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Performances

Actually, I complained lol. But no one else (well MJ fans) seem to care. I just dont see why one off performances have to be mimed, unless there are super dance routines involved. I'm a dancer, and I get tired from dancing for like 3 mins. To me singing and performing is near impossible, but after you watch someone like Michael, with the Jacksons, or on the Bad tour, you know why he's called the best. I'm just tired of the double standard that fans live by. If he mimes, it because he was sick, or he's already proved he can sing, so why does it matter? It matters because hes a performer and hes good at doing both. He doesn't even bother to re-record the track. During the HIStory tour you can hear the sloppy editing in things like TDCAU. Some people might not care and thats there opinion but this is mine and the miming gets on my tits :D
 
id love to mj to sing live but when ive listened to live performances of some songs frankly they arent very good because you cant sing and dance like that at the same time without it ruining you vocals cause of the out of breath noise. so i its one or the other.
 
just dont see why one off performances have to be mimed
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probably his obsession of wanting everything to be prefect and the chance of messing up if you do it live. cant really think of any other reason when it comes to a one off performance
 
Right, exactly elusive. And fans bring up both factors of him having voice trouble and the difficulty of singing live while dancing so hard because both apply to why he lip syncs. 39 is a lot older then 29, which is the difference between the "Bad" and "History" world tours. Michael can sing and dance live at the same time better then anyone, but it's unrealistic and unfair to expect him to be able to keep that up. And in terms of one off performances, like I said, no one complained about "Motown 25" or other similar signiture performances. And he really was having a huge amount of trouble during both the "Dangerous" and "History" tours with laryngitis, that's not made up. You can permanently ruin your voice if you abuse it too much. And with a singer as great as Michael, that would be a tragic loss.
 
Probably something like that, but come on. He is more than capable, things like you were there and gone too soon, were great live performances, so, he didn't dance, big whoop. He's as well known for his vocals as he is his dancing, so why not give as much to it?
 
Age is not an excuse. And I'm talking 00's performances, not Motown 25.
 
How old are you?

And believe me, if Michael didn't dance, you would have just as many fans complaining about that as you do fans complaining about his not singing live.

Michael's stuck between a rock and a hard place because he's the only person ever to be both a world class vocalist and a world class dancer at the same time. So people expect both out of him. And it's hard.
 
What does my age have to do with anything?
 
Well, your making out as if 36 is old, and its not. To me thats just saying, he's old so he can't sing live anymore, which is bullshit.
 
That's not what I said. But a human beings physical prime is usually from the age of about 27 or 28 to 32 or 33. And once you start to get older, it starts to become increasingly difficult to maintain a high level of energy for any sort of long period. That's just a fact. On top of which, you have to understand that Michael has been dancing since the time he was a child, and that kind of wear and tear will have an affect on your body after a time. Not to speculate about Michael's health, but I wouldn't at all be surprised if Michael has a lot of joint pain and it's a known fact that he has back problems. Your endurance decreases as you age, it takes a greater effort to complete physical tasks. What once would be easy becomes painful and much more difficult. Why do you think most athletes are done by their early 30s? I doubt Michael would be able to keep up the sort of pace he did singing and dancing live as he did in his late 20s or early 30s, that's just not fair to expect that of him. He can sing and dance live still, I'm sure, but for a limited amount of time, I'm also sure. I'm not saying he's old, because he's not. I'm just saying he isn't in his 20s anymore either and he shouldn't be treated like he is or have those kinds of expectations put on him. Hell, there was talk going around when he was 29 that he was too old to tour the way he had before.
 
Two words... James Brown. Others may say, him and Michael are two different people, but the man was on the stage till he died, at 73, still singing and dancing. The thing that separates performers is longevity, being great at what you do and doing it well. Truly... crap, I forgot what I was gonna say, lol.
 
