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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
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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Wow, I had no idea that Bad Tour was that taxing on him, although I should have figured such.
I agree, I would prefer him to lip-synch any day then to have permanently damaged his vocal chords.
I also must say that whatever vocal preservation he did worked based on Human Nature alone from This Is It.:yes:

Even though we would have all preferred live vocals the shows were obviously still very enjoyable.
I also personally feel as though what was lacking in vocals during the HIStory tour was more then made up for with dancing.
Dance wise I think HIStory may have been his best tour, and for that alone I'm glad the tour happened.:yes:
Some of my favorite performances that Michael ever gave are from HIStory tour.:yes:

Edit: Another reason I positively love HIStory tour lip-synching and all is because after the allegations he showed the world that he wasn't broken.
The promo commercial, the statues, and the overall grandeur of the HIStory era and tour is something that I love.
I also believe he wanted to make a statement against the lies people believed about him by opening HIStory tour concerts with Scream.:D
 
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aazzaabb said:
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!
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Billie Jean didn't sound very good in Brunei 1996 concert. That wasn't very good but yes I would take that over lip-syncing any day.
 
Michael had already damaged his vocal cords by the time the HIStory tour came around. Hence the elevated levels of lip syncing during that particular tour. You can hear it in his voice, when he does sing live it sounds really bad and strained.
 
Galactus123 said:
Billie Jean didn't sound very good in Brunei 1996 concert. That wasn't very good but yes I would take that over lip-syncing any day.
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Are you talking about the Royal Brunei show? Maybe it's just me, but Michael looked sick during that concert. But it could have just been the heat.

But the show did have Earth Song's ''Tell Me What About It'' ad libs, and that was awesome.
 
Geez, for me the Royal Brunei is one of my favourites. Is he tired? Yeah, but he's working that vocal and although at times he can't hit the high notes of the album version he's raw, he's real and your hearing an honest expression in that very moment. There are little moments where the vocals are very strong and angry, superb. The fact that we can pinpoint this show because it's live and even TALK about a vocal performance is what it's all about. Like I say, I enjoyed the HIStory tour, I'm even a fan of that tour, but no, I'm not gonna say I prefer a lip-sync over a live performance.
 
To me he sounded good at Royal Brunei, not the best but still very good. I never understand how he damaged his vocals between the Royal Brunei concert and the first HIStory concert.
 
Themidwestcowboy said:
Nowhere near how great he sounded on the previous tours though. Just compare WBSS from the dangerous tour or even Human Nature to his previous tours.
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Hm, when it comes to this who knows though.
What some consider only good vocals others consider really amazing/great vocals, and what one person sees as a mess up another may see as a unique event that makes one performance stand out from the rest.
It may simply be a matter of preference.
Overall, I personally think that even if he may have had a few problems along the way that he never truly lost his amazing voice (possibly because he DID opt for lip-synching), and it's funny that you bring up Human Nature because what would sadly turn out to be his last live vocal performance of that song sounded nothing short of amazing.
 
Themidwestcowboy said:
Nowhere near how great he sounded on the previous tours though. Just compare WBSS from the dangerous tour or even Human Nature to his previous tours.
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Those songs sound better with a handheld mic. He still sounded great on ISCSLY, SOOML, J5 Medley, Billie Jean, WDAN, Beat It and during the MITM ad libs.

And there's also the DAngerous Tour rehearsals and he sounded great during those
 
analogue said:
Those songs sound better with a handheld mic. He still sounded great on ISCSLY, SOOML, J5 Medley, Billie Jean, WDAN, Beat It and during the MITM ad libs.

And there's also the Dangerous Tour rehearsals and he sounded great during those
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Yeah don't get me wrong MJ still sounded great, especially on the ballads, but his voice sounded a bit more strained and rougher than before and that's understandable. He spent three years on tour singing 3 days a week the most challenging songs in his entire catalogue. He sounded really great on the begining of the Dangerous Tour but halfway through his voice was affected and by the end you could hear the toll it had taken on his voice.
 
Pink Diamond Princess said:
Hm, when it comes to this who knows though.
What some consider only good vocals others consider really amazing/great vocals, and what one person sees as a mess up another may see as a unique event that makes one performance stand out from the rest.
It may simply be a matter of preference.
Overall, I personally think that even if he may have had a few problems along the way that he never truly lost his amazing voice (possibly because he DID opt for lip-synching), and it's funny that you bring up Human Nature because what would sadly turn out to be his last live vocal performance of that song sounded nothing short of amazing.
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No doubt, he still had his voice as he still put out albums. This Is It is a bit tricky for me. It was such a beautiful thing to hear him sing Human Nature the way he sung it on the Bad Tour, with clarity, but at the same time some notes sounds pitch corrected (melodyne).
 
