Those that saw MJ on HIStory Tour

[MIST]

I don´t think it´s fair to compare MJ to other artists who always sing live
He was 5 years old when he began to sing official, it means he had done a lot of singing before History tour and I don´t think it´s strange if he had problems with his voice a period.
You can have problems with your throat for a long time.
2009 he had chronically inflammated lungs, I believe it´s from lupus and that it affected him in history tour too.

 

[L.T.D]

Wasn't Beat It sung live on the HIStory tour in Sweden one night?

HIStory Tour Sydney 1996. It appears as though all of Beat It is sung live. If not, then a good portion of it is live. Best thing is, he sounds awesome! There are two clips of Beat It in this video. The first clip shows Michael singing live on Beat It from the usual place. Then the second clip shows him sing live much earlier in the song than usual, before the guitar solo. I'd like to see this show one day.

 

[L.T.D]

and i say it believing he sung fully at those concerts.

I'm sorry I cant leave this. I dont want this to turn into an arguement again, and I apologize for calling you a name the other day.

But please explain to me simply how you can possibly think he was singing live fully on the HIStory Tour? Its a fact that about 80% of every concert was lip synched.

Again, I dont want this to turn into another arguement. I just want you to explain to me how you can possibly think he was singing live the whole time.

 

[Hess]

HIStory was almost entirely play-back.

Only WBSS and J5 medley was live. And then some few lines in the end of most songs.

 

[L.T.D]

HIStory was almost entirely play-back.

Only WBSS and J5 medley was live. And then some few lines in the end of most songs.

Yes. It is undeniable. This is the first time I have ever heard anyone on here say they think he sang live 100% on the HIStory Tour.

 

[Matt_MJ]

and i say it believing he sung fully at those concerts.

Absolutely ridiculous. How can you POSSIBLY think that?

 

[Graf]

HIStory was almost entirely play-back.

Only WBSS and J5 medley was live. And then some few lines in the end of most songs.

Not true, look at that Vid L.T.D. posted in Sydney, Unless you've seen/heard all 82 shows in high quality, then I don't think a statement like that has any merit at all, He sang more live on HIStory than people want to give credit IMO

Yes. It is undeniable. This is the first time I have ever heard anyone on here say they think he sang live 100% on the HIStory Tour.

Michael sang as much as he Physically could, he seemed to have some throat issues at the time. As someone said before, the man was singing since he was 5 years old and the Lupus could have affected his throat as well. There were shows that Michael did sing various songs live just like that one in Sydney you posted..There was 82 shows, and in those 82 shows he did sing live on Various songs and many occasions.

The tour probably could have been completely scrapped because of the throat issues, but it went on because Michael was a soldier.

this thread is going in circles... let it go already... let it go. HIStory tour was a great experience and we should be thankful that it happened. It ended up being his last tour. We should be grateful we have those memories..

Exactly

 

[L.T.D]

Michael sang as much as he Physically could, he seemed to have some throat issues at the time. As someone said before, the man was singing since he was 5 years old and the Lupus could have affected his throat as well. There were shows that Michael did sing various songs live just like that one in Sydney you posted..There was 82 shows, and in those 82 shows he did sing live on Various songs and many occasions.

Oh im not disputing his reasoning for lip synching, and I completely understand why he would need to. The lip synching doesnt bother me as I am just as much a fan of his dancing as his singing. Possibly even more so.

 

[144000]

I'm sorry I cant leave this. I dont want this to turn into an arguement again, and I apologize for calling you a name the other day.

But please explain to me simply how you can possibly think he was singing live fully on the HIStory Tour? Its a fact that about 80% of every concert was lip synched.

Again, I dont want this to turn into another arguement. I just want you to explain to me how you can possibly think he was singing live the whole time.

Absolutely ridiculous. How can you POSSIBLY think that?

well..i can leave this. as JMie said, it's all going in circles. we'll make this deal. i won't let what you think overpower me into a continuous argument, and you can try and do the same. this is a message board, with different opinions. i'll leave you to yours, and you leave me to mine. i'm sorry but these kinds of debates never end. no amount of reasoning in the world will satisfy. so i elect to not care, at this point, who gets the last word. thanks for the apology, L.T.D.

cya.

 

[L.T.D]

well..i can leave this. as JMie said, it's all going in circles. we'll make this deal. i won't let what you think overpower me into a continuous argument, and you can try and do the same. this is a message board, with different opinions. i'll leave you to yours, and you leave me to mine. i'm sorry but these kinds of debates never end. no amount of reasoning in the world will satisfy. so i elect to not care, at this point, who gets the last word. thanks for the apology, L.T.D.

cya.

