Ashlee Simpson caught lip-syncing on live broadcast of SNL

SNAP!

Published on October 24, 2004 By historyishere In Music

I was talking to one of my friends tonight during the SNL broadcast, and she told me to turn it on quick because apparently Ashlee Simpson walked off the stage because her mike didn't work, so I flipped it on, but I had missed the walk off... it was at the commercials... but she had caught it on TiVo.

So she went back and watched the incidents that happened before Ashlee walked off. She was dancing and all happy away from mike, and the band started playing Autobiography.... and all of a sudden, the vocal track from "Pieces of Me" started playing, and the band switched to playing that and Ashlee got all flustered and bolted.

She then had the gall to blame her band for playing the wrong song! What's up with that!?! Now that was just plain wrong. I expect people to be talking about this today/tomorrow. It's already made a huge splash on the Ashlee Simpson Site's forum.

Comments (Page 2)

Texas Wahine

on Oct 24, 2004

What did she say about her band? I've haven't heard that part yet . . .

Angloesque

on Oct 24, 2004

Oh yeah, West Coast saw it too. L.O.L.

-A.

messybuu

on Oct 24, 2004

The people on that forum are so cruel. Is lip-synching really that bad or uncommon? Skankdonna does it all the time, and people seem to like that skank still, and she's a skank! I feel bad for Ashlee though.

historyishere

on Oct 24, 2004

Yes I think lip syncing is that bad because it means that you are incapable of singing without the aid of studio tricks. I mean if you go to a concert and pay some major cash to see that show and they lip sync, well, you got ripped off, simple as that.

thatoneguyinslc

on Oct 24, 2004

Don't act so suprised people.....She's one of those manufactured pop stars.

The vast majority of them lip sync when doing live performances. This suprises you? The music industry has been cranking out this kind of no talent schlock for about as long as there has been an industry for it. Its just that nowadays people are calling BS on it more frequently. Personally i'm glad it happened. People like the Simpson sisters, Britney, Madonna, all those boy bands make it even harder for legitimate musicians to make any headway in the business.

The more stuff like this happens, the better i say!

historyishere

on Oct 24, 2004

I'm not surprised at all that they lip sync... it just seems that now people are a lot more forgiving of it... I mean, when Milli Vanilli got caught, it was such an outrage... now... its not even really news.

Sad days, Sad Days.

mgosh

on Oct 24, 2004

Madonna like her or hate her I would consider her a legit musician. I agree about the Simpson sisters and Britney.

mgosh

on Oct 24, 2004

Madonna like her or hate her I would consider her a legit musician. I agree about the Simpson sisters and Britney.

historyishere

on Oct 24, 2004

At one time she may have been... but I remember the 1999 Grammy's, where they demanded all live performances, all too well... *shudder*

thatoneguyinslc

on Oct 24, 2004

Madonna has always lip synched her live shows since she hit the big time. The problem with these fake musicians is that they are marketed as a "Brand". And the music has to be identical to the CD at a live show to sell the disc. Kinda like how you can eat a Big Mac at a McDonalds in NYC, and then eat one in Bejing and they taste the same. I think live performances are great because the music is a little different than the CD. As a musician who has recorded and toured before ( a looong time ago and never made the bigtime) i can tell you when you record a song, you don't always play it the same way live. Sometimes you fall flat on your face, sometimes people like it more.

Dusk411

on Oct 24, 2004

I'm really particular when it comes to buying concert DVDs for this reason. In the case of Hilary Duff, it would be like just buying the CD all over again. I got the Christina Aguilera concert on DVD and she misses some lyrics but it's all part of a live performance. I don't expect it to be perfect.

Lip-synching has become commonplace and accepted that it's not controversial anymore if someone does it. But blaming it on the band is such a cop-out. Just tell the truth. People already know.

historyishere

on Oct 24, 2004

I think live performances are great because the music is a little different than the CD.

Or a lot different... I mean, I remember hearing a live Gomez performance of one of their songs from Bring it On where they totally reimagined the song in a different style(this new version was then put on "Abandoned Shopping Trolley Hotline". I like musicians to sometimes digress from the way a song was on the album.... it just makes the experience a bit better.

I remember the Who talking about how playing "Won't Get Fooled Again" live was sort of a pain for them back in the days when they relied on a taped version of Moog parts, because aside from the technical difficulties that inevidably presented.... it also made the performance very rigid, because the tape was a set length, so they could really play around with the song on the road... they had to play it almost the same every time.

As a musician who has recorded and toured before ( a looong time ago and never made the bigtime) i can tell you when you record a song, you don't always play it the same way live. Sometimes you fall flat on your face, sometimes people like it more.

The friend who brought this to my attention is a professional musician on a prominent Chicago-based independent label, so I believe she would totally agree with that assessment.

Lip-synching has become commonplace and accepted that it's not controversial anymore if someone does it. But blaming it on the band is such a cop-out. Just tell the truth. People already know.

I know there are more than a few artists that have had to come out and say that they actually play and sing in concert which reminded me of Chris Rock's act about people who wanted credit for things they were supposed to do.

His lines:

I've never been to jail! Well, you ain't supposed to go to jail.
I support my kids! Well, you're supposed to do that!

My lines:

Well, in concert, we play our own instruments. Well, you're supposed to do that.
We actually sing at our concerts. Well, with what people are paying to see you, you are supposed to sing when you appear live.

historyishere

on Oct 24, 2004

From Lucky Magazine:

LM: "What are your takes on lip-synching?"

Ashlee Simpson: "I'm totally against it and offended by it. I'm going out to let my real talent show, not to just stand there and dance around. Personally, I'd never lip-synch. It's just not me."

Famous Last Words!

Texas Wahine

on Oct 24, 2004

he he he . . .

I don't understand why she thought that blaming it on the band for "playing the wrong song" would make it better . . . that doesn't really explain the canned singing . . .

Do you think this will make SNL less likely to bring on young, inexperienced "talent" like Ashlee Simpson or Hilary Duff or the like? I mean, this isn't the first time there's been mistakes or problems, but she handled it so poorly . . .

dharmagrl

on Oct 24, 2004

I mean, this isn't the first time there's been mistakes or problems, but she handled it so poorly . . .

Exactamundo. She could have handled it much, much better than she did.....like going with the song they were playing, for example, instead of doing a hoe-down dance and then walking off the stage.

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