James Brown worked himself to death. Is that what you want Michael to do? James wasn't healthy and he looked like he could drop dead at any minute, and he did. And James wasn't exactly dancing half as hard as he did when he was in his 30s near the end. On top of which, Michael's dancing is far more complex and involved then James Brown's ever was, put simply, it's harder what Michael does in terms of maintaning live vocals and keeping up with the dance routines.
 
wannabestartinsomthin21 said:
It's hard to sing and dance at the same time people. Why don't you try to keep it up for two hours straight before judging?
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Well I'm not a singer or an entertainer, so what would be the point? Michael is a professional singer/entertainer. I don't go to a show and pay money to see an artist lip synch for almost the entire time. I can understand two or maybe three songs, but when you are lip synching almost the entire show like Mike did on the "History" tour, that is not acceptable, sorry but it's not. Especially not for someone who is as gifted vocally as Michael is.

If he is unable to perform an entire show without lip synching almost the entire time, then I just don't think he should even bother performing. All that lip synching has done a bit of damage to his rep as a great entertainer and frankly, I am embarrassed for him when I see him lip synching. This is why I hardly ever watch footage from the "History" tour. "I'll Be There" is one of the few performances from that tour I find tolerable because it's live and he sounds great, otherwise no thanx. That's not how I like to see or think of Michael.


Scorpio said:
I would personally prefer he sing songs live that don't require him to dance the entire time. Songs like Billie Jean, if he at least would sing the end live that would be fine by me. I understand how difficult it is to sing perfectly and dance as well as you would like. Its not easy keeping your breath when you dance like that.

I just can't stand when he does mime or whatever and stands and holds the microphone and covers the top with his other hand. It looks like hes trying to test to see if its live without being obvious. But i never thought it looked good since he does it so much. I'm referring to the MSG performances. If he mimed and then focused on dancing that would be great. But I dont know. I always wondered why he did that.
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I agree. See, I don't mind if he uses a backing track and at least attempts to sing live in some parts. That's fine 'cause I understand it's a lot of hard work and singing every night takes a toll on your voice, but I just am not seeing the reason for lip synching nearly entire whole shows, especialy ballads. I hope that if Michael performs again in the future that he actually sings LIVE. He cannot afford to be lip synching all the time like he's been doing for years now, especially not at this stage in his career. How many credible artists his age do you see lip synching anyway? Michael is not Britney, Rihanna or someone. He is from the old school where you had to be talented to make it and couldn't rely on lip synching and other gimmicks that many artists of today do and he knows this so I don't know why he does it. Mike really needs to get back to singing live if he ever does perform again anytime soon.
 
Well I'm not a singer or an entertainer, so what would be the point? Michael is a professional singer/entertainer. I don't go to a show and pay money to see an artist lip synch for almost the entire show. I can understand two or three songs, but when you are lip synching almost the entire show like Mike did on the "History" tour, that is not acceptable, sorry but it's not. Especially not for someone who is as gifted vocally as Michael is.

If he is unable to perform an entire show without lip synching almost the entire time, then I just don't think he should even bother performing. All that lip synching has done a bit of damage to his rep as a great entertainer and frankly, I am embarrassed for him when I see him lip synching. This is why I hardly ever watch footage from the "History" tour. "I'll Be There" is one of the few performances from that tour I find tolerable because it's live and he sounds great, otherwise no thanx. That's not how I like to think of Michael.
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Well, Michael's doctors advised him not to even go on tour during "History" because he could have destroyed his voice, but he did anyway, just to please the fans. And while you may not find it enjoyable to watch, in my view, the most naturally gifted dancer in history dance on stage for two hours, I and millions of other people would disagree, as they had no issue going to see him and loving every second of it either. You can be embarrassed for him all you want, but live vocals aren't what makes a great performer, it's how the performer emotes and captavates an audience, and how they work the stage. And whether Michael is singing live or not, he does that better then anyone in the world. And I brought up the point of you trying to sing and dance live for any period of time longer then a minute to see how hard it really is, so that maybe next time, you won't judge Michael so harshly on the issue. He isn't superhuman. He's just exceptionally gifted. Like he once said, don't judge another man until you've walked in his shoes.
 
wannabestartinsomthin21 said:
James Brown worked himself to death. Is that what you want Michael to do? James wasn't healthy and he looked like he could drop dead at any minute, and he did. And James wasn't exactly dancing half as hard as he did when he was in his 30s near the end. On top of which, Michael's dancing is far more complex and involved then James Brown's ever was, put simply, it's harder what Michael does in terms of maintaning live vocals and keeping up with the dance routines.
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James Brown continued to sing live until he couldn't go on no more. I don't know why that's hard for Michael. James may have worked himself to death but compare to Michael, I guess it's more permanent for him. He's been having more reported back and hip problems than JB ever did.
 