I reckon when he lipsynced, he should've gone into the studio before each tour and record some new vocals, or even just substitute in an alternative take that sounds different from the studio album versions.

That way they sounded different and new to us, and he was able to conserve his vocals during performing. Can't say I'm a big fan when I watch him performing and the vocals are so painfully obvious from the studio albums... it detracts from the overall performance.
 
Themidwestcowboy said:
No doubt, he still had his voice as he still put out albums. This Is It is a bit tricky for me. It was such a beautiful thing to hear him sing Human Nature the way he sung it on the Bad Tour, with clarity, but at the same time some notes sounds pitch corrected (melodyne).
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Well, IDK about pitch correction, but Earth Song from This Is It seems to be completely live as well and sounds great.
I also don't think he was going full out on it either because it was only a rehearsal.:)

Overall, I think the general consensus amongst people that criticize the lip-syncing is that HIStory tour was great/amazing as is but could have even been better if he hadn't lip-synced, and hey, even I would have preferred live vocals (almost anyone would), but in the end you can't please everyone and the shows were still great (I don't think anyone could realistically say they were bad). :)
I certainly would love to have been at one.:yes:
Some of the performances from HIStory tour that I watch on YouTube blow me away.:bugeyed
It was such a spectacle! :D
 
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I have a love/hate relationship with HIStory Tour. The dancing is great (As always), and the Billie Jean end dance is the best one out of all the tours. But then there's all the lip syncing, which is just embarassing to watch. I don't mind some lip syncing, but when every song is lip synced (Except 2) then that's really cringy to me.

In my opinion a show should at least be 50% live.
 
Pink Diamond Princess said:
Well, IDK about pitch correction, but Earth Song from This Is It seems to be completely live as well and sounds great.
I also don't think he was going full out on it either because it was only a rehearsal.:)

Overall, I think the general consensus amongst people that criticize the lip-syncing is that HIStory tour was great/amazing as is but could have even been better if he hadn't lip-synced, and hey, even I would have preferred live vocals (almost anyone would), but in the end you can't please everyone and the shows were still great (I don't think anyone could realistically say they were bad). :)
I certainly would love to have been at one.:yes:
Some of the performances from HIStory tour that I watch on YouTube blow me away.:bugeyed
It was such a spectacle! :D
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Earth song was dubbed with vocals from the 91 demo. Whenever using melodyne there are some artifacts that you can hear that can make it sound unnatural, the same thing happened when they processed his vocals on Hollywood tonight.

There are some clips from outside the Forum when he was rehearsing TWYMMF and really singing it full force, his voice sounded really really strained and rough and he struggled to hit some notes, specifically the adlibs on the ending. With that being said he sounded great singing the song on the DVD. That's why This Is It is a bit tricky for me to fully judge. We also know that there were a lot of things going on behind the scenes.

I actually don think history is that bad at all. I grew up watching these concerts on TV.


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Themidwestcowboy said:
Earth song was dubbed with vocals from the 91 demo. Whenever using melodyne there are some artifacts that you can hear that can make it sound unnatural, the same thing happened when they processed his vocals on Hollywood tonight.

There are some clips from outside the Forum when he was rehearsing TWYMMF and really singing it full force, his voice sounded really really strained and rough and he struggled to hit some notes, specifically the adlibs on the ending. With that being said he sounded great singing the song on the DVD. That's why This Is It is a bit tricky for me to fully judge. We also know that there were a lot of things going on behind the scenes.

I actually don think history is that bad at all. I grew up watching these concerts on TV.


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Went and gave earth song a listen real quick on account of your comment and I still don't think it was completely dubbed.:)
I CAN hear the processing you talk about on HT but cannot hear it or anything like it on This Is It's HN.

As for the video I can believe you, and there was indeed a lot going on behind the scenes.:(
However, he did still sound great on HN and no amount of pitch correction is going to make him sound that good.:yes:

I overall just don't think he really lost his voice from Bad Tour to This Is It (possibly because when he did have problems he opted to lip-sync), so I guess we're going to have to agree to disagree on some things, LOL.:D
 
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Pink Diamond Princess said:
Went and gave earth song a listen real quick on account of your comment and I still don't think it was completely dubbed.:)
I CAN hear the processing you talk about on HT but cannot hear it or anything like it on This Is It's HN.

