Latest on MJJC

Billie jean Kansas City

filmandmusic

Proud Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2021
Messages
5,358
Points
113
So I decided to watch Michael’s first ever live performance of billie jean (with actual vocals in Kansas) and it barely seems rehearsed which I love. He even has has to ask for his hat again for the final part (2.10) of the performance because he presumably doesn’t know where it is or he needs to remind the crew that he will need it again. The singing also seems off especially early on but who cares, it is live!
Also Love the high squeal and whoooh sound he makes right before 4.38 (it is also on the extended studio version). At 4.38 he randomly starts dancing which is called cringe by one of the commenters but I totally loved the laid back vibe of it, too bad it was shot up close. The ending is completely rushed, he even seems to forget how to do the proper circle glide so he does the embryonic version he also showed off rehearsing at home. Finally he does not throw his hat in the crowd. Yet that pose to end the song, back to the crowd, head lifted to the sky looks damn iconic. I love it, all of it 😃
It all seems to have been we’ll see how it goes and lets make the best off it.

Let’s be real performing billie jean completely live is almost impossible
 
filmandmusic said:
So I decided to watch Michael’s first ever live performance of billie jean (with actual vocals in Kansas) and it barely seems rehearsed which I love. He even has has to ask for his hat again for the final part (2.10) of the performance because he presumably doesn’t know where it is or he needs to remind the crew that he will need it again. The singing also seems off especially early on but who cares, it is live!
Also Love the high squeal and whoooh sound he makes right before 4.38 (it is also on the extended studio version). At 4.38 he randomly starts dancing which is called cringe by one of the commenters but I totally loved the laid back vibe of it, too bad it was shot up close. The ending is completely rushed, he even seems to forget how to do the proper circle glide so he does the embryonic version he also showed off rehearsing at home. Finally he does not throw his hat in the crowd. Yet that pose to end the song, back to the crowd, head lifted to the sky looks damn iconic. I love it, all of it 😃
It all seems to have been we’ll see how it goes and lets make the best off it.

Let’s be real performing billie jean completely live is almost impossible
Click to expand...
But his first Billie Jean was in 1983... You made a mistake, pal?
 
Right, The first one ever was at the Mowtown 25th, and it was flawless 🤩. Here he sounds tired and off beat.

PS: another reason why I don't mind him lip syncing at concerts at all 🥳😈👻
 
Live performance is what I said, everything that is mimed is not a live performance. What did you all think, that I was not aware of Motown 25 ? 🤣
What’s more is that I did not intend this thread to be about miming vs live vocals. I want to point out how shoddy this entire performance is but still very cool.

I don’t mind my threads to derail into nonsense but this time I have to set the record straight. This thread is about this performance or other Victory tour performances and I will not allow this to turn into a live vs lip sync debate (or should I say war). If this is what it becomes just close the thread already…
 
Hiker said:
Right, The first one ever was at the Mowtown 25th, and it was flawless 🤩. Here he sounds tired and off beat.

PS: another reason why I don't mind him lip syncing at concerts at all 🥳😈👻
Click to expand...
Hell naw!

Give me raw , spontaneous vocals every day of the week over the same boring album vocal.

Whe I go to a concert, I want to hear LIVE singing. The energy is often lost when lip syncing.

If he was lip syncing to new pre-recorded vocals u could almost accept it. The off the wall medley is a great example as to why it was a disgrace. Miming to the same tracks he made when he was like 21 at almost 40 was unacceptable.
 
@mjfanatic777 said:
I don’t know why so many people hate that Michael lip synced on his tours, I mean he is dancing a lot and singing and dancing at the same time is very hardworking
Click to expand...
In the 90s it doesn't bother me as much and for award shows I think it's just about right. The 80s are totally different. He was in his prime. When he lip-synced tracks he just recorded I thought it looked good and sounded good, but singing it in the moment was its own great thing as well.

Beat It in the early 80s sounds insane.

 
But it's definitely a "live" performance lip-synced or not. He's singing, even when you can't hear him. He's "alive", and it's in the moment. Not like a pre recorded tape performance, which, idk, maybe he would've eventually started to do at any rate.
 
