The unforgivable sin

Why do people 'lip sync'/'mime'? Why do some South African musicians think that it is OKAY to 'lip sync'? Why do you want to mime your way through a performance? Why must you waste our time? Why even bother showing up when we can just play the CD? There is nothing more pathetic and embarrassing than an artists miming their songs at a 'live' show... NOTHING!!!

Okay, so I know you're wondering what has brought this on. Well, I was watching 'Strictly come dancing' re-runs tonight (yes I'm unexciting, but that is SOO not the point) and there was this new hip hop artists who came on. Now... There is always a band and singers on this show, so a live performance would not have been asking for much. They have two singers who actually sing live every episode. But, not 'brother man' he decided that he was going to show up and 'mime' his song.

Am I the only one who thinks that is embarrassing? I would rather die than do that. Call me a snob, but I want to perform live. Nobody wants to hear the song sound exactly like it does on the CD, otherwise they wouldn't show up for the LIVE PERFORMANCE!!!

A few months ago I had a very interesting conversation with Lira and I asked her how she feels about people 'miming'. I was very relieved when she said that she does not mime. She would rather sing live on TV even if the final mix does not sound that great. I can totally respect that. I was highly impressed with that. Surely the people listening appreciated the fact that you are singing for them at that very moment and not pretending to.

I hate people that do not sing 'live'. If you are not going to sing 'live' don't do it at all. Just stay home. I'm not sure how it works everywhere else in the world, but I know that here at home too many people are doing it. Please don;t get me wrong. I'm not saying ALL South African acts 'lip synch', cause that would be a lie. I have seen some pretty good live perfomances, but it's mainly the guys who appear on TV shows etc. I am also not talking about cases where people have hectic dance routines and would never be able to sing and dance.

Tell me, does it bother you when singers don't do the 'live' thing or are you generally happy just to see your favourite artist on TV/stage? I would really like to know how you feel.

Okay that it from me :)