Flashback Wednesdays

Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus, better known as Milli Vanilli, took the world by storm between 1989 and 1990 with their exotic good looks, stylish videos, and charismatic performances. Together the duo sold over 14 million albums and more than 30 million singles, and they also won three American Music Awards and a Grammy. With five top 10 singles (“Blame it on the Rain,” “Baby Don’t Forget My Number,” “Girl I’m Gonna Miss You,” “All or Nothing,” and “Girl You Know It’s True”) and an incredible fan base around the world, it appeared nothing could go wrong for Milli Vanilli. But then the unthinkable happen. Devastation in my 12 year old life.

It happened at a Milli Vanilli concert in July 1989 when the duo performed the song “Girl You Know It’s True.” A few music critics in the audience noticed the words from the singers’ mouths didn’t match the music they were hearing. At one point, the same line (“Girl, you know it’s –”) began repeating over and over again. Later, it was revealed that Milli Vanilli hadn’t really been singing live at all; instead, the group had been lip synching, when a mechanical glitch caused the recording to accidentally skip.

Afterwards, critics and fans began questioning the authenticity of Milli Vanilli’s talent, wondering whether Morvan and Pilatus had in fact sung any of their chart-topping records. At first the duo and their producer, Frank Farian, denied any foul play. But after continued widespread public speculation, Farian finally admitted that none of the vocals on the Milli Vanilli tracks belonged to Morvan and Pilatus. Instead, Farian had hired three studio singers to provide the voices, while Morvan and Pilatus had supplied the pretty public faces for the creation of Milli Vanilli.

The revelation of Milli Vanilli’s lip syncing scandal rocked the music industry to its core in the fall of 1990. As a result of the fallout, on November 16th the group was stripped of its Grammy for Best New Artist. Many Milli Vanilli fans were so outraged by the ruse that they accused the group of fraud and demanded refunds for the albums, tapes, CDs and concert tickets that they had purchased.

I remember hearing the announcement on the radio while I was out catching some rays. I couldn't believe that the hot duo had pulled something like this. But mostly I was sad to see their flame sizzle out. Their fame was just as much about their hotness as it was their singing.... right?

Were you a fan of Milli Vanilli?

information from Playback