Live vocals and a band behind The Jacksons would've really set it off.....I wish he would've performed Billie Jean live since he was already singing live during the J5 medley
 
I'm not gonna turn this into a lip sync vs live thing, but I will say, if he sang live while his voice was rough, we'd probably have a different set of complaints. But obviously there was a certain amount of times people would argue it's not necessary, and that's a different variable. All I'm saying is MJ fans do expect a certain standard, whether they realize it or not. And they definitely notice the difference still.

But anyway, this Kansas Show is quite cool. I think it'd be cool to hear MJ sing BJ early, maybe even first, so he'd have all his stamina, instead of 2 and a half hours in. Cause he still sounds quite great, even when his stamina is low. It's just that, low stamina. And again, mic quality could be better. But it was really, alright.
 
Well, I love Michael's dancing from 4m 38s - 4m 50s. That and the bass at the start - fabulous! :D
 
analogue said:
It's an iconic performance, but I'm just gonna come out and say it. Billie Jean at Motown 25 is overrated
Click to expand...
It has a huge significance beyond just been another performance by Michael. If I am not mistaken, this was the first time he performed the moonwalk + spin + toe stand move.
 
Hiker said:
It has a huge significance beyond just been another performance by Michael. If I am not mistaken, this was the first time he performed the moonwalk + spin + toe stand move.
Click to expand...
Yes yes, we know, still overrated.
 
Hiker said:
It has a huge significance beyond just been another performance by Michael. If I am not mistaken, this was the first time he performed the moonwalk + spin + toe stand move.
Click to expand...
Toe stand was also done on the DSTYGE live performances, at least one time anyway
 
It is an interesting performance, you can almost feel the nervous energy through the screen. His voice and agility are great.

I don't know what it is but I really think his vocals improved in 87 compared to 84. He sounds almost more polished and more rehearsed.

As for his performance, even though it might come across as routine you can see how much he mastered his craft by 87. Mike knew what the audience wanted to see and how they should experience it.

At times on the Victory Tour, it's almost like they're not aware they're performing in front of a crowd, the amount of the times they have their back to the audience and when they're goofing around with the sunglasses during Beat It too kind of makes me cringe
 
analogue said:
It's an iconic performance, but I'm just gonna come out and say it. Billie Jean at Motown 25 is overrated
Click to expand...
Well that's just not true at all.
NeoGardiV8 said:
Yes yes, we know, still overrated.
Click to expand...
When you watch it in its context at Motown 25 it is rated exactly as high as it deserves to be. He stole the whole night and no one amazed the entire crowd like he did.

Maybe in the MJ "canon" he surpassed it but I'm not talking about that.
 
Mister_Jay_Tee said:
Well that's just not true at all.

When you watch it in its context at Motown 25 it is rated exactly as high as it deserves to be. He stole the whole night and no one amazed the entire crowd like he did.

Maybe in the MJ "canon" he surpassed it but I'm not talking about that.
Click to expand...
Yeah, i get it, same way Thriller is not overrated due to the impact it had on pop culture and MJ's rise into stardom, but i don't really care, both are overrated, in the MJ "canon" as you said, which I AM talking about :p
 
NeoGardiV8 said:
Yeah, i get it, same way Thriller is not overrated due to the impact it had on pop culture and MJ's rise into stardom, but i don't really care, both are overrated, in the MJ "canon" as you said, which I AM talking about :p
Click to expand...
Is this our first disagreement 🥹🙈
 
analogue said:
It's an iconic performance, but I'm just gonna come out and say it. Billie Jean at Motown 25 is overrated
Click to expand...
I guess you had to be there. M25 was broadcast in the US in May, quite a while after the live show. In the UK it was broadcast even later than that but it still had a massive impact. Michael presenting himself to the world as a solo artist, it had way more impact than the OTW videos, imo. For me, it's not even about the moonwalk or the spin or the toe stand. It's about Michael using his body and his moves to tell a story. I don't think he'd done it like that before.
 
'Billie Jean' might be the more iconic performance of Motown 25 but I have to admit the performance with The Jacksons was much better..flawless!!

Not only was 'BJ' lip-synced, his toe stand also did not work out well; the moonwalk and imagery made it iconic imo

BTW. Live vocals are highy underrated; even when they sound bad they create a connection between humans, without 'em you basically zone out
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top