 90% of her shows,but why would I care? I'm not a fan.Why would I waste my time trying to convince her many fans that she is a crap performer?

I'm not judging him as a bad performer, but I think it's unfortunate he mimed so many performances. Seeing these clips on TV, I keep thinking how good they could have been had they been live. Yeah maybe he'd have been out of breath or missed a note, but they still would have been great performances. I think the OP has a good point.

It doesn't make him bad to have mimed, it just was a missed opportunity to show that he really was a great live singer.

Riverpoet31 said:

Not need to listen to it. I was there for three performances and heard it with my own ears.

I don't know what you are listening to. If you are basing it on youtube well then you don't know how it differed from the music as by you're own admission you aren't a fan.

Like I said you are entitled to your opinion, but trying to claim it was all pre-recorded is just not credible.

Swa

novabrkr said:

bull0fucking-shit. I've never heard a live voice come outta him on stage EVER. ANYthing that was televised was mimed...AN-NEEE-THING. His voice was, throughout his career, overproduced till it shone like gold lamay. I was a fan in my thriller years...6-8...but not much of a fan since. I think for good reason.

Some of you who are bitching about his lip-synching have already admitted that you were not fans of his anyway.Even if he had sung live at every show,you'd still be going around,saying that he's a whack performer.I just don't see why you're dwelling on an artist that you don't like.Britney Spears mimes 90% of her shows but I don't give a fuck.I'm not a fan.Why would you guys care about what Michael did?

@ Prince fans using the same tired excuse on how Prince is better than MJ. Apples and Oranges, Apples and Oranges.

SoulAlive said:

Nobody's comparing Britney's miming to Prince's live shows. This is my opinion, but I don't see how people can compare MIchael's miming and terribly coreographed shows to Prince's. His shows drip with the lack of spontaneity.

Each to their own. Why the comparison anyway?

Swa

PurpleMedley122 said:

http://www.youtube.com/wa...r_embedded

Like it, or not, MJ is going down as one of the best onstage performers ever. You can argue, bitch, and moan...but you are arguing against history. Popular theory is slowly turning into historical fact now that he's gone. He lipped synched sometimes....name me one act who hasn't. Damn near every big pop act who's been on TV has done it. Even Prince.

I say that you as someone who is a die hard Prince fan and maintains that Prince had MJ beat live all of the time.

Bottom line: At this point, MJ's rep (like Prince's) as an entertainer is untouchable.
[Edited 7/21/09 19:51pm]

BobGeorge909 said:

you must not have seen much of MJ then if thats what ur saying....the only tour MJ did most lip-syncing was the HIStory tour..his last big performance which was the MSG shows in 2001...he did most of the singing with the exception of Billie Jean and Beat It....why would u compare MJ to Prince anyway....Prince doesnt do the type of dancing and performing he did during his Purple Rain days...MJ is A performer...Dancer and Vocalist.....its very tough to sing live doing the routines that he does...MJ is not the only artist who does it....Janet, Britney and many other huge Artists who do both singing and dancing lip sync..and have pre-recorded vocals..

MJ was the greatest artist that ever lived....sorry that you have a problem with that...but jus deal with it...im not taking anything from Prince cause he always came second to me after MJ....but no...Prince could not do half of what MJ could have done...nor would he ever match the impact MJ has....people can sit here and nick pick all kinds of negative BS about mike....but still there is no comparison

Well, let's not get carried away. It's two different type of artists. I never saw MJ play guitar. To me, one devastating ejaculating guitar is worth 10 moonwalks. Anyways, MJ was great and, for most of his career, did live vocals. Only when his dancing routines grew more intense did he lip sync. Tv doesn't count....everyone lip syncs on TV.

BobGeorge909 said:

Didn't I post videos of him singing live in this thread?

[Edited 7/21/09 21:46pm]

bboy87 said:

Sure did, I did it too the week after MJ died. YouTube is your friend, guys. MJ was a great live performer, don't put it all on TV performances and HIStory.

BobGeorge909 said:

Fair enough,but I don't see the point in comparing Prince with MJ.Two different artists,two different types of shows.What works for one audience won't work for another audience.You prefer a certain type of show and that's fine but there are millions of people who prefer the type of shows that you dislike.I just don't see the point in arguing/debating about it.It is what it is

Swa said:

That's my whole point.Those of you who don't like shows with lip-syncing and/or pre-recorded music,simply avoid those concerts.Every artist is different,they do what works for THEM and their audience.No need to compare or debate about it.It is what it is.

