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Billie Jean. Sung live or lip synced?

Do you prefer Billie Jean sung live or lip synced?

  • Sung live

    Votes: 63 85.1%

  • Lip synced

    Votes: 11 14.9%
  • Total voters
    74
Live all day long. Especially Billie Jean. The Munich 92 performance is perfection, the ad libs "your just a silly girl" are brilliant! That said, there were some great Billie Jean performances of the HIStory tour; different breakdowns with the beatboxing and dancing at the end.
 
Galactus123 said:
I'm pretty sure some did. It's easy to tell.
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Not where I was standing. And none of my friends were disappointed either. We didn't know at the time he used playback, and we couldn't tell. We were just happy because we had just seen him, and it was an awesome concert, and we didn't whine or complain about playback, or anything for that matter. It's easy to tell on video, but like I explained, from where I was standing it was impossible to tell what was what. but I'm sure it sounded different depending where you were standing/sitting. But don't speak on behalf of the people that were there, if you've not been there yourself
 
Michaels Lover said:
Not where I was standing. And none of my friends were disappointed either. We didn't know at the time he used playback, and we couldn't tell. We were just happy because we had just seen him, and it was an awesome concert, and we didn't whine or complain about playback, or anything for that matter. It's easy to tell on video, but like I explained, from where I was standing it was impossible to tell what was what. but I'm sure it sounded different depending where you were standing/sitting. But don't speak on behalf of the people that were there, if you've not been there yourself
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I understand but I'm sure someone who was in the back or sitting could tell it. Off the Wall Medley for example is so obviously playback. I have been in some concerts by other bands and I'm sure I would have noticed if they used the album vocals. Of course there are people wouldn't notice it.
 
I don't understand why you'd go to a concert and afterwards find out it was mostly lip synced, but not feel ripped off and annoyed. I'm assuming it's because it's MJ.
 
Galactus123 said:
I understand but I'm sure someone who was in the back or sitting could tell it. Off the Wall Medley for example is so obviously playback. I have been in some concerts by other bands and I'm sure I would have noticed if they used the album vocals. Of course there are people wouldn't notice it.
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I love the dancing on OTW Medley, but the lip syncing is incredibly cringy.
 
SmoothGangsta said:
I don't understand why you'd go to a concert and afterwards find out it was mostly lip synced, but not feel ripped off and annoyed. I'm assuming it's because it's MJ.
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I agree. Had it be any other artist, the use of lip sync would have been trashed.
Love MJ, and personally, some performances sound better with playback, rather than the live mic.
 
Michaels Lover said:
Not where I was standing. And none of my friends were disappointed either. We didn't know at the time he used playback, and we couldn't tell. We were just happy because we had just seen him, and it was an awesome concert, and we didn't whine or complain about playback, or anything for that matter. It's easy to tell on video, but like I explained, from where I was standing it was impossible to tell what was what. but I'm sure it sounded different depending where you were standing/sitting. But don't speak on behalf of the people that were there, if you've not been there yourself
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Your SO lucky to have seen him live!:bugeyed
Can you PM me or leave a visitor message on my profile telling me more about what it was like?:D
I'm too young to have had the chance to see him live.:(
It's fine if you don't want to though.

I actually meant to ask you this earlier but am just getting around to it.:yes:
 
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History Tour, I think was his best tour, but at the wrong timing.
Excellent set list, his dancing was probably the smoothest and best of his career, and his overall appearance appeared very very healthy. (1996 leg specifically)

It's a shame his voice was in such disarray. I think he could have given a go at SIM, YANA and Heal The World live.

Yet, as someone said before, his lip singing didn't subtract from his performance.

Billie jean 1996 is a pure example of it.
 
I can't believe some prefer lip-synch at a live concert...

I saw the HIStory concert on MJ's birthday - and I was only 10 back then and did not notice playback at all. - BUT had it been today I am very very sure I would notice immediately. No doubt. - And I would start focusing on it... And it would really annoy me...

