# Does Madonna lip sync in her "live" stage performances? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 5, 2004, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-madonna-lip-sync-in-her-live-stage-performances/267620 "2004-10-05T10:53:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-madonna-lip-sync-in-her-live-stage-performances/267620/1 "2004-10-05T10:53:16Z")
Does she? ---
**Author:** ![RumMunkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@RumMunkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RumMunkey)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-madonna-lip-sync-in-her-live-stage-performances/267620/2 "2004-10-05T11:11:39Z")
Personally, I don’t see how any performer who dances so much can possibly be singing too; especially at a professional level. That goes for Madonna, Britney, Janet Jackson, and their clones. I don’t have a cite, but I seem to remember reading somewhere earlier this year that just about all of these artists lip-synch their live performances. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-madonna-lip-sync-in-her-live-stage-performances/267620/3 "2004-10-05T11:25:23Z")
I believe Madonna uses prerecorded backing vocals, but she does indeed sing. If you watch one of her live videos, you can tell the songs are quite different from the studio versions. ---
**Author:** ![paulberserker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@paulberserker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulberserker)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-madonna-lip-sync-in-her-live-stage-performances/267620/4 "2004-10-05T11:33:59Z")
She sings live but Niki Haris and Donna Delory don’t? Doesn’t seem right, although some of the fan reviews seem to bear this out. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-madonna-lip-sync-in-her-live-stage-performances/267620/5 "2004-10-05T11:46:04Z")
I read a review in Rolling Stone about ten years ago that criticized one of Madonna’s performances for its obvious lip-synching (the review was titled _Like a Concert_ – heh-heh). I would imagine it’s a tempting thing to do if your voice isn’t all there from a cold or overuse. ---
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-madonna-lip-sync-in-her-live-stage-performances/267620/6 "2004-10-05T16:06:08Z")
To answer all of your Madonna questions. > [@paulberserker](#): > > She sings live but Niki Haris and Donna Delory don’t? Doesn’t seem right, although some of the fan reviews seem to bear this out. No, that’s not what “backing vocals” is, in this context (Also, Niki Harris wasn’t on this tour. The fan rumours are that she ate too much bacon. She was replaced by the excellent Siedah Garrett). What the term refers to is a mirror track that, normally, is being sung over by Madonna, but if for some reason she can’t keep going, continues to play to cover up the absence of singing by her. You can catch it a few times in the _Drowned World Tour_ if you’re listening. Madonna has never lip-synched an entire concert tour performance. Even on tours when she _did_ lip-synch a whole song (which she hasn’t done since _The Girlie Show_), that was reserved for numbers that involved a lot of dancing. Not even _Blond Ambition_’s _Express Yourself_, which has very involved choreography, was wholly lip-synched. You can tell that very clearly if you watch _Truth Or Dare_. It’s also likely that if Madonna starts having serious throat problems, she may lip-synch more difficult songs and sing others live. To sum up: Yes, Madonna sometimes lip-synchs, but not as often as people think she has. No, she has never lip-synched an entire concert tour performance. Yes, she has lip-synched television performances, such as _Top Of The Pops_ and probably also _Rosie_ (except for when she was parodying _Evita_. That was funny). Anyone who listens to her albums, then hears her live, can tell the difference. In the end, the people who dropped $300 samoleans to buy tickets don’t care. She’s not a performer who sits on a stool her whole show. There is so much more to the show than just her singing, it’s very theatrical. Love, kfl, Who has The Straight Dope on Madonna. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-madonna-lip-sync-in-her-live-stage-performances/267620/7 "2004-10-05T16:15:55Z")
A friend of mine recently went to see Madge at Slane Castle here in Ireland. He was in the VIP area and so had a very good view. He said there was no doubt that she was miming some of the time. ---
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-madonna-lip-sync-in-her-live-stage-performances/267620/8 "2004-10-05T16:20:47Z")
Oh yeah. A lot of _Vogue_ was mimed during this tour. Don’t blame her though, that song is in a weird key, it’s hard to sing live, and nearly impossible to make it sound good without filters. She was probably doing us a favour by miming it! ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-madonna-lip-sync-in-her-live-stage-performances/267620/9 "2004-10-05T16:28:23Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > I believe Madonna uses prerecorded backing vocals, but she does indeed sing. If you watch one of her live videos, you can tell the songs are quite different from the studio versions. Of course, they could simply be different recordings than the studio versions. ---
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-madonna-lip-sync-in-her-live-stage-performances/267620/10 "2004-10-05T16:54:00Z")
Except that they sound different in every city. There have also been times in the concerts where she has forgotten the words, giggled, then continued, or fallen down, giggled then continued… once she got dizzy so she lay down on the stage and told everyone how dizzy and tired she was. None of these times did her “singing” continue to play while she was obviously not singing (see: Milli Vanilli). But, I guess if people want to believe something bad about someone, they’re going to believe it no matter what the evidence is. Human nature is like that. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-madonna-lip-sync-in-her-live-stage-performances/267620/11 "2004-10-05T16:59:44Z")