As for the video I can believe you, and there was indeed a lot going on behind the scenes.:(
However, he did still sound great on HN and no amount of pitch correction is going to make him sound that good.:yes:

I overall just don't think he really lost his voice from Bad Tour to This Is It (possibly because when he did have problems he opted to lip-sync), so I guess we're going to have to agree to disagree on some things, LOL.:D
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I think he lost it before the History Tour, and before the Brunei Concert... the begining of this lost it's in the Dangerous tour 1993.
 
I wish se sang live in some concerts of History Tour when he feel that he can. Like in Brunei ( December ) ( Scream- Stranger in Moscow - Billie Jean - Beat It )
 
The worst part about History Tour for me is the backup singers syncing to Michael's vocals. Like wtf lmao
 
Yeah his vocals were pitch corrected and smoothed out for This Is It. It's very obvious. Like on I'll be There. "If you should ever find someone new" sounds so processed it's unbelievable. Same with "Why? Why?" and the last "tell 'em that it's human nature" in human nature. People should stop using This Is it as an example of MJ's condition as it was made with intent of making him look good. So much so that most of the vocals are dubbed with demos or a capellas from album versions. I still enjoy it, for what it is though.
 
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Lil Ced said:
The worst part about History Tour for me is the backup singers syncing to Michael's vocals. Like wtf lmao
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LMAO, they actually did that!?:rofl:
I honestly never noticed (and still won't pay attention to it much if at all) because it always annoys me when the camera cuts to the backup singers anyways.
I know it sounds rather petty, but I want the camera focused on Michael at all times.
 
Lil Ced said:
The worst part about History Tour for me is the backup singers syncing to Michael's vocals. Like wtf lmao
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I know haha that is absolutely cringeworthy, I don't understand as the backing singers are just that for a reason, they are professionals and know how to sing so the reasons for this puzzle me.
 
I'd say Bad Tour , 1988 leg.
He still sounded good then, but when you listen to his voice from the 87 leg, it's clear that his vocals are no longer smooth and crisp, but more strained and breathy.
 
chris123678 said:
I'd say Bad Tour , 1988 leg.
He still sounded good then, but when you listen to his voice from the 87 leg, it's clear that his vocals are no longer smooth and crisp, but more strained and breathy.
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Well after singing for the first leg there may have been some vocal strain just from singing so much and so often (he was still human).
That doesn't equate to permanent irreversible damage though, IMO. :)
 
Pink Diamond Princess said:
LMAO, they actually did that!?:rofl:
I honestly never noticed (and still won't pay attention to it much if at all) because it always annoys me when the camera cuts to the backup singers anyways.
I know it sounds rather petty, but I want the camera focused on Michael at all times.
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That doesn't sound petty, I want the same. I don't want to look at no annoying back up singers. Especially when he does something I want to see, like a cool or a sexy move. The same when they film him from behind at the wrong time, sometimes I get so mad I yell at the TV :doh:
 
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This is the amateur The Way You Make Me Feel This Is It rehearsal audio that I think was mentioned earlier. There's a longer version but he's just mumbling the verses and it doesn't sound very good. I've always loved his rough vocals though.

 
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Michaels Lover said:
That doesn't sound petty, I want the same. I don't want to look at no annoying back up singers. Especially when he does something I want to see, like a cool or a sexy move. The same when they film him from behind at the wrong time, sometimes I get so mad I yell at the TV :doh:
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LOL, I'm glad you don't think I sound petty.:)
I legit feel like screaming sometimes when as SOON as he goes to do a pelvic thrust of some kind they either zoom IN too far, zoom ALL the way out, or just straight up take the camera OFF of him.

And just like you, I also hate when they film behind him at the wrong time.
If he's doing some cool dance move and/or thrusting forward I WANT TO SEE IT from the FRONT.
I mean his booty is great too, but at that point and time I want the FRONT view.:mat:
 
Pink Diamond Princess said:
LOL, I'm glad you don't think I sound petty.:)
I legit feel like screaming sometimes when as SOON as he goes to do a pelvic thrust of some kind they either zoom IN too far, zoom ALL the way out, or just straight up take the camera OFF of him.

And just like you, I also hate when they film behind him at the wrong time.
If he's doing some cool dance move and/or thrusting forward I WANT TO SEE IT from the FRONT.
I mean his booty is great too, but at that point and time I want the FRONT view.:mat:
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Yeah, we need to see those pelvic thrusts and sexy moves from the right angle. Sheesh, is that too much to ask. I do like it when they zoom in on his crotch, though, but again, only at the right time. I don't mind looking at his crotch close up :eek:ldsmiley:

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