This doesn’t really have anything to do with the Super Bowl halftime show, except in the sense that it does, although it’s about the non-nippled part of the show. That is, the lip-synching.
“What lip-synching?” is the proper response from the music industry, the wrong thing to say to a person who just downloaded the “clean” version of “Hot in Herre” the night before the game, and then heard it reproduced, note for note, smudgy edit for smudgy edit, during the halftime show.
Anyway, the NYT (you’ll have to be registered to click that link through) gives us a pretty good overview of the situation, with this interesting passage:
Consider the Super Bowl halftime show. Last year, outraged viewers accused Shania Twain of lip-synching her performance (she sang; the instrumentals were canned). But these purists missed a far more intriguing development. According to Paul Liszewski, the project manager for the broadcast’s audio operations, one performer’s vocals � Mr. Liszewski wouldn’t say whose � were electronically altered, in real time, to correct off-key notes just as they were coming out of the singer’s mouth.
You don’t say!
Dan McAfee said on February 4, 2004 at 9:59 am
I remember an interview with Whitney Houston after she sang the anthem after the first gulf war. She said the producers would not allow a live performance because they were worried about audio glitches, so she just sang along with taped self.
I thought Beyonce did fine, much better than I expected.
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Marci said on February 4, 2004 at 12:36 pm
See? With help of a little technology I, too, can be the next American Idol.
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alex said on February 4, 2004 at 2:11 pm
This calls to mind the one time I saw karaoke where every performer seemed to be of stellar quality�in West Hollywood. Dunno if they’ve got better equipment out there, or just more showbiz sluts per capita. In the Fort, you’re lucky to see one person in an entire evening who can carry a tune.
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Nance said on February 4, 2004 at 2:52 pm
I found it interesting because it raises the obvious question: Do you want to see Madonna/Britney/Beyonce zipping through those aerobic dance numbers, or do you want to hear them sing? You can’t have both. Traditionally, the chorus in a Broadway musical sings the back-up and does the fancy hoofin’, while the star sings the lead an just shuffles around a bit, at least while they’re singing.
“You can’t sing while you’re hanging upside down,” someone said in that story. Word.
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