Leaving aside the discusions about were G4 or any other act miming, What are your thoughts on miming?

Personally, I think that there is no place for miming EVER. If you are paid to perform as a singer, that means you should sing. If you are paid to be a shop dummy, then by all means you may mime.

If I wanted to watch miming on tv or at a concert, I would pay to see Marcel Marceau. Then again - no I wouldn't - he's crap too.

Thoughts?

Well I think as a guest on a TV programme its acceptable
BUT NEVER at a concert

You are right of course Munta, and it goes on all too often with so called singers now I suppose there are times when it doesn't hurt to use mime, if they don't want to let their public down, but are suffering with a sore throat or something, then at least they still get to perform for their fans.

You wouldn't put up with faked dancing from Micheal Flatley (come on now - no nasty comments ). So why put up with faked singing?

LOL. I can visualise it know. Michael Flately walking on to the stage with a pair of prosthetic legs a wiggling them about in a dancing motion. God what entertainment that would be - I'd pay good money to watch that!

no but then they would not have to set up a sound system for that now would they

In that case, just play a video. They shouldn't have to pretend. It does nothing for me.

Much like a, ahem, "adult" film. It should be real, other wise it does nothing for me

My ideas are if they can sing they sing, if the can not they do not, meaning they is crap so they mime, i hates it, makes me sic, i do not wanna pays for miming and at concerts what a rip off, and on the tv well they can sing but many do not, excuses excuses, i wud make em all sing and then we wud know how bad some of these dudes are as some are CRAP like that bunton woman, sheer trollop and she can not sing either.
well that is me if yer thinks its okay on tv then why not let all them entering the next x factor mime then, what the difference, there aint one they should ALL be forced to sing live. My god thered be a lot out of jobs like quick when peeps realised they can not sing a bleedin note in tune.

PM

Tabby will make it, he CAN sing live

I agree wholeheartedly(sp)!

Please leave comments about individuals on X-Factor miming or not out of this thread. I do not wish this to get into another slanging match.

Thanks you

yip I'll go with that

If a TV appearance is to promote a particular record then maybe its acceptable to mime since they are showcasing the product they want you to buy. I imagine that it would be difficult to reproduce the exact sound in a live setting.

If the TV appearance is to promote a singer/group then I think they should sing live as that is what you are hopefully going to get if you pay to see them perform.

Miming in a live concert performance is essentially cheating the people who have paid to hear them. They could have stayed home and watched videos instead.

Isn't the promotion of a single also promoting the group/singer. Either way, if they wish to promote a single, then play us the video.

In general, places like GMTV (for example) ask acts to mime, as they do not have the full equipment/setup for them to perform live, so they are given no choice in the matter. Miming on a show like Top of the Pops however, when it is fully set up for a live show, is not very good. Then again, since TotP started showing real bands, people stopped watching it, so they might aswell put the poppets back on miming.

If someone is miming at a concert, that is poor.

But to be honest, only plastic acts like the ones from the talent shows will end up miming, as real bands/artists just don't have to.

There is never ever, ever an excuse for miming. It is the lowest form of bastardization of an already wounded and pathetic popular music industry. If a show doesn't have the facilities to put on a live act, then they shouldn't put on that act and have them "pretend" at all - show a video or something. But it's what I've come to expect - since a decent amount of modern "pop" acts can't sing without being pitch-shifted to hell and back by a studio engineer.

Anyone miming at a concert is contemptible beyond words - full refunds could probably legitimately be requested. Along with fruit throwing.

I don't agree....many shows have singers on for interview but don't have the facilities to allow live performance. I think the majority of the public expect to see a singer 'perform' if they appear on that sort of show as well as talk and so they are obliged to mime or not appear at all.
In the world as it is (not perhaps how we would like it to be) acceptance of those conditions in order to make an appearance is an essential part of the career of most pop singers. Perhaps those with a more specific targetted audience can get away just with live gigs...but for most that simply doesn't pay the bills.

Yep - I expect them to perform.

Miming is not performing. It is standing there and opening your mouth. It makes mugs out of all of us.

Funny, Will Young comes from a talent show and he always sings live, even on interview shows like GMTV. It makes it interesting for the fan to get a slightly different version each time.

Using the same 'Talent show' theme...David Sneddon insisted he would only ever sing live and by all accounts had something of a battle to try and do so.

I suspect that Will is such a draw for chat shows that they pull out the stops to get him, but most artistes aren't so lucky and have to fall in with what is asked of them.

But that expectation has only been brought about, or exacerbated by the habit of having these "singers" mime on such shows in the past.

Setting up the facilities to have a vocalist, or even a full group perform live is incredibly easy - there is very little involved. The implication that a show "doesn't have the facilities" to have a performer live - especially just a vocal group - is ludicrous - and a lie put forward by TV producers who want to reduce risk of bad singers and make life easy for themselves - mics, amp mixing desk, sound man - that's all that's needed. I've played thousand seater venues with kit that (aside from the PA) would fit in the back of my car.

I don't blame the performers (normally) since they are over a barrel with this one - but in no other entertainment industry would the public tolerate someone pretending to do their job. Either do it - or don't.

Where there is a culture that it is expected, it has been perpetuated by the producers of TV and music alike by shoving talentless hacks out with a pretty face and a decent dance routine, pretending to be singers. From that, the godawul habit of miming has become endemic in lowbrow and childrens TV.

Like the Murpheys, I'm not bitter.

I was giving a generalisation. I think it's safe to say, a very talented guy like Will Young is in the minority when looking at these shows.

And whoever gave the example of David Sneddon......... . Insisted he will always sing live? That why no-one listens to him anymore, or is that because he was Butlins material?

And whether setting up the studios for a live performance is easy or not, many shows just do not do this. They tell the performers tyhey will have to mime, they mime, everyone gets on with their lives.

Agreed the miming epidemic is the fault of lazy TV producers....I suppose in a way though whether or not the singers concerned are doing their job or not depends on what you see their job as. Is their job not more about 3 things, 1. recording and producing CDs, 2. performing live gigs and 3. promoting themselves and their music.
As I see it, TV appearances are fulfilling the third requirement of the job, as long as they alo carry out the first 2 tht seems fair enough to me. I would prefer them to sing live on TV, but if they aren't allowed to (even as a result of lazy TV executives), then they are still 'doing their job'. Only if they refused to do the promotion asked of them would they be not doing their job.

whether you like him or not, that isn't the point, the point is he didn't have the clout that Will Young has to dictate the terms of his TV apperances.

Well, that depends on perspective. I would consider the job of a singer to be "singing". The rest is all a part of the machine.

Should be noted that miming can be damaging for a career. A couple of years ago Shania Twain mimed at the Superbowl halftime show, followed by a very live No Doubt. Can we guess what happened to record sales of both acts immediately afterwards?

I see what your saying, but your right, I didn't see that point.

You need the talent and at least some history to dictate, and Will now has both. I don't think 'El Divo' (I think this thread eminates from Jonathon fans in a mood because they didn't win, and El Divo are selling albums) need to go around demanding to sing live, as they have nothing to prove. I'm not keen on their music, but there is no doubt they are very talented.

And the Sneddon kid sucked ass, just on a lighter, more definitive side of things.