But there is having an opinion on something, then there is ignoring the obvious. How you can think he sang live 100% on the HIStory Tour is beyond me. How do you explain his vocals being perfect one minute in Billie Jean for example, then suddenly cutting to his live vocals which were quite croakey. I guess his voice just cracked mid performance at the same exact point in the song every night by coincidence.

But yeah i'll leave you to it if thats what you really want to believe.....

 

[Ashtanga]

 

[Snow White luvs Peter Pan]

I apologize if I'm rude for saying this.

I really believe it's so ridiculous assuming most of the shows were lip synced if you didn't even attend.

The songs I mentioned I noticed a difference in comparison to the studio versions: I agree with MIST about the unfair comparisson because non of the performers mentioned started to sing since they were children and the reason why I said that comment about other performers it wasn't for comparing them with Michael, it was because I believe all the performers have lip synced in any moment of their shows.


:wub: that gif Ash! :in_love:

 

[JMie]

just want to say that yesterday my friends and I watched HIStory in Munich in HD quality and it was so amazing that by the end of the concert we didn't even remember our own names lol and that's all that matters. Michael was an amazing fantastic wonderful performer. He gave everything he had to the public and being in the audience you could feel that.

Even though some songs were lip-synced, there were reasons for that. But most parts of the shows were always live, I am sure of it.

 

[PrettyYoungThang]

I was 16 years old and this still remains a moment of pure magic in my life. I couldn't have cared if he stood there, said and did nothing. Just to SEE him, for real, in the flesh was the most phenomenal thing to me. I will never forget the electricity that I felt at that moment, the excitement, the sheer exhiliration. Michael had an other-worldly quality that i've never found in anyone else. I can't for a moment fault it, and anyone who is complaining about him lip-syncing - well, all I can say is i feel sorry for you - because that was THE LAST THING ON MY MIND. All I saw was a magician, a miracle worker at his craft.

 

[Strange Blues]

this thread is going in circles... let it go already... let it go. HIStory tour was a great experience and we should be thankful that it happened. It ended up being his last tour. We should be grateful we have those memories..

Agreed 110%. The Bad and Dangerous tours may have been more of an authentic experience when it comes to the singing but honestly, when my 12-year-old self was standing in the audience watching a genius at work, I didn't care whether or not he was singing live. It was an incredible experience and it never even crossed my mind that I should be disappointed that most of the concert was lip-synced. I even remember seeing a review of the concert on a magazine which had previously published some nasty rumours about Michael, and they started their concert review with the line "Perhaps everything that's said about Michael Jackson is wrong, because what we saw was a hard-working perfectionist who wanted to create an increible spectacle for his audience."

It was only when I saw the concert later on TV that I became aware of the heavy use of playback because being there on the stadium seeing Michael perform was such a gigantic spectacle that it had everyone in the audience spellbound. Maybe the experience was different for other viewers in other HIStory concerts, but that was mine.

 

[L.T.D]

I apologize if I'm rude for saying this.

I really believe it's so ridiculous assuming most of the shows were lip synced if you didn't even attend.

You dont need to be there to hear the vocals and tell that the majority of them are the original album vocals. We have the video footage in which you can hear the vocals clear as day.........We have literally over 15 different video concerts from the HIStory Tour as well as many different audio recordings. The same songs are lip synched everytime. Apart from the odd occassion when he may sing part of a song he usually lip syncs live. But still, the majority of the show is still lip synched. About 80% on every show. Its undeniable.

Oh and its not just people who havent attended who are saying most of the shows were lip synched, if you read the thread there are tons of people here who had attended and knew he was lip synching most of the time. Not like you actually had to be there to know he was lip synching. THAT is a ridiculous statement to make.

I actually cant believe its 2010 and we are sitting here debating whether MJ lip synched 80% of every concert on the HIStory Tour. . . . .I could spot that HIStory Tour Munich was mostly lip synched when I was about 8 years old. Never mind now.

Scream- Lip synched apart from Brunei which had the first verse sung live.

They Dont Care About us- Lip synched

In The Closet- The spoken part is live, the rest is lip synched. So he doesnt really sing, just speaks.

Wanna Be Startin Something- ALLWAYS live. Never ever lip synched ever.

Stranger in Moscow- Lip Synched, havent heard of any occassions when this was sang live apart from the Reherasals.

Smooth Criminal- Lip Synched apart from the last line

You Are Not Alone- Lip Synched apart from ad libs at the end.

Jackson 5 Medley- Allways live, never lip synched.