I will never understand it... - If I wanted to hear it like the album - I would play the album... When I go to a concert with a singer... - I wanna hear them sing live. And if they mess up the lyrics, don't hit all the notes etc. - it doesn't really matter... That's what makes a live experience unique.

A concert should NOT be like watching a movie, it should be different each time. BOTH dancing and singing.

I prefer live vocals at a live concert.... Always
 
Hess said:
I can't believe some prefer lip-synch at a live concert
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No-one does really, they may justify it because it's Michael Jackson, but no-one prefers it.

A one off performance on a music show maybe (Motown 25 or Madonna's Vogue VMA's 1990) but not on stage.

And like I've said before, for someone who was at Bad, Dangerous & HIStory tours, it has a massive effect on the performance & the enthusiasm of the crowd.
 
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Hess said:
I can't believe some prefer lip-synch at a live concert...

I saw the HIStory concert on MJ's birthday - and I was only 10 back then and did not notice playback at all. - BUT had it been today I am very very sure I would notice immediately. No doubt. - And I would start focusing on it... And it would really annoy me...

I will never understand it... - If I wanted to hear it like the album - I would play the album... When I go to a concert with a singer... - I wanna hear them sing live. And if they mess up the lyrics, don't hit all the notes etc. - it doesn't really matter... That's what makes a live experience unique.

A concert should NOT be like watching a movie, it should be different each time. BOTH dancing and singing.

I prefer live vocals at a live concert.... Always
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I agree with the bolded, I'm honestly a bit surprised there's a poll asking which people prefer, LOL.
That said, from what I've seen on YouTube people seemed as hype and happy at HIStory concerts as any other MJ concert, and considering how fast This Is It sold out the lip synching obviously didn't hurt his reputation as a touring artist (This Is It also showed many naysayers that he still had that amazing voice, for me I never believed that he had lost his voice anyways, but some others needed the This Is It rehearsals to realize he had never lost his beautiful and often times etheral vocals).

I never got the chance to see him live but the lip synching has also never taken away from my own enjoyment of his performances.
 
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Tony R said:
No-one does really, they may justify it because it's Michael Jackson, but no-one prefers it.

A one off performance on a music show maybe (Motown 25 or Madonna's Vogue VMA's 1990) but not on stage.

And like I've said before, for someone who was at Bad, Dangerous & HIStory tours, it has a massive effect on the performance & the enthusiasm of the crowd.
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I think that's a bit exaggerated to say no one prefers it.
Personally I do prefer a lip-synced Billie Jean than the live vocals. I don't think he sounds good singing it live.
 
chris123678 said:
I think that's a bit exaggerated to say no one prefers it.
Personally I do prefer a lip-synced Billie Jean than the live vocals. I don't think he sounds good singing it live.
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It's not an exaggeration.

No one would come back from an MJ concert, saying 'It was great, but I wish he'd have lip synced Billie Jean'.

NO-ONE!!!
 
Pink Diamond Princess said:
I agree with the bolded, I'm honestly a bit surprised there's a poll asking which people prefer, LOL.
That said, from what I've seen on YouTube people seemed as hype and happy at HIStory concerts as any other MJ concert, and considering how fast This Is It sold out the lip synching obviously didn't hurt his reputation as a touring artist (This Is It also showed many naysayers that he still had that amazing voice, for me I never believed that he had lost his voice anyways, but some others needed the This Is It rehearsals to realize he had never lost his beautiful and often times etheral vocals).
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If he had lip-synced in the actual This Is It concert then I'm sure people would have complained and media would have noticed it. In 1997 there wasn't Youtube and forums.
 
Galactus123 said:
If he had lip-synced in the actual This Is It concert then I'm sure people would have complained and media would have noticed it. In 1997 there wasn't Youtube and forums.
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I wasn't talking about what people's reactions to actual This Is It concerts would have been.
None of us know what the actual concerts would have been like because they sadly never happened, but we know for a fact that Michael's live vocals were amazing during the This Is It rehearsals, which were the last vocal performances of his entire life.

