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I remember seeing an episode of the Nickelodeon show Hey Arnold! where Phoebe took interest in a singer who looks a lot like MV's members, but it turned out he was lip synching. 99.236.170.52 ( talk) 23:50, 28 February 2008 (UTC)
The Arthur Show also had a parody. Called "BINKY", performed by Varttina.
I think I remember Vanilli being in an episode. I think someone needs to clarify this.
I remember Milli: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG6o5AfncaA
I have done a little research and it seems that Milli Vanilli does NOT mean "positive energy" in Turkish.
or just google groups search for MV in soc.culture.turkish
Ensiform 14:08, 16 Dec 2004 (UTC)
== I too have looked this up, and yeah...it doesn't mean positive energy. I'm taking it out. Richard Corey 17:57, 28 September 2007 (UTC)
This might give a nice spice on the article. :-) The song originates indeed from another group called NUMARX (gladly I have those myself, by far not that easy to get these days), published in 1987 and covered by Mr Farian in 1988. 80.129.77.17 03:26, 4 August 2005 (UTC) -andy
Now I don't know anything about the Grammy Awards or this group, however, this sentence needs to be rewritten in a clearer fashion by someone who knows the story. Right now it is unclear where the 'famous' part of the sentence stops. Are they the only recording act to have a Grammy stripped from them? Or the only recording act to have a Grammy stripped from them in 1990? Or..?? - SCEhard T 05:41, 24 December 2005 (UTC)
I don't have time right now, but someone needs to go through this article and fix a few things (such as headings) to conform with style guidelines & NPOV (particularly the section entitled "Tragic Epilogue") Stellertony the Bookcrosser 09:06, 24 February 2006 (UTC)
I've added a whole lotta more stuff about the various refund lawsuits that emerged after the ruse was uncovered. However, i've just removed this chunk:
At any given time, several dozen copies of the American CDs are available on eBay, and they usually sell for more than one would make by accepting the refund offer.
There are rumors to the effect that it is legally impossible for Arista to reissue Milli Vanilli CDs in the USA. Supposedly one out-of-court settlement (with the original singers) forbids the company from selling discs with Rob & Fab's image on the packaging, while another settlement (with Rob & Fab themselves) forbids the company from selling discs without their image. The discs have been re-released outside the USA, with the duo's picture on them.
Can anyone verify any of this this? I mainly see two problems with the deleted text. 1) I can't see how Girl You Know it's True (GYKIT) could be reissued if the original tapes have been deleted. 2) The deadline for refunds on GYKIT and related Milli Vanilli stuff expired over 12 years ago. In saying this, why would want to make an eBay profit on a refund which can no longer be claimed? In short, the deleted text defies logic. - Thanks, Hos hie | 08:17, 27 March 2006 (UTC)
I have personally never heard of such lawsuits and I was one of the original singers. If what is stated above were true, the discs would not have been re-released anywhere. 'Out of court' means there was a motion filed and a case number issued somewhere in the US or Germany. In the US that information becomes public domain unless there is a gag order or a sealed decision. Even though, the case number would be available. Jroccolv ( talk) 21:31, 9 March 2017 (UTC)Jodie Rocco Jroccolv ( talk) 21:31, 9 March 2017 (UTC) [1]
References
Can anyone tell if there is a videoclip made for the Rob & Fab's single "We Can Get It On"; I could swear that I've seen it during that time. But I haven't found any reference to it in the article. Maybe I had mixed memories, LOL.
Mmm... no. The Rob & Fab video for We Can Get It On can be watched on the VH1 Behind the Music, here's a link for fragments of the video (the b&w ones, around 3:33 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1HVe_IB9GM ), does anyone around here have it recorded?
The intro currently says this:
This is about the gentlest description of the Milli Vanilli case I've ever heard. "Confusion"? Didn't they actually claim they were singing until the incident in question?