Michael's a more serious dancer then James. Michael's essentially a professional and there's a lot more structure to his movement . Look, with Michael it's one or the other. He either dances like people expect him to and lip syncs, or he tones the dancing WAY down and sings live. You can't have it both ways any more because Michael's older and he's had some health problems relating to his body and voice. Michael COULD sing live, obviously, but people also want to see him dance. He's got the reputation, deservedly so, as one of the greatest dancers ever, up there with Astaire and Kelly, and if he doesn't move, people will complain too. He can't win, essentially. Like I said, he's in a way cursed to have been so immensely gifted in both areas.
 
See, now theres a point I never mentioned. Do you really feel on the HIStory tour, other than on some songs maybe, like the J5 Medley, that he is emoting? Honestly, look at something from the Bat Tour like Heartbreak Hotel, there is emotion, when you see that you can feel it, you connect with it. In the HIStory Tour, nothing feels like that. Sometimes you see he wants to give that extra bit, but he can't, because hes stuck behind the backing track.
 
No he's not. Michael emotes with his facial expressions and dancing beautifully. He doesn't need to sing live to do that. The way he controls and works the stage is brilliant.
 
Basically, since we both have a different view on it. Plus there's other reasons why Michael would have more trouble then other people you compare him to or reasons why he shouldn't perform the way some here want him to, but I'm not at liberty to say those reasons on this board.
 
Cinnamon234 said:
I agree. See, I don't mind if he uses a backing track and at least attempts to sing live in some parts. That's fine 'cause I understand it's a lot of hard work and singing every night takes a toll on your voice, but I just am not seeing the reason for lip synching nearly entire whole shows, especialy ballads. I hope that if Michael performs again in the future that he actually sings LIVE. He cannot afford to be lip synching all the time like he's been doing for years now, especially not at this stage in his career. How many credible artists his age do you see lip synching anyway? Michael is not Britney, Rihanna or someone. He is from the old school where you had to be talented to make it and couldn't rely on lip synching and other gimmicks that many artists of today do and he knows this so I don't know why he does it. Mike really needs to get back to singing live if he ever does perform again anytime soon.
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I think sometimes Michael forgets that he's part of the Motown sound/history books half the time. As for people his age lip syncing, not much.

There WAS a point in Michael's career where he was a SANGER and not a DANCER. The minute he became a DANCER, singing was secondary where before it was one and the same.
 
People his age don't dance much either. Not like he does anyway. Cut him some slack I say. Michael's always been a dancer, from the time he was a little kid. He's always done both. Motown tried to kill his dancing, but you can't surpress that kind of talent.
 
wannabestartinsomthin21 said:
Well, Michael's doctors advised him not to even go on tour during "History" because he could have destroyed his voice, but he did anyway, just to please the fans. And while you may not find it enjoyable to watch, in my view, the most naturally gifted dancer in history dance on stage for two hours, I and millions of other people would disagree, as they had no issue going to see him and loving every second of it either. You can be embarrassed for him all you want, but live vocals aren't what makes a great performer, it's how the performer emotes and captavates an audience, and how they work the stage. And whether Michael is singing live or not, he does that better then anyone in the world. And I brought up the point of you trying to sing and dance live for any period of time longer then a minute to see how hard it really is, so that maybe next time, you won't judge Michael so harshly on the issue. He isn't superhuman. He's just exceptionally gifted. Like he once said, don't judge another man until you've walked in his shoes.
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No one said he was, but I really think the only people who have no problem with Michael lip synching entire shows are die-hard fans such as yourself who never seem to disagree with anything he does anyway. No offense, but I just feel that you will defend Michael no matter what so it's hard sometimes to take opinions from fanatics seriously because you know they'll defend and make excuses for him no matter what. Now I am a die hard fan myself obviously, but I don't have a problem saying when I don't like something and I don't like the lip synching. Whether anyone wants to admit it or not, it HAS done damage to his repuation as an entertainer.