I truly couldn’t care less if she really sings or not, I was just pointing out that logically, the fact that she sounded different from the album does not mean it’s live. I’d have to care before I “wanted to believe something bad” about her. If you say she really sings, fine, then she sings. ---
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-madonna-lip-sync-in-her-live-stage-performances/267620/12 "2004-10-05T17:16:08Z")
I’m sorry, **Revtim**. I was definitely unnecessarily snarky earlier. I was on the defensive, because I get sniped at a lot by the people on this board (and the Doper-types I know in real life). It just seems a little convoluted, that Madonna would take the time to lay down duplicate tracks of songs she’s already recorded, just to trick concertgoers into thinking she’s really singing. She has a family and a business to run; she does a lot of travelling for her work and she spends a lot of time exercising and on her spiritual practice. She just plain doesn’t have time to waste like that. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-madonna-lip-sync-in-her-live-stage-performances/267620/13 "2004-10-05T18:26:36Z")
> [@RumMunkey](#): > > Personally, I don’t see how any performer who dances so much can possibly be singing too; especially at a professional level. I don’t know that I’d call what Madonna does: “singing at a professional level”. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-madonna-lip-sync-in-her-live-stage-performances/267620/14 "2004-10-05T18:35:15Z")
> [@kung fu lola](#): > > I’m sorry, **Revtim**. I was definitely unnecessarily snarky earlier. I was on the defensive, because I get sniped at a lot by the people on this board (and the Doper-types I know in real life). > > It just seems a little convoluted, that Madonna would take the time to lay down duplicate tracks of songs she’s already recorded, just to trick concertgoers into thinking she’s really singing. > She has a family and a business to run; she does a lot of travelling for her work and she spends a lot of time exercising and on her spiritual practice. She just plain doesn’t have time to waste like that. Well, it’s not just a Madonna thing. Many (dare I say most, if not all) pop performers sing along with pre-recorded tracks a fair amount of the time. It’s the way they are able to give the incredible stage performances, both movement and vocal. It’s not to ‘trick’ people, and it’s not a criticism per se, it’s just the way things are done more often than not. There was a great article about lip-syncing in concerts in the NY Times this past February if anyone’s interested; the abstract is [here](http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0E13F7395C0C728CDDAB0894DC404482). ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-madonna-lip-sync-in-her-live-stage-performances/267620/15 "2004-10-05T18:51:12Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > There was a great article about lip-syncing in concerts in the NY Times this past February if anyone’s interested; the abstract is [here](http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0E13F7395C0C728CDDAB0894DC404482). The article is [here](http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/02/20/1077072833799.html?from=storyrhs&oneclick=true). ---
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-madonna-lip-sync-in-her-live-stage-performances/267620/16 "2004-10-05T19:07:17Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > Well, it’s not just a Madonna thing. Many (dare I say most, if not all) pop performers sing along with pre-recorded tracks a fair amount of the time. It’s the way they are able to give the incredible stage performances, both movement and vocal. It’s not to ‘trick’ people, and it’s not a criticism per se, it’s just the way things are done more often than not. There was a great article about lip-syncing in concerts in the NY Times this past February if anyone’s interested; the abstract is [here](http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0E13F7395C0C728CDDAB0894DC404482). It’s my understanding that backing tracks used in live shows are derived from the original recordings of the songs - not re-recorded versions. ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-madonna-lip-sync-in-her-live-stage-performances/267620/17 "2004-10-05T20:25:32Z")
> [@RumMunkey](#): > > Personally, I don’t see how any performer who dances so much can possibly be singing too Well, how does that explain Justin Timberlake? What he does is not dancing, it’s strutting and posing. Yet he still lip sync’s. I saw him on the Tonight Show several years ago, and it was an obvious lip sync. Along with the strutting and posing. And then I saw him on SNL, where it was obvious he was not lip synching. But his levels were set so far below those of the backup singers, you could barely make out his voice. And he _looked like_ he was playing the piano, but you never saw his hands. My theory is that he can’t sing, dance, or play. He’s all packaging and marketing. At least Madonna can sing, dance, write and choreograph… maybe she can’t do all of them at once all of the time, but at least she’s got some talent. But just to keep this in perspective, I once saw a female impersonator do a better job of lip synching _Vogue_ than Madonna. And he was sexier than Madonna, to boot. (And this was a guy who also played Dr. Frank N. Furter for a local Rocky Horror troupe.) ---
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-madonna-lip-sync-in-her-live-stage-performances/267620/18 "2004-10-05T23:07:09Z")
> [@blowero](#): > > I don’t know that I’d call what Madonna does: “singing at a professional level”. 😛 Sure gets paid enough for it, though.