And the statement in the text -- that their live performances were recordings by studio artists -- would only make sense if their non-live recordings were also by studio artists (if they could sing in studio but not live, why not just play their own studio recordings?). So the article is really stating that they never sang at all, which it should do more directly. -- Saforrest 00:31, 30 May 2006 (UTC)
Agreed. Exactly what I was thinking. SandwichHat 04:04, 5 June 2006 (UTC)
I also agree. Although lip-synching in concert was certainly controversial, the primary scandal was the fact that they didn't even sing on their own records. I changed the intro to reflect this. Also, I moved some of the Frank Farian stuff to his own article and deleted non-NPOV items about "memorable closure" and enduring influence on future musical trends. GentlemanGhost 17:20, 5 June 2006 (UTC)
There's got to be more story in why Milli Vanilli got shafted the way they did, since the supposed offences are normal procedure on the pop music industry. I doubt there is anyone who doesn't understand that performances at the Grammys show are lip synched. Nor is it likely that people who go to see groups of this type believe they are actually singing during any live appearance; aside from anything else, the sound quality would be awful if a performer actually sang with a contact mike while dancing on stage. Lip synching didn't bother Michael Jackson or Madonna fans. If there's an issue at all, it's that the front men didn't appear on the recorded work credited to them, but that's not unusual in pop music either. Free Milli Vanilli! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.25.16.135 ( talk) 18:31, 13 August 2009 (UTC)
Re: "the supposed offences are normal procedure on the pop music industry":
Not so sure about that, but "normal procedure" varies over time, and we're discussing a group from the past. In the '60's and beyond it was apparently common for members of rock groups to be sometimes replaced furtively by studio musicians. I've read that this happened with the Beach Boys and Herman's Hermits. The lead singer of the Grass Roots personally told me that this happened with his group, and a bass player for the Box Tops told me he was never allowed to perform on records (he also told me he got the job because his father had been a record executive). Conversely, rock groups supposedly performing on television variety shows in the sixties and beyond often only pretended to play, but the had played on the recordings. In the case of Milli Vanilli, however, we have people pretending to sing lead who never played or sang either in the studio or live. That's rather a different matter. Anyway, "everyone else does it too" isn't much of a defense.
Re: "People aren't expected to be good singers, dancers, composers, and good looking all at the same time."
That makes no sense. If they weren't expected to be all these things, they wouldn't be pretending to be them. We'd have singers singing, dancers dancing, composers composing, and models modelling. When we have instead people faking, we have a clear demonstration that they are indeed expected to be all these things. TheScotch ( talk) 11:27, 29 December 2013 (UTC)
On Behind The Music, it said he was born in 1964. 68.154.15.86 02:15, 6 July 2006 (UTC)
The breaking of the lip-syncing story is badly introduced and it is repeated. This is in need of reorganization. -- Liberlogos 21:34, 9 September 2006 (UTC)
The MV-"scandal" was largely contained to the US, Europeans were baffled by it. The fact that many pop groups are pure studio products with models chosen for looks posing on stage is well-known and not normally frowned upon on this side of the pond. See for example Boney M, also a Farian product. The fact that not all of the front persons actually sang was widely published at the time they were popular, but did not hinder their success. Probably many US acts are produced the same way, but the fact is kept secret. In Europe it generally is not, and hardly anyone cares anyway. This cultural difference ought to be included in the article Anorak2 16:26, 7 October 2006 (UTC)
This is only partially true. There is no doubt that this was, up to the time of the scandal, a not uncommon or unacceptable practice. Boney M, Black Box, and C&C Music Factory (at least the single "Gonna Make You Sweat") were good examples, but even these are very different cases so here's some facts: - In the case of Boney M, Williams and Farrell were left off the final mixes though did sing in the studio and they did sing live in concert. Which is in stark contrast to Milli Vanilli, who (despite the fact that the two were able to sing, at least Fabrice Morvan was and still is) not only didn't contribute anything to the records, but also didn't sing in concert either.
- Black Box was similar to Milli Vanilli in this regard, in that Katrin Quinol lip-synced to Martha Wash's voice. However, C&C Music Factory only did so for that one song with Zelma Davis actually singing on all other tracks on the album. Also note that Wash and Davis did sing together in a later single. Both artists were up for the Grammy the year after the MV scandal, but didn't win because the committee had feared a backlash
- even some more respected artists may not have been honest as to who actually performed on certain recordings, but this is likely not the place to delve into this.
- In any case, the MV scandal came about because of the following things: 1.Unlike some of the other acts mentioned, they were actually hugely successful in the US market, and once you are successful there you should be aware of the consequences if you aren't totally honest. 2.The fact they they were the most successful/visible of such dance/pop acts. (see above) 3.More likely, the fact they allowed their success to inflate their egos at the time, contributed to their undoing- and also made them easy targets for the knockers (hence Arsenio Hall and In Living Color frequently ridiculed them, both before and after the scandal). Remember too that Pilatus was also ridiculed for statements comparing himself and Milli Vanilli to various legends of music.
- And lastly, what the scandal did do was force the music industry to curb these practices, i.e. everyone credited must actually perform. Everton4Life 14:07, 7 December 2006 (UTC)
Aye. and personally, I object to seeing Rob and Fab listed as members. In a direct sense they were actually actors, dubbing for this group's real members, Johnny Davis, Brad Howell and Charles Shaw. I have edited the members section to reflect that fact.
Once more, I think it's about time the NARAS give these 3 guys their due, and give them the Grammy Awards they took from Rob and Fab in 1990 for Best New Artist. Sure, the people bought 8 million albums under the illusion of thinking that it was those 2 who sang everything on the album; but should the real members be penalized for the deception that Frank Farian created, because he thought it would sell the original trio who sang and performed these tunes? I think absolutely not! -CookyMonzta (Dec. 27, 12:14 A.M. E.S.T.)
