Former American Idol contestant Justin Guarini caused some controversy earlier this week when he disclosed that when the Idol singers do their big group numbers, the singers are lip-synching. First the people at Idol said "the Idols don't lip-synch, period," but now they admit that it's true. I guess you always look silly when you publicly add the word "period" to a denial.
On what planet is this new, breaking news?
Can anyone who has watched American Idol for the past several years not have known this already? Probably the only thing weirder than this being shocking news to anyone is the fact that just the other day producers actually denied that the singers lip-synched their part during the group songs they do in almost every episode (usually singing about a car or something). All that moving around and breathing...what, viewers thought they were either in incredible shape or the tech people used really good filters?
This isn't a real controversy, of course. It's not as if the contestants are going all Milli Vanilli on us, lip-synching to songs that they didn't even sing in the first place. They're singing the songs on the recorded tracks themselves, just lip-synching to their own voices.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-26-2009 @ 3:12PM
Jimmy said...
The sad thing is, even lip-synched, the group songs are the worst part of the show every week.
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3-26-2009 @ 10:16PM
Jimmy said...
Tonight's group number was lip-synched AND pre-taped. And it was horrible.
3-26-2009 @ 3:27PM
Europa said...
You can say that again. :-/
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3-26-2009 @ 3:42PM
Zachary said...
Each Idol story that appears on TVS makes me wonder all the more why anybody would watch it.
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3-26-2009 @ 10:40PM
MCW said...
Sadly, it's like a freaking drug. As much hatred as one could harbor towards it, about the only thing that could put me over the edge is to tell me that the individual songs are pre-taped... even then, I don't know what's wrong with me.
The judges of this show are on uppers, the mentors offer no help to the contestants, but rather a pat on the back, the incentive to win is an offer at a recording contract and the opportunity to rush a CD out as fast as you possibly can while people still even remember your name (Justin Guarini, you still alive out there?), the show is intentionally dragged out to make 2 hours every day - while many shows struggle to get viewers even while creating original content to fit in a 1 hour timeslot up against a show that has no creativity.
3-26-2009 @ 3:56PM
Jason said...
I have given up on Idol once and for all. It's all a big cheese fest of pre-determined payola.
And as much as I like Simon, I'm so tired of the canned audience response to his comments. He's running out of ways to react. (It would be more interesting if he went Gallagher on them with random fruits when they started booing up.)
AI Reboot: Simon hosts/chairs. The other judges are three industry execs looking for a new singer/songwriter to sign a contract to their label. Every season, it's a different label/different judges. It's Simon's job to critique the performances initially, and the judges' opinions are finite and unquestionable. America still votes for their favorite. The winner is a combination of judges' critiques and voter results. And we never hear "This.........
.......................
....................................
.........................................................................is
American Idol" ever again.
Or anything resembling babbling fluff critiques from a has-been 80s singer.
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3-26-2009 @ 4:43PM
Nate said...
Nobody really cares that the group numbers are lip-synched because nobody cares about the group numbers anyway, they are a waste of everyones time, especially the contestants. Many former contestants have commented on how busy they are during the competition. They have to work on the group number, the weekly Ford commercial/video, who knows how many interviews and media events or obligations, trips like this weeks trip to visit Motown and other things that we are probably not aware of. And in the midst of all this activity, they are supposed to choose a song, rehearse it and prepare to sing it on live tv in front of a nationwide audience of millions. Is it any wonder that we have so many bad performances week in and week out? The contestants, the show itself and the audience would be better served if the contestants were allowed ample time to work on their songs.