I'm talking about how despite the way that many people (mainly within the fanbase) seem to hate on HIStory tour that it must not have been THAT bad if THAT many people still wanted to see him years later after it.

If HIStory tour was truly as bad and ill received as some say then demand for the This Is It tour would have been MUCH lower because people would have thought Michael was a shitty live performer, and why bother seeing a shitty live performer?
That's not what happened though, and instead This Is It sold out in record time.
Despite what some people think, the fact is that the general public STILL thought he was an amazing performer even AFTER HIStory tour.

Pretty much what I'm saying is that yeah we almost ALL prefer live vocals (including myself), BUT overall HIStory tour wasn't as bad and wasn't received as horribly as some think/thought it was or people wouldn't have bothered buying This Is It tickets.

Even now I've only really seen people within the fanbase (and of course some haters) harp on about the lip-synching.
I'm sure that people outside the fanbase notice it, but It only really gets constantly talked about or brought up by some people within the fanbase.:yes:

For example, go on YouTube and look and the comment sections of HIStory tour vids.
You'll have a few people bring up the lip-synching here and there, but overall the comments are praising Michael and the performance.:yes:
 
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This Is It sold so well because Michael hadn't performend in a long time. Of course Michael Jackson is going to sell. He hadn't performed in 7 years.
 
Not exactly.
Sure Michael would always sale, but if HIStory tour was truly as bad as I've seen some people say, cause and effect would dictate that although he still would have done well that This Is It wouldn't have sold out in record time, and that he wouldn't have sold out the venue half as many times as he did.

You also have to remember that people were making a pilgrimage to see him.
He sold out a RESIDENCY 50 times over, and I'm sure he could have sold out more.
This means that even after the 'horrible' lip-synched HIStory tour that people from all over the world were still willing to travel from near and far to see him.
 
I just don't think HIStory Tour mattered much. It's qualty wasn't a big factor. This Is It sold well because of Michael. People wanted to see him again and many wanted to see him live for the first time.
 
I never look to This Is it as an honest representation of MJ's condition around that time. It was edited in a way to make MJ look good. That was its purpose; to show what the concerts could have been like. It's been all but confirmed MJ wanted to sing live and dance at the same time but he just wasn't capable at that time. They were looking for demos they could use instead of live vocals, they were even wanting MJ to record some new vocals so he could lip sync to them.
 
Galactus123 said:
I just don't think HIStory Tour mattered much. It's qualty wasn't a big factor. This Is It sold well because of Michael. People wanted to see him again and many wanted to see him live for the first time.
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The bolded isn't true in the least, and no matter how you look at it HIStory tour lip-syncing and all wasn't as horrible as some people say because had it been, then the ticket sales of This Is It would have been heavily impacted by it due to HIStory tour having left a bad taste in the mouth of the general public.:yes:

This was not the case though, and This Is It sold MORE then well.
Even the statement that This Is It sold well because of Michael being Michael doesn't really negate what I said, and this is because you're still talking about the same Michael that had HIStory as his most recent tour prior to This Is It.:)

Overall, people can have their opinions about any of Michael's tours, but factually speaking had HIStory tour been as bad as some would lead you to think then the general public wouldn't have been half as interested in This Is It because Michael would have been seen as a shitty performer before the tour was even announced.
The tour simply couldn't have been as bad as some people say or it's shortcomings would have been seen in the ticket sales of This Is It.:yes:

TLDR: Sure almost all of us (including me) would have hands down preferred live vocals, but in reality Michael lip-syncing didn't 'ruin' HIStory tour like some believe it did, and it certainly hasn't ruined my enjoyment of it in the least.