-- That's NOT fair. Rob & Fab WERE Milli Vanilli, they were everything in the group but the vocals performances. The were not just actors, the were dancers and the ones who threw Milli Vanilli to the estrathosphere. In the Mtv era vocals are not that important. Anyone could sing Girl You Know It's True, but no one could've make it look better than this two.
Looks to me like a load of revisionist bs. They were frauds. They represented themselves as the singers everywhere, not just on stage. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.155.81.74 ( talk) 05:34, 22 October 2011 (UTC)
Although it has been removed from the singles list, it did once say that the single "Dansez" which, after research found that Empire Bizarre did make, why was it listed here? Was it a previous incarnation of MV? No...it was produced by Ralph Siegel....Empire Bizarre is to find on You Tube.. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Musicworldvision ( talk • contribs) 22:44, 4 December 2023 (UTC)
I have just deleted all references to the above comment. I dont know who made this but it was placed x7 in the article. keep an eye on it —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Boils ( talk • contribs) 12:41, 15 December 2006 (UTC).
Just reverted because of more of the same 213.38.11.86 ( talk) 10:45, 17 June 2008 (UTC)
Someone should add this reference to the "Popular Culture" section. They were the band that hit #1 after "We're Sending our Love Down the Well" on the episode where Bart get's stuck down the well. One of the characters looks like Milli Vanilli and the other looks like Kid from House Party
I found this page a while ago, full of this crap:
http://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Milli_Vanilli&oldid=108897374
Upon viewing the history, it seems this page *frequently* experiences vandalism. I suggest edit rights for this page be restricted to registered users, to try and keep the page under control.
Coviti 20:30, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
it seems really unnecessary and pointless to list every mention of MV from every lame sitcom...is Paris Hilton listed for every time a TV show made a jab at her? I wonder if only unique or distinct instances (such as the gum commercial) should be listed... Bawtyshouse 02:39, 29 March 2007 (UTC)
During Arsenio Hall's old show, after the lip-syncing scandal broke, Hall made the group the butt of a series of jokes, with the usual punchline being "Vanilli." This could be added to the article somewhere, maybe in the "In Popular Culture" section. Misterdoe 16:02, 19 April 2007 (UTC)
Appeared in Sister Kate, an American situation comedy debuting on the NBC television network in 1989 and lasting one season, and performed Blame It on the Rain. The show featured early work by Jason Priestley. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.135.214.2 ( talk) 17:26, 10 March 2008 (UTC)
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Is there any reason to be concerned that vandalism may come in due to Milli Vanilli's prominent and sexually explicit reference in Sascha Baron Cohen's new film? Zazaban ( talk) 21:05, 30 July 2009 (UTC)
Since Allmusic have changed the syntax of their URLs, 1 link(s) used in the article do not work anymore and can't be migrated automatically. Please use the search option on http://www.allmusic.com to find the new location of the linked Allmusic article(s) and fix the link(s) accordingly, prefereably by using the {{ Allmusic}} template. If a new location cannot be found, the link(s) should be removed. This applies to the following external links:
-- CactusBot ( talk) 10:52, 2 January 2011 (UTC)
It should be noted that the episode first aired with the songs intact, but the removal of the songs did take place immediately after, even before the series went into syndication LReyome254 ( talk) 20:09, 29 January 2011 (UTC)
The infobox only has two past members, the performers but not the actual singers. I think the singers need to be included.
In-Correct ( talk) 05:18, 20 February 2013 (UTC)
Article has been tagged for needing citations since 2011. Feel free to reincorporate the below material with appropriate references. DonIago ( talk) 13:58, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
Beginnings
|
---|
Milli Vanilli's debut album
All or Nothing was released in Europe in mid-1988, featuring Rob and Fab's pictures on the cover, but no mention of who actually sang the songs. The success of the record caught the attention of
Arista Records who signed the duo. Arista deleted several tracks from the original album, added several new ones (including a new track written by
Diane Warren, "
Blame It on the Rain"), remixed many of the tracks and renamed the album to
Girl You Know It's True for release in the
American market in early 1989.
