Saturday Night Live was not as "Live" as people expected last night. Musical Guest Ashlee Simpson poorly lip-synched her first song, and then a technical glitch or mistake led to the wrong vocal track being played for her second performance proving her fraud as she stood there confused while her recorded voice filled the airwaves . Simpson's band picked up the slack, attempting to save the show as Ashlee walked off the stage. Just a minute in (on a musical segment usually four or more minutes long) SNL pulled the plug, cutting quickly to a commercial.

     Also this week it has been suggested that the vocal performance of "God Bless America" by a very talented country artist during the Major League Baseball playoffs was also pre-recorded, though having watched that game myself I am not certain that it was not just an audio delay in that case. I can say that I have attended concerts where it seemed that at least some of the performance was taped, and I routinely see performances on TV where the lip movements of the artist doesn't match the sound. 

     Lip-synching is nothing new (Remember Milli Vanilli) but for some reason it has become more accepted, especially for television shows and special events. But is it fair? Is it fair to the fans who tune in to see a LIVE performance, for them to instead be presented with a living puppet acting out a CD track? I don't think so. And more than unfair, I think it's a fraudulent act. Tricking people into believing they are watching a live performance should not be allowed. 

     My solution is a simple one... but it will not be popular with the untalented artists and unscrupulous promoters of the world: Concerts and television broadcasts should be required to specify when a performance is not LIVE both vocally and visually. I've been sitting here for twenty minutes trying to figure out a politically correct and kind phrase to serve as the disclaimer for this new rule, but so far I've come up empty. No one is going to warn viewers or concert attendees that their performance is going to be lip-synched. Perhaps they could label it a "dramatic performance" which would at least admit that they are 'acting' like singers, without actually singing.

    Obviously this wouldn't apply to scripted television (such as sitcoms) and movies where the audience expects to see acting and special effects, but when someone gets on stage at a concert or televised show (SNL, award shows, Variety shows, etc) there is an expectation of a genuine musical performance. 

     Live should mean Live, and if it's not live be honest about it!

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Part Two

     Ashlee's statement, whether it is true or not does not change the fraud she committed. If vocal tiredness was the only reason for the pre-recorded track, then she should have been honest with her fans and warned them up front that she was unable to sing, but did not want to cancel her appearance. If the miscue had not have happened, would she be posting a message on her website admitting to having lip-synched? I think not. She would have been content to let people believe they had seen a live performance. For that reason alone, how can we trust that any of her performances have been live? 

     This is more than just a Ashlee Simpson situation anyway. She was just the proverbial straw that broke the music fans' backs. We all suspect certain artists lip-synch, but can never prove it. With her "glitch" Ashlee just happened to be the latest one to step into the spotlight as the poster-girl for "silent singing" fakes. I still believe that ALL artists and all programs should be required to reveal in one way or another when a a singer is singer, and when they are being "helped" by a recorded vocal.

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Reader Responses:     - Submit Your Thoughts &Take Our Poll on Lip-Synching -

Important Note: We are interested in your thoughts on Lip-synching by all artists, and how you felt about the specific examples given. We will not post obscene comments.

• I am surprised this is news to anybody, however I have a different perspective than most. I am an audio engineer (the guy running the sound console) and musical acts have been using "tape" for as long as I can remember. The digital audio provided to the mix engineer has multiple tracks. One of the tracks is a click track for timing that the band hears so they can play at the beat necessary for the synched vocal tracks. This is more common than not these days. My 2 cents. Bryan
  

• It looks like you're the first news site in the universe to pick up on Ashlee Simpson's SNL debacle last night. Just wanted to say kudos! Regards, Billy
   

• The lip-synching of the national anthem at ballparks is out of necessity. The acoustics of a park cause confusion with a singer due to the fact that it echoes and makes the singer hear the 3 second delay. It is the singers voice just taped so it will be flawless at the park. Jim

Editor's Response: A valid point, but I have seen the Anthem performed truly live enough times to know it can be done. 
 

