Talk:Milli Vanilli

Hey Arnold Parody Episode

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)

Family Guy Cameo

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I think I remember Vanilli being in an episode. I think someone needs to clarify this.

Turkish translation?

I have done a little research and it seems that Milli Vanilli does NOT mean "positive energy" in Turkish.

see here

or just google groups search for MV in soc.culture.turkish

Ensiform 14:08, 16 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Well, could it just be that the spelling is off? Everyking 19:47, 16 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I'm Turk. Well if we literaly translate it, it becomes: "National vanillated" or "our vanilla" - which says nothing, very stupid :p But it's definitely not 'positive energy', that's ABSOLUTELY wrong and even more stupid :D—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 213.224.34.49 (talk) 03:29, 28 March 2007 (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)

Did you know that Girl You Know It's True is NOT original?

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

Unclear sentence

"They are infamous for being the only recording act to have their Grammy Award stripped from them in 1990 after it was revealed that they had not been involved in the creation of their breakthrough album, Girl You Know It's True, and instead had simply appeared on the album cover, and had lip-synched to pre-recorded studio singers in music videos and in concert."

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..?? -SCEhardT 05:41, 24 December 2005 (UTC)

The opening paragraph has been retooled for clarity and style. - Chadbryant 11:48, 24 December 2005 (UTC)

Work needed

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)

Did that. Article should be much cleaner now.--み使い Mitsukai 16:28, 14 March 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, Hoshie | 08:17, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

Plus the second claim about the two conflicting settlements is just too ironic to be true. Real life doesn't operate like that at all. Well deleted, says I. --Agamemnon2 07:40, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

Haha, then you don't know much about real life...

ROB & FAB "WE CAN GET IT ON" Music Video

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.

You may mean the tape of them performing the song on The Arsenio Hall Show, featured in their Behind the Music episode. But if you're talking about a music video for the actual song, I doubt it. The production company (Joss Entertainment} didn't even promote Rob & Fab's album that well, I doubt they would have spent the money to make a music video. --Lovelinelistener 01:08, 30 June 2006 (UTC)

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?

A bit _too_ gentle

The intro currently says this:

Like many manufactured groups of the era, such as C&C Music Factory, none of the live performances were actually sung, because the vocals were provided by studio artists. Due to confusion resulting from this, they had their Grammy award for Best New Artist 1990 revoked.

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)

It's mostly a culture clash: in Germany lip syncing is pretty common, and so no one was fazed by this "scandal". People aren't expected to be good singers, dancers, composers, and good looking all at the same time. That is why the controversy can justifiably be called a misunderstanding. --24.85.82.38 (talk) 05:09, 15 September 2011 (UTC)

purchasing

Does anyone know whre i can purchase milli vanilli behind the music?

A demo tape of the episode sometimes comes up on ebay. --Lovelinelistener 01:09, 30 June 2006 (UTC)

Rob's Age

On Behind The Music, it said he was born in 1964. 68.154.15.86 02:15, 6 July 2006 (UTC)

September 2006 cleanup request

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)

American phenomenon

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.

Except for those of us who did not have MTV (which in the late 80s was a good 3/4ths of America). For us Milli Vanilli was purely & only the sound we heard coming from our radios. The "actors" who danced on stage were not even known to me. I was just enjoying the sound.

And yes, I agree the original vocalists deserve some kind of recognition, even if it's just a "lead vocals" award for the songs they created. ---- Theaveng (talk) 14:50, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

Empire Bizarre?

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?

Chris Henly is gay

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).

that is just plain vandalism. Karrmann 14:04, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

Just reverted because of more of the same213.38.11.86 (talk) 10:45, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

Funky see funky doo (The Simpsons)

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

Excessive Vandalism -> Lock page to anonymous users?

I found this page a while ago, full of this crap:

http://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?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)

trivia section

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)

Arsenio Hall

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)

Sister Kate

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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Brüno

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)

Apparently not. - 23:23, 30 July 2009 (UTC)

Yup, nothing so far. I think the reference simply went unnoticed, probably because most Bruno fans have no idea who Milli Vanilli were. Even if some of them do know them, I doubt they remember the controversy surrounding the group, or the fact that 18 years ago their songs were declared uncool. 81.101.19.90 (talk) 23:08, 11 November 2009 (UTC)

Dead external links to Allmusic website – January 2011

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:

• http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=B52x7gjwrj6ix

--CactusBot (talk) 10:52, 2 January 2011 (UTC)

Further Developments -> The Adventures of Super Mario Bros 3

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)

Without sourcing this information isn't appropriate for inclusion in any case per WP:VERIFY. Doniago (talk) 14:58, 31 January 2011 (UTC)