Lip-synching during stage performances does not bother me. In fact, I sometimes prefer it. I know this is likely a minority opinion. Maybe it’s because I grew up on MTV and also watched shows like “American Bandstand,” “Soul Train,” and British music show “Top of the Pops.”
The shows above all featured “live” performances by pop acts, but everyone knew they were lip-synching. Many acts also “played” their instruments on stage without the instruments being plugged into the amps on display, and none of the amps were connected to any power sources. The audiences heard the track exactly as they would have on the radio and on MTV, and they liked it that way.
For K-pop idol groups, they are expected to sing while performing complex choreographies. This is far harder than singing while playing an instrument on stage. Personally, I could do a mediocre job on the latter, but the former would be unimaginable.
Even for idols who are in peak physical condition, controlling one’s breathing while dancing and singing is unbelievably difficult. Why not pretend that their voices are at their optimal pitch and tone while watching their dance performances? This can be done with a vocal track. They already must dance live, so why do they need to sing live as well? I prefer hearing notes that are pitch-perfect and singing with layered vocals and a lovely reverb. So what if these sounds come courtesy of software programs like Cubase? After all, this is what we hear in the recording or when we watch the music video or see their performances on music programs.
Truth be told, K-pop performances by idol groups, even those that are “live,” do not happen without some type of tracks being played. These can be AR (all recorded), MR (music recorded), Live AR (all recorded with breathing added to make it sound live), Live MR (live singing along with the original track), and many other combinations. From my reading of K-pop fan comments, it seems that most K-pop fans prefer the Live MR, which is fine with me too.
One exception to the use of tracks at a K-pop concert is the JYP concert I attended in New York. He clearly stated that he had a live band with live backup singers and that he was not using any backing tracks. I believe him because I could see everything I heard. He had lost his voice that evening and had difficulty singing. While he deserves kudos for putting on such a great performance, personally I would have enjoyed hearing a layer of recorded tracks to help with his voice that evening. By no means, does this mean that he is not a fantastic singer and dancer -- but, he is human and gets sick sometimes.
Even for a live performance, there are many sound engineers, stage managers, lighting experts, set designers and other professionals who are assisting the performers. There is massive equipment required for a concert. The notion that the performers on stage are somehow the only people involved with the concert that one watches is naive and ludicrous. They are already assisted by all types of technology, including vocal tracks, so why do we require that they sing completely or partly “live”? I honestly don’t even know what that means.
In the aforementioned UK show, “Top of the Pops,” the New Wave synth group New Order performed with live vocals and instruments. New Order performed “Blue Monday” live in 1983. It’s a great song, but because they had to focus so hard on operating their synthesizers while singing, the performance is a bit painful to watch. Other groups had fun with the fact that they had to mime their songs.
On the same show in 1979, Squeeze performed “Up the Junction,” and all of the band members switched instruments. Guitarist Glenn Tilbrook was on the drums while keyboardist Jools Holland mimed a performance on the guitar. In 1991, “Top of the Pops” changed the rules so that vocals could be sung live over a backing track. For some, this wasn't enough: Asked to mime their instruments, Nirvana’s frontman Kurt Cobain sang “Smells Like Teen Spirit” deliberately out of tune, while the other members wildly swung their instruments at different points in the song.
Articles about lip-syncing in K-pop often point to fans’ disappointment in its use. Just last week, an article in The Korea Herald pointed to the controversy behind lip-syncing in K-pop. It’s clear that many K-pop idols feel immense pressure to sing live. I think this is in part because the general public are suspicious of their singing abilities. Still, even the best singer would have trouble staying in tune while dancing.
Ultimately, the full experience of a K-pop idol group concert requires a suspension of disbelief. It is a fantasy world where the idols have perfect skin and outfits. They gaze lovingly into the eyes of the fans. Despite their performance, their hair stays put. Finally, even while they are jumping around the stage performing difficult choreographies, their live singing sounds just like the recording. Once you leave the concert, you realize it’s not based in reality. Entertainment is an artificially-constructed experience, so why not enjoy it for what it is.
Grace Kao
Grace Kao is an IBM professor of sociology and professor of ethnicity, race and migration at Yale University. The views expressed here are the writer’s own. -- Ed.
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