• I was really surprised when I looked today on-line and saw you were the only people who mentioned Ashlee Simpson's "technical glitch" last night on "Saturday Night Live". Never in my life had I witnessed something like that and then to blame it all on her band playing the wrong song!? It just proves what people thought all along, God obviously prefers Jessica Simpson better. Elizabeth
  

• Ashlee Simpson an artist?  I don't think so.  Can't  perform live?  Stay home. Daryl
   

• Thanks so much for the explanation of what happened on Saturday Night Live on Oct 23/24 with Ashlee Simpson. I was just confused and your site thus far is the only one on the web that explains what happened. David
   

• Saturday Night Live is live, by all means. A technical glitch only supports that fact further. Tim

Editor's Response to Tim: My point was that the musical performance is not "live" if the artist is lip-synching to pre-recorded vocals. Her dancing was live, her comments were live, but she did not SING live.
 

• The Ashlee Simpson fiasco on SNL was inexcusable...but her "excuse" was the best...the band started playing the wrong song!!!! Ummm, didn't they rehearse 2 songs? I have no respect for "artists" that are successful because of studio recording enhancements and cannot perform live... Now....have you been to a Clay Aiken performance? The kid is better live than on any of his recordings. How many others can stake that claim? Gloria

Editor's Response to Gloria: Yes, I have seen Clay Aiken perform in concert and I agree completely. Clay is easily the best Pop vocal talent of his generation.

• Regarding the Ashlee Simpson lip synch episode. If you want to have a gentle way to admit that a performance is not, in fact, live, how about saying that a performance is "Electronically Enhanced." I didn't see the performance, but I saw the faux pas on CNN. I imagine that Miss Simpson was, in fact, singing, but there was so much additional electronic background added so as to make her contribution to the performance negligible at best. Tim

Editor's Response to Tim: Electronically Enhanced... I like it. Makes it feel like it's being done for our benefit, but still makes it clear that the 'enhancing' is taking place. Excellent suggestion!

• So when I saw SNL last night here in California I wondered what  happened with Ashlee Simpson's song, but here we did not hear the vocal track that seemed to have played in the areas where the show was not pre-recorded. I woke up today and saw a link to a video that has the vocal track in the background and I thought someone messed with the video to look bad on her, but apparently that's not true, she really was lip syncing! Any info on the fact that we didn't hear this on the west coast?? Sarah

Editor's Response to Sarah: SNL made the decision to edit the broadcast before the re-air for west coast viewers. I can only imagine that they did this to save Ashlee some embarrassment since it was they (SNL) who played the wrong vocal track and exposed her fraud.

• I am not at all surprised that Ashlee was lip-synching. As stated, it is commonplace for an "artist" to lip-synch. However, I can't even start to believe that she had the gall to blame her not wanting to truly perform on her band. Not only that, they turned off the vocal track, she should have stayed and performed the song her band started playing. Walking off stage, in my opinion, is highly disrespectful to her band, and the people who were kind enough to offer for her to be on SNL. Mike
   

• I'm glad some of you out there have picked up on Ashlee's sorry excuse for a "performance". I remember when Milli Vanilli was caught lip-synching. Their career was destroyed. But, was it the lip-synching or was it the fact that the vocal tracks were not even recorded by Milli Vanilli themselves that brought about the end of their career? As a musician, I have NO respect for anyone who can't perform their material live. That is to say that anyone who has to lip synch their vocals instead of actually SINGING, is nothing more than a hack. The fact that the person has to lip-synch in the first place should tell you something about their "talent". Now, of course, there are exceptions. I can understand someone like Brittany Spears (whom I also despise) lip-synching because of her continuous dancing. But Ashlee? The music for her songs was simple, three chord progressions. My dog can sing to that. She only had to stand around and sing the song. No dancing. And to add insult to injury, Ashlee had to blame the whole ordeal on her band mates. That also tells me a lot about her. Stop wasting your money on "talent" like this!!! Go out and do some research and find some REAL music!!! Matt
   

• I'm afraid that Ashlee Simpson's musical career has self-destructed as a result of the fiasco on "Saturday Night Live". Within a couple of months, her CD's may be in the 99-cent bin of your favorite record store. Jofus
  

• I'm not sure I was watching the same Saturday Night Live as you last night... I did see a glitch in the second song, but from what I gathered her band launched into "Pieces of Me" instead of "Shadow." They had already played "Pieces of Me". I didn't hear