For those who grew up in the 1990s, most are familiar with the rise and fall of Milli Vanilli. Pop music aficionados purchased the albums in droves and listened to songs like Blame It on the Rain and Girl You Know It's True on repeat. For several years, Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan rode the wave of fame with their catchy songs, good looks, and smooth dance moves. They were the ultimate pop duo package.
Unbeknownst to most, instead of singing their own songs, Pilatus and Morvan lip-synced their way to the top. And when the story broke that Milli Vanilli did not sing their own tracks, the scandal that followed the duo eventually brought an end to Pilatus and Morvan's careers. Yet critics believe there was more at play when it came to blacklisting Milli Vanilli for simply lip-syncing alone. And perhaps, Pilatus and Morvan were given too harsh a punishment by record executives as a result.
Rob Pilatus And Fab Morvan Really Could Sing
Pilatus and Morvan were discovered by music producer Frank Farian. The duo had the look and the charisma that Farian knew would make them a success. To their credit, Pilatus and Morvan could sing as well.
But because the sound of what would become Milli Vanilli did not match the vision in Farian's head, studio artists were hired to complete the tracks on the first album, which both Pilatus and Morvan claimed they were never comfortable with.
"When we got to the studio, 'Girl You Know It’s True' was just a demo and [Farian] asked us our opinion of it and if we could sing it and we said, 'Yeah, we could sing it,' Pilatus explained.
"And he said, ‘Oh beautiful, I believe it, but next week we have shows to do, so don’t worry, I’ll make you into a millionaire.'"
"Our producer tricked us," Morvan added. "We signed contracts as singers but were never allowed to contribute."
"We would ask Frank when are we going to be allowed to give some input and he would say, ‘Yeah, yeah, but right now we need you to go out and do promotion," Pilatus said. "'Of course, you’ll get to do it, just work with us.' That’s how he strung us along."
Because of this, Pilatus and Morvan were never given the opportunity to show that they could sing. In fact, the duo could "sing up to Pavarotti’s high C." But after the scandal broke that they were not the voices behind Milli Vanilli, none of that mattered. No one in the industry wanted to work with them.
Interestingly enough, Farian did not receive the same backlash as Pilatus and Morvan did. Instead, he went on to write and produce hits well into the late 1990s. And because of this, critics believe there is more to the story than what really came to light.
Milli Vanilli's PR Team Kept Lip Syncing Under Wraps For Months
While there were rumblings over the years that Morvan and Pilatus may not be singing all the tracks on the albums Milli Vanilli released, it was not until the pop stars were performing Girl You Know It's True in concert that this was witnessed firsthand.
Because this was before the advent of social media, the label's PR team was able to control the narrative.
During a 1989 concert, the track skipped when Pilatus and Morvan were performing Girl You Know It's True causing the phrase, Girl you know it's... to repeat. Instead of facing the allegations head-on that there was a track during the concert, the PR team chose to spin the narrative. It was strange, given that other pop performers used tracks while they were performing in front of an audience as well.
If lip syncing was not a rarity during the time that Milli Vanilli rose to fame and their record label was happy to cover up the fact that Pilatus and Morvan were lip syncing, then the punishment that the two received when it was uncovered that they were not singing was too harsh.
Winning A Grammy Was The Beginning Of The End Of Milli Vanilli's Career
Unlike the record label who was aware Morvan and Pilatus had been lip syncing since day one, the Recording Academy was not privy to this information when they were voting on who should win the Grammy for Best New Artist in 1990.
But when the news broke by none other than Fabian months after the award was given to Milli Vanilli that Pilatus and Morvan did not sing on the album, critics believe that those in the Recording Academy wanted retribution for having the wool pulled over their eyes and passing over other iconic artists. This is why it is believed that Milli Vanilli was not only blacklisted but became the first winners of a Grammy to have their award revoked despite having a best-selling album.
"I hope this revocation will make the industry think long and hard before anyone ever tries to pull something like this again," then-Recording Academy head Michael Greene stated.
What is interesting about this is that successful singers and bands had been lip-syncing their music and using studio artists for years when producing their albums. But perhaps it is because none had ever been as blatant as Milli Vanilli that is was seen as a "crime" that had been committed. The duo would never recover.
"Their crime was posing as vocalists on their recordings, when they didn’t actually sing. When they went on the road, they lip-synced on stage. And—if I can be blunt—their greatest transgression was making the people who vote on Grammy awards look foolish."
If this is truly why Milli Vanilli was canceled and had to give their Grammy back, then perhaps the music industry needs to take a look at those who put Pilatus and Morvan in the position they were put in and cast the blame elsewhere. Should the duo have come clean before things had gone too far? Yes. But given their naivety and not knowing how to navigate a situation that had snowballed out of control, admitting they were not the singers on their album would not have been easy to do.
With the use of auto-tune and technology today making those who cannot sing sound like they can, is there any real difference between that and what Milli Vanilli did over 30 years ago? Most would argue no.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErZ%2Bippeoe6S7zGiuoZmkYrGqsIymoKWkmWLDorrIpaOiZZSkeri%2BzqeeaA%3D%3D