The Way You Make Me Feel - Lip Synched

Off The Wall Medley- Lip Synched. Probably the worst thing Michael has ever done, the dancing was good. But it just looked terrible with the original album vocals. Glad they took it out of the show.

Billie Jean- Lip synched up until shortly after the moonwalk where he would start singing live.

Thriller- Lip Synched.

Beat It- Lip synched up until shortly after the guitar solo. On one of the HIStory Tour Sydney he appears to have sang this fully live. Its in a video a posted earlier.

Come Together/D.S- Lip Synched.

Dangerous- Lip Synched. However he sang the first part of the song live in Ostend in 1997. Up until the Smooth Criminal interlude mid-song. Its on youtube if you all havent seen it.

Black or White- Lip Synched

Blood on The Dance Floor- Lip Synched

Heal The World- Lip Synched, he sings live at the end when all the kids are on stage.

Earth Song- Lip Synched

HIStory- Lip Synched

Its as simple as that.

 

[januska]

I didn't get to go to concert, but the first time I saw the tv broadcast of History Helsinki concert I was so in awe I didn't even realize he didn't sing live, lol... :smilerolleyes: I remember thinking "wow, he's so amazing, he can deliver the songs pretty much the way they originally were on the albums" :lol: The second time I watched it, it occured to me most of the songs were the original album versions :cheeky: Did that make me think Michael is less amazing? No way!

However, when compared with live singing, I think lip-syncing kind of takes away a little bit from the interaction between performer and crowd. That is especially if a concert is mostly lip-synced..

Having said that...well, Michael definitely had his reasons not to sing live, so let me put it this way: I simply feel very sorry because of those reasons (whatever they were) existed. I wish things could have been different for him.. :mello:

 

[Ashtanga]

:wub: that gif Ash! :in_love:

:wild:

 

[benscarr]

but when you dance like crazy singing well is not possible so i was content that he was doing it. who cares. he was there for us

Michael did more dancing on the Bad, Victory, Triumph and Destiny tours than he did on the HIStory Tour, and he still sang live perfectly in the 1980's. One of the reasons Michael was considering amazing live is that he could dance very fast and gracious, and sing live brilliantly at the same time.

Michael didn't dance like crazy in the HIStory Tour, he did far less improvised dance moves than on any of his tours, dance slower and did more choreographed dance routines with his backing dancers. Also ironicly on Beat It, Michael always sang the part after the guitar solo live, and that was the bit wear he was doing the famous music video dance routine.

I know in the 1980's Michael was very much against lip-syncing on tour, and it was actually almost unheard of sing lip-sync on tours until the 1990's. I personally think the reason Michael lip-synced on the HIStory Tour, and also on various songs on the Dangerous Tour is because of health issues relating to his throat/vocal cords. Michael did have a lot of problems with his throat in the 1992 leg of the Dangerous Tour in Europe, and various dates were canceled and rescheduled because of that. And he did have an operation on his throat after the Bucharest concert in November 1992, and did cancel some concerts because of it. I often find it quite amusing when some fans (some fans in general, not CatherineNZ) say "Michael's dance moves became more complex, so he couldn't sing live". Such a comment shows a huge underestimation and lack knowledge or understanding of Michael's talent and why considered a genius on stage. It's lesser talents, your manufactured artists like Britney Spears and teen bands that have to lip-sync on tours when dancing, because they have no idea what live performace is. These are lightweight showbiz people, who are more suited to theater musicals than pop music. The lip-syncing likes of Britney Spears started out in showbiz land like 'The Disney Club', sing lightweight songs etc on tv living a cute existance. Michael at 7-8yrs old was sing and dancing live in the gritty adult world of nightclubs. Michael may be known for spectacular showbiz concerts, but his genius as a live singer and dancer was always real and raw when he sang live. And I doubt he would lip-sync unless he had problems with his throat, he wouldn't lip-sync just to concentrate more on dancing, especially when he was doing less dancing on both the Dangerous and HIStory Tours than he'd done on previous tours.

Backing tracks are additions, not substitutions, therefore It cannot be called miming or lipsyncing which the definition is: moving your lips to pre-recorded tracks.
Michael doesn't just move his lips to his backtracks. He sings live WITH the backtracks.

He explains it here.

Michael could be talking about the recording of Don't Stop Till You Get Enough for the Off The Wall album, not using it as backing track/autotune to sing with ? it's not fully clear what Michael is actually talking about.

 

[L.T.D]

Michael did more dancing on the Bad, Victory, Triumph and Destiny tours than he did on the HIStory Tour, and he still sang live perfectly in the 1980's. One of the reasons Michael was considering amazing live is that he could dance very fast and gracious, and sing live brilliantly at the same time.