For a show that is such a gigantic ratings hit and has so many fans and gets so much attention, AI oftens puts a very inferior product on our tv screens. The inane and pointless banter between Ryan and the judges, the constant nonsense between Paula and Simon, the boring and barely watchable group numbers, the shameless plugs of other shows on the same network where their stars are seated prominently in the audience so Ryan can waste more time yakking with them about nothing. I'm sure I could come up with another dozen or so examples,as could other posters, but you get my drift. The point is, I believe that AI is the huge success that it is in spite of the producers of the show, not because of them. The draw of this show, in my opinion, is the singing and the competition and that that is inherently interesting to the viewers. So, despite the clumsy structure of the show and the ham handed way it is presented, as well as the large amounts of time in any given show when nothing of consequence is going on, filler, really, the producers of AI cant seem to manage to screw it up enough that fans who really enjoy the show, like me, will throw up their hands and be done with it. It has always fascinated me that the parts of the show that I actually enjoy take up relatively little time, but I am nonetheless willing to wade through all the drek that surrounds it get to the good parts. Does anyone else out there feel this way also?
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3-27-2009 @ 7:16AM
callpegnow said...
Hey Nate, we all agree. It's watching the contestants actually sing and then seeing what happens that is the draw of the show for us. This is why we miss the previous"top 24" format -- that way the viewing audience gets a chance to see lots of contestants perform over several weeks. This year feels so disjointed -- the kids sing oncem then bang -- they're gone -- so many interesting and in some cases superior talents gone on the strength of one performance. Anyway my family is hooked, so we just switch the channel when the cheesey filler in on. And does anyone else think the Ford commercials are shorter and not as much fun as they used to be?
3-27-2009 @ 1:17PM
Debi said...
Well-said, Nate! I couldn't agree more. I am SO tired of watching Paul & Simon's silly antics week in and week out. I'm tired of watching Paula slapping at Simon like a kindergartner, interspersed with appearances where she looks like she is either drugged or high. And who the heck is Kara??? Now instead of watching just two 3-year-olds arguing, we get to watch three of them! But, like you, I love the good parts of the show and will continue to watch when I am home and TiVo when I am away.
3-26-2009 @ 6:48PM
JW said...
I'm not surprised. I have noticed this year how a few of the contestants seem to just smile and do their dance and occasionally move their mouth from time to time. Kind of funny that no one else has noticed until now.
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3-27-2009 @ 11:50AM
Ciara said...
haters suck! and yes im talking 2 u guys!would u like it if u give it ur best and ppl make fun of u for it? exactly! and fyi, i love american idol! oh, and jimmy, the group numbers r the best part of the show! and 1 more thing 4 jimmy,shut the freak up, cuz no one likes ur mean comments! and unlike u, i dont judge the contestants buy thier looks, gender, or if thier gay or straight!u ppl r why i think to myself , and say,"why r ppl so mean like that?being mean makes u ugly, so they must make freddie crouger look like a gorgeous swim suit model"!i love every one on american idol cuz im not hateful like u ppl!personaly, my faves are allison and adam
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3-27-2009 @ 2:25PM
Nate said...
Ciara,
Your anti-hater rant is the only hateful thing I see posted here. Also, would you like to buy a vowel?
To callpegnow,
I couldnt agree more about the Top 24 format being much better than the Top 36 we had this season. So many contestants come and go before they have a fair chance to make any impression on us. The whole structure of the 36 format is inefficient and cumbersome. It is illogical and has no flow or rhythm to it. They keep trying to tinker with the window dressing of the show, while what they should really be focusing on is making sure the contestants have the support and time that they need to have every opportunity to give the best performance they can. That is what is important, the singing.
Thanks to all for the comments.
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3-27-2009 @ 2:44PM
ryan said...
well i often wondered how they could learn all those songs and DANCE and do the Ford commercials and on top of all that practice for their performance. If they have to lip-sync, no big deal -- i didn't notice. They can't do it all and should be cut some slack.
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3-27-2009 @ 4:21PM
John Richmond said...
Stevie Wonder saying I love you "Barack OBama", Terrible lipsync, Grandpa Smokey Robinson singing " sultry -sexy, lay down with me lyrics" into the eyes of his granddaughter aged Josh Stone...weird weird Idol last night. As Simon would say - couldnt wait for it to end- LOL
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