I do wish I could get myself to watch the entire This Is It film instead of just clips though.
The live vocals are freaking amazing and ethereal to say the least (Human Nature in particular), but I can't find it in myself to watch the whole thing because it makes me sad. :(
 
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I'll say I have found many 'new' fans have more appreciation than many 'lifers'.. Of course that's not in all cases but it's what ive been seeing
 
Tony R said:
It's not an exaggeration.

No one would come back from an MJ concert, saying 'It was great, but I wish he'd have lip synced Billie Jean'.

NO-ONE!!!
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It would be hilarious to me if someone did say that
 
Fans seem to forget that MJ was on the verge of permanently damaging his vocal chords while the BAD Tour was approaching its end.

So, his lip – syncing (in subsequent tours) was not a matter of choice, but rather a matter of (medical) necessity so as to avoid the risk of canceling his remaining tour dates. The general public should take that into consideration, too.

What mainly mattered during those years was to perform on stage & give as many shows as humanly possible (mainly for boosting the sales of his albums), rather than using more live vocals at the risk of potential cancellations. To me, that made a lot of sense.

So, personally I am rather lenient when it comes to his lip – syncing, even in cases when it is particularly evident, such as during the HIStory Tour.
 
I don't think peeps are forgetting why he went more lip sync, it's just a matter of what people prefer to watch.. In my personal opinion considering the vocal issues I would have liked for him to use a little more live vocal (not the full song) yes I know he still adlibbed but it would have been nice to have another section live just to bring up a live believability (OR) recorded a live style vocal for the song instead of using the album track.
 
KOPV said:
I don't think peeps are forgetting why he went more lip sync, it's just a matter of what people prefer to watch.. In my personal opinion considering the vocal issues I would have liked for him to use a little more live vocal (not the full song) yes I know he still adlibbed but it would have been nice to have another section live just to bring up a live believability (OR) recorded a live style vocal for the song instead of using the album track.
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I agree. Even if all the lip-synced songs had been re-recorded for the show and the backing singers were allowed to put their live backing vocals on each song during each concert it would have elevated the show a whole lot.

I went to the Dublin concert and loved it. I do believe a part of me probably knew that playback was being used but it was such an important moment in my life that it was secondary to the experience of actually being there and seeing him, and thats probably the same for many younger fans for whom this was the first and only time they got to see MJ live; there's a whole lot of emotion involved when you've waited since you were literally a child and this moment means everything to you, and you know there's nothing wrong with that either. I enjoyed the show and the best thing about it (for me) was just seeing him live in person. Seeing him dance was everything and there was moments I loved that stood out; Scream, TDCAU, WBSS, SC, Billie Jean, for Earth Song he was hanging right over my head and I could see parts of his anatomy I'm not quite sure I wanted to see lol. For Heal The World he posed for pictures with fans in wheelchairs and I just found that so touching. The rest of it was a blur though and I went home happy to have finally seen him.

I'll never understand a person who says "I prefer a lip-synced performance over a live vocal" Give me the worst vocal performance over the album vocal all day long. And I've NEVER ONCE heard a bad live vocal for Billie Jean EVER! A live vocal has less to do with pitch-perfect hitting every single note in the right key but more to do with expressing the raw in the moment emotion of the here and now, and MJ was such an emotional performer.
 
mj_frenzy;4177765 said:
Fans seem to forget that MJ was on the verge of permanently damaging his vocal chords while the BAD Tour was approaching its end.

So, his lip – syncing (in subsequent tours) was not a matter of choice, but rather a matter of (medical) necessity so as to avoid the risk of canceling his remaining tour dates. The general public should take that into consideration, too.

What mainly mattered during those years was to perform on stage & give as many shows as humanly possible (mainly for boosting the sales of his albums), rather than using more live vocals at the risk of potential cancellations. To me, that made a lot of sense.

So, personally I am rather lenient when it comes to his lip – syncing, even in cases when it is particularly evident, such as during the HIStory Tour.
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This. No matter how you look at it, Michaels [Live] vocals we're never the same after the Bad Tour.
 
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