Michael didn't dance like crazy in the HIStory Tour, he did far less improvised dance moves than on any of his tours, dance slower and did more choreographed dance routines with his backing dancers. Also ironicly on Beat It, Michael always sang the part after the guitar solo live, and that was the bit wear he was doing the famous music video dance routine.

I know in the 1980's Michael was very much against lip-syncing on tour, and it was actually almost unheard of sing lip-sync on tours until the 1990's. I personally think the reason Michael lip-synced on the HIStory Tour, and also on various songs on the Dangerous Tour is because of health issues relating to his throat/vocal cords. Michael did have a lot of problems with his throat in the 1992 leg of the Dangerous Tour in Europe, and various dates were canceled and rescheduled because of that. And he did have an operation on his throat after the Bucharest concert in November 1992, and did cancel some concerts because of it. I often find it quite amusing when some fans (some fans in general, not CatherineNZ) say "Michael's dance moves became more complex, so he couldn't sing live". Such a comment shows a huge underestimation and lack knowledge or understanding of Michael's talent and why considered a genius on stage. It's lesser talents, your manufactured artists like Britney Spears and teen bands that have to lip-sync on tours when dancing, because they have no idea what live performace is. These are lightweight showbiz people, who are more suited to theater musicals than pop music. The lip-syncing likes of Britney Spears started out in showbiz land like 'The Disney Club', sing lightweight songs etc on tv living a cute existance. Michael at 7-8yrs old was sing and dancing live in the gritty adult world of nightclubs. Michael may be known for spectacular showbiz concerts, but his genius as a live singer and dancer was always real and raw when he sang live. And I doubt he would lip-sync unless he had problems with his throat, he wouldn't lip-sync just to concentrate more on dancing, especially when he was doing less dancing on both the Dangerous and HIStory Tours than he'd done on previous tours.



Michael could be talking about the recording of Don't Stop Till You Get Enough for the Off The Wall album, not using it as backing track/autotune to sing with ? it's not fully clear what Michael is actually talking about.

I agree with everything you said. Except when you said he did less dancing on the Dangerous Tour than most tours. I think he did his most dancing on the Dangerous Tour. Every song except Heal The Wold and She's Out Of My Life involved quite a bit of dancing.

 

[benscarr]

I agree with everything you said. Except when you said he did less dancing on the Dangerous Tour than most tours. I think he did his most dancing on the Dangerous Tour. Every song except Heal The Wold and She's Out Of My Life involved quite a bit of dancing.

I disagree with your view on Michael's dancing on the Dangerous Tour, I felt he did less. And I like Michael when he does improvised dance moves (as on the Bad Tour), more so than choregraphed dance routines. I loved the Dangerous concerts I attended at Wembley Stadium (I think Wembley always brought out the best in Michael), amazing and was totally in awe.

But apart from the disagreement (I don't mind fans disagreeing with me, if they are polite like you) on the dancing on the Dangerous Tour, thanks for the complement on my previous post

 

[L.T.D]

I disagree with your view on Michael's dancing on the Dangerous Tour, I felt he did less. And I like Michael when he does improvised dance moves (as on the Bad Tour), more so than choregraphed dance routines. I loved the Dangerous concerts I attended at Wembley Stadium (I think Wembley always brought out the best in Michael), amazing and was totally in awe.

But apart from the disagreement (I don't mind fans disagreeing with me, if they are polite like you) on the dancing on the Dangerous Tour, thanks for the complement on my previous post

Which Wembley concerts did you attend? Did you attend July 30th by any chance? The clips we have of that show are outstanding!

 

[benscarr]

Which Wembley concerts did you attend? Did you attend July 30th by any chance? The clips we have of that show are outstanding!

I attended, 31st July, 20th & 23 August. I think one or two of the dates I attended is on 'The Dangerous Tour Diaries' that was on MTV in 1992. I really like the performances of 'Jam' in Cardiff, Wales and 'Wanna Be Startin Somethin' I think in Copenhagen, Denmark on 'The Dangerous Tour Diaries'. I wish is what those concerts and not the Bucharest concert that was available in DVD, as the Bucharest concert is not a good representation of Michael live or the Dangerous Tour.

I have news footage that I recorded of the 30th July concert, it's a short clip of Jam.

Do you have links to the clips of 30th July ?

Wanna Be Startin Somethin - Dangerous Tour (23rd August 1992)

 

[144000]

as the Bucharest concert is not a good representation of Michael live or the Dangerous Tour.

really? cus I have Bucharest on DVD and that knocked it out of the park, ratingswise for HBO, and was the reason why HBO asked him to do it again. and i enjoyed that. and enjoying it was all i could think of.