This version of the album went six times
platinum and led to the re-release of
the title track, which peaked at No.2 on the Hot 100 in April of that year and was certified platinum. (The song was a cover version of a Numarx track published in 1987 on the US Bluebird label.) The U.K. release featured the original first album and the remix album together as "
2 X 2". Even greater commercial success followed, as the pair's next three singles "
Baby Don't Forget My Number", "
Girl I'm Gonna Miss You" and "
Blame It on the Rain" all reached No.1. A fifth and final single "
All or Nothing", also made the Top 5 in the beginning of 1990 in a remixed form which sampled the "Keep On Movin'" beat from UK soul act
Soul II Soul. Milli Vanilli's meteoric rise to pop music superstardom culminated with a
Grammy Award for
Best New Artist on February 22, 1990.
|
Beginnings (added 12/15/14)
|
---|
When Frank Farian developed the concept of Milli Vanilli, he chose to feature vocals by
Charles Shaw, John Davis, Brad Howell, and twin sisters Jodie and Linda Rocco; however, he felt that those singers lacked a marketable image. He then recruited
Robert Pilatus and
Fabrice Morvan, two younger model/dancers he found singing in a Munich club for a rehearsal. He felt that Pilatus and Morvan could provide the marketable image that the original singers lacked. According to
VH1's
Behind the Music, the single "
Girl You Know It's True" was first produced by Jesse Powell and had already been completed. Farian felt that no efforts should be focused on refining his new singers' voices. Instead, they were told to lip-synch to the prerecorded music. Farian had done something similar with his earlier disco group
Boney M, where he recruited four members (one a male exotic dancer), two of whom didn't sing in recordings.
|
Shouldn't the claim that the band's name comes from "positive energy" in Turkish be mentioned, even if only to refute it? I know it's not true, of course, but it's one of the only two things that a lot of people "know" about the band (the other being the lip-synching), and from a quick search, it looks as though one of the band members may have made the claim. -- Trovatore ( talk) 05:16, 23 August 2015 (UTC)
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Consider adding this please, "In the metric system, a Milli Vanilli is 1/1000 of a vanilli. Rob & Fab broke up the name into two words because it was easier to pronounce that way." (amiright.com). The Wikipedia article for "Milli" explains the units of measurement. Nibinaear ( talk) 22:27, 6 August 2018 (UTC)
I was surprised the article didn't mention the group being sued for (allegedly) stealing the tune of "Spinning Wheel" for "All or Nothing", so I added a sentence. Does anyone know the outcome of that lawsuit? I couldn't find anything online. -- Muzilon ( talk) 14:14, 21 December 2018 (UTC)
In the "Beginnings, 1988-1989" section, eighth paragraph, their hair is described as "cornrow hair extensions." Milli Vanilli did not wear cornows. They just wore regular braids. Cornrows are interlocked using the hair next to the scalp so the braids create rows along the scalp, similar to French braids. It should just say "braided hair extensions." 2603:900A:1101:85B3:195A:32CD:D3FD:8F22 ( talk) 04:29, 20 August 2023 (UTC)
This sentence is completely unsourced by given source and highly opinionated:
"(1) The film, without describing them as innocent, points out that a great many people knew about the deception, but the singers became the scapegoats; (2) the popular narrative was incomplete and misdirected at the two public faces of a much larger operation."
95.90.117.239 ( talk) 13:05, 24 October 2023 (UTC)
I don't claim any expertise, and don't have an opinion about the events (I can't, I don't know enough). My intention was to summarise a newspaper article about the film, not to discuss the events directly. Paragraphs of the newspaper article which, I think are adequately summarised by what I wrote are:
1&2: The popular narrative of Milli Vanilli – that Rob and Fab lied about their talents and misled their fans and should suffer the consequences – was swift, vindictive and enduring. And, as the documentary argues, incomplete and misdirected at the two public faces of a much larger operation.
...
1: The issue, as the film frames it, was not that Morvan and Pilatus had culpability, but that they shouldered the entire scandal alone. “Do they deserve to be called out on some level? Sure. But what about everybody else?” said Korem. Farian, Arista, their record executives and their management emerged largely unscathed.
...
2: “It’s mind-blowing to think that the media just went after us, and never went after the people pulling the reins,” said Morvan. “It’s almost as if they said, ‘Hey, listen, we can’t touch the man in black, so that energy should go toward [Rob and Fab].’”
I've had a quick look (no more) at the section on the film, added after my edit; it just says that "there are layers", and doesn't seem to summarise it as well as the newspaper article, the sentence discussed here could be moved into that section.
Best wishes, Pol098 ( talk) 14:08, 24 October 2023 (UTC)
I'm new here so I can't edit it myself,but it looks like the section starts "The Resulting Album..." but doesn't contain the previous sentence. I was reading up on it elsewhere and coincidentally stumbled on this Medium article [2] https://medium.com/@RichTVXNews/in-memoriam-john-davis-illuminating-a-genuine-milli-vanilli-vocalist-ed321dd17059
the quote seems to have been pulled from this paragraph, in the above article, or they both pulled from the same third party
Bold DaiMadAboutIt ( talk) 08:27, 9 February 2024 (UTC)
Thank you for accepting my edit! DaiMadAboutIt ( talk) 16:35, 16 March 2024 (UTC)