Like I said before, leave lip syncing to people like Britney Spears, but talented, credible artists especially at Michael's age do not lip synch. Anyway, Michael looked bored, tired and sick for most of the "History" tour. I wasn't captivated watching him looking drained, tired and lip synching for almost entire shows. It was by far the worst tour he's ever done. It did not look like he was enjoying himself and as a viewer I picked up on that. Fine if you and others enjoy watching him lip synch though, but I don't and will continue to say so. I don't pay $100+ or whatever it is on tickets to see an artist lip synch almost the entire time. He should at least attempt to sing live, no matter how it sounds. Anything is better than lip synching, but if he can't cut it on stage anymore, I don't think he should bother anymore. It's just sad for me to see him as a shadow of his former self. I wish he'd focus less on his dancing, but I doubt that'll happen.....
 
Well it's fine for you to express your opinion. I'm not a fantatic who agrees with everything he does. I just don't find any reason to highlight his faults. The media does enough of that and it depresses people when it's constantly harped on, especially when they come to a dicussion forum so that they can have a place to talk about what's not wrong with Michael because all they ever hear is what is. But anyway, that's another discussion. As a performer, I find nothing to fault Michael on though. And I mean that. He WAS sick for a large portion of the History tour and at times it showd. It was also probably his age. He was performing back to back, every other night, in a different country, dancing for several hours at a time. He was 38, 39 years old. That's passed ones physical prime. People are too harsh on him. He's trying to please everybody and that's something no one here seems to understand. Like I said, if he didn't dance, you'd have the same amount of people bitching and moaning about that too. He's equally talented as a singer and as a dancer, and it's one or the other with him.
 


Mike doesn't really sing live until 4:23 and he sounds out-of-breath and rusty. For the rest of the performance, it's all dance. But that's what he wants to do I guess, lol.
 
OK, let's look at this Logically:

Dangerous Tour

Will You Be There: No Dancing, No LIVE Singing
Heal The World - No Dancing, No LIVE Singing

HIStory Tour

Stranger In Moscow - No Dancing (while he's singing), No LIVE Singing
You Are Not Alone - No Dancing, No LIVE Singing
Come Together/DS - No Dancing (unless you think otherwise), No LIVE Singing
Earth Song - No Dancing, No LIVE Singing
Heal The World - No Dancing, No LIVE Singing
HIStory - No Dancing, No LIVE Singing

Of course, there's the exception of the last few minutes of Improvisation with the likes of Man In The Mirror, You Are Not Alone and Heal The World

My Overall Opinion: MJ's Just Lazy. But then, you'll still get a few fans who will bend-over-backwards to defend the guy in any given situation :)

Oh, and as for Laryngitis, it's Amazing how THAT doesn't stop him from singing Wanna Be and the Jackson Medley absolutely LIVE in all Tours.

I'm still surprised he managed a few lines of We Are The World at the 2006 World Music Awards.
 
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Well that's why. One or the other, lol. He can't keep it up like he used to and still dance as hard, that's all. Some people want to hear him sing, some people want to see him dance, most people want both, but he can only do so much and he's not really comparable to other performers his age because Stevie Wonder isn't going to jump up and start girating around the stage. He sits at the piano. Mick Jagger moves a lot, but again, it isn't structured dancing, and thus takes not even half the concentration or energy, etc... You know. Michael's a song and dance man, he isn't just one, he's both. And he tries to acomodate for everyone.

Michael's not lazy, he's just a perfectionist and he was sick during both those tours. I'm using both excuses because both excuses are real and legit. See, if Michael was really lazy he could have just said no to a tour all together. It's kinda silly to call someone who's been working since they wer EIGHT (Timmy) lazy.
 
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