 

[michaelsson]

really? cus I have Bucharest on DVD and that knocked it out of the park, ratingswise for HBO, and was the reason why HBO asked him to do it again. and i enjoyed that. and enjoying it was all i could think of.

Hes not talking about ratings hes talking performance wise and hes right. there are indeed better shows than bucharest and bucharest isnt even bucharest its mixture of different shows.

 

[144000]

Hes not talking about ratings hes talking performance wise and hes right. there are indeed better shows than bucharest and bucharest isnt even bucharest its mixture of different shows.

well..i enjoyed what i saw and heard. it was Michael up there. we could have very well not had him.

 

[michaelsson]

well..i enjoyed what i saw and heard. it was Michael up there. we could have very well not had him.

no1s disputing if the show was enjoyable or not, that particular show isnt the best. you dont even get the full feel of the concert due 2 the editing. The un edited version is 10xs better than the dvd, but the bucharest show in general isnt the best compared to other dates of the tour. Thats all he was saying.

 

[Dutchie]

I saw MJ on the HIStory tour and it never occurred to me. I was only about 12, so probably a bit dumb and naive. Little things like the fact that he was singing Janet's verse in Scream and the switch to live vocals at the end of the songs made me think it was all live.

It was such a brilliant show regardless of the lip-synching. The atmosphere was the most intense of any concert I've ever been to. It was truly magic.

Exactly the same for me.

 

[michaelsson]

guilty as charged, to the incindiary one(not you).

i'm sure the atmosphere here won't be about turning one into an effigy on an MJ site, for believing MJ sang live at the HIStory tour. never mind the countless youtube vids of seconds of YANA or ES, where he sings different notes, and i know that is from the HIStory tour...not that he needs to sing them differently for it to be live.

let me get deep on yo ass..lol..

planes look heavier than air, but it is said that air is heavier. i'm still amazed that planes fly.
i'm still amazed at electric lights. i'm still amazed at the advancements in techonlogy, and the computer. i'm still amazed children are diagnosed with autism, because they grow up to be geniuses. i'm still amazed at four year old piano players playing classical music as well as Yanni.
and Michael was born singing and dancing, and said it was as natural as breathing. some minds decide, if they can't wrap around something, then it cannot be done. we all know that just because we can't wrap around it, doesn't mean it isn't so. people are born everyday doing things we cannot do..and even more rarer, someone is born doing something we don't understand, yet are fascinated by, so...we pay to see it. money shouldn't be an issue *thinks of the song*(again, i'm not referring to you, but someone else)

so..having said those things...we each get something from what we see. one person may get something different than the other. to each of us, it is real. for me, MJ sang, and i hope not to get looked down upon on this MJ site for saying that, lol. that is my contribution to this religious and political discussion...lol

*starts slow cap*.... yea anyway, no. Hes not singing live just deal with the facts. it doesnt bother me and i dont think making up in your mind that he is singing live is....well nvm lol. At the end of the day, hes singing 2 the ALBUM version of songs. Not 2mention covering his mic half the time when he forgets the words. Or cueing the background when 2turn his mic on...oh and lets not 4get the transition from mime 2 live during beat it and billie jean. and at the auckland show when his mic does come on and he tells them 2 turn it off during thriller.... not 2mention Jennifer herself said he was not singing live that tour.....but hes indeed singing live? If you cant tell the difference between a live vocal MJ performance or a lyp sync then idk what 2say about you. Come on now.

 

[Dutchie]

*starts slow cap*.... yea anyway, no. Hes not singing live just deal with the facts. it doesnt bother me and i dont think making up in your mind that he is singing live is....well nvm lol. At the end of the day, hes singing 2 the ALBUM version of songs. Not 2mention covering his mic half the time when he forgets the words. Or cueing the background when 2turn his mic on...oh and lets not 4get the transition from mime 2 live during beat it and billie jean. and at the auckland show when his mic does come on and he tells them 2 turn it off during thriller.... not 2mention Jennifer herself said he was not singing live that tour.....but hes indeed singing live? If you cant tell the difference between a live vocal MJ performance or a lyp sync then idk what 2say about you. Come on now.

I do agree with this. When you watch footage of the HIStory shows it's quite clear it's not live. SIM for example......look at the background singers, they are lip-syncing to Michael's backing vocals. LOL.

I personally don't care that most of the concert wasn't live...but I do wish I could have witnessed a full live show at some point in my life.