SoulAlive said:

I'm still laughing at the terribly choreographed dancing remark

skywalker said:

I agree.We can't re-write history.Since the early 70s,MILLIONS of people have been captivated by Michael Jackson's performing abilities.He paid his dues and has earned his reputation as one of the greatest performers of all time.His Motown 25th performance (despite the lip-synching) is still one of the most incredible,talked-about performances ever.Very few artists can command a stage like that.These days,you see alot of these younger "artists" trying to do what MJ did,but they can't.

bboy87 said:

lol,they're gonna look at those videos and still insist that he's miming It's no point in arguing with those people.

BobGeorge909 said:

Ok let's break it down then:

Pre Motown tours and gigs - live

Jackson 5 - First National Tour (1970) - 100% live

Jackson 5 - Second National Tour (1971) - 100% live

Jackson 5 - U.S Tour (1971) - 100% live

Jackson 5 - International Tour (1972) - 100% live

Jackson 5 - US tour/Japan tour/Australian and New Zealand tour (1973) - 100% live

Jackson 5 - International tour 1974 - 100% live

Jackson 5 - US and West India tour/Britain tour (1975) - 100% live

The Jacksons - European tour (1977) - 100% live

The Jacksons - 1978 World tour - 100% live

The Jacksons - Destiny tour (1979) - 100% live

The Jacksons - Triumph tour (1981) - 100% live

The Jacksons - Victory tour (1984) - 100% live

MJ - Bad tour first leg (1987) - 100% live

MJ - Bad tour second leg (1988-1989) - All live with the exception of Man in the mirror wich was partly lip synched

MJ - Dangerous tour (1992-1993) - About 50/50 live and lip synched

MJ - HiStory tour (1996-1997) - Mostly lip synched. Only complete live songs were J5 medley and WBSS

MSG shows (2001) - The Jacksons segment was 100% live. The MJ solo segment was partly live and partly lip synched

Conclusion - MJ's tours from the 60's 'til 2001 were clearly mostly live. Only his two tours in the 90's and if you count MSG shows as a tour did he lip synch to a major extent. TV performances were often lip synched already during Motown days but never concerts/tours. So in other words there are plenty of evidence that Michael was a great live performer and live singer at least from the 60's to about 1990.

manthevan said:

The Jacksons Variety Show was also live as well.

manthevan said:

OK. My bad. I'm sorry. I was worng. Mike does sing live often. I was completely off base.



I have seen him lip synch/mime, what ever U wanna call it, more often than I'd care to.

From this discussion, it appears his lip synching began after Dangerous. I'd argue that most folks were paying MJ no mind by this point in his career. His rapid fans, yes, but the average listener who bought Thriller or Jackson 5 hits, was not following him like that to know that he lip synched. I certainly never did-never was on my radar at all.

mcw00 said:

good point..sad thing is that Michael chose to put Dangerous tour on DVD in stead of his Prime tours.

BobGeorge909 said:

At least you admitted that you were wrong unlike the TS

bboy87 said:

Those were songs that had all been worked out years earlier. All they had to do was dust off the old arrangements, but this was the Dangerous Tour so he should have been doing more material from the Dangerous album.

Unfortunately that would mean taking the time to work out how to bring them to life on stage, and Michael had stopped doing that by this time. Whenever he did perform new material from then on he always just had the band PRETENDING TO PLAY while the studio recording blared out of the speakers. That way he didn't have to mix too much with the musicians who he was so uncomfortable with. It also meant he could preserve his deteriorating voice by rehearsing less.

manthevan said:

Not a totally honest breakdown here. Let's see if we can get it more accurate. We can ignore everything before 1988 since Michael never once mimed in concert before then. From that point on your account is flawed.


Wrong. He ended up miming 3 songs on the Bad Tour. MITM, TWYMMF, and SC


Correct.


Correct.

You've got a gap in your records here. He did gigs in 1999 too which were almost completely mimed. In fact they may have been 100% mimed since I haven't seen any footage from those gigs that was live. Given that his defenders give separate excuses for each instance of miming I'm wondering what the excuse was for this one.


Correct, but you fail to mention that the Jacksons section was only about 15 minutes long and the rest of the two hour concert was solo and mimed. Therefore the concert was mostly mimed. There is also a question mark about just how live the group section was since the brothers are clearly seen at several points to be miming their backing vocals.

You've also missed out the gig he did in 2002. I'm willing to bet a large amount of money that was mostly mimed too.

midnightmover said:[quote]

manthevan said:

I was there for his 2001 concert and expect for "Billie Jean" and parts of "You Rock My World", he was singing live.

shorttrini said:

Dude, please. The concert was televised. We all saw it. If he was singing live then it must have sounded shit because that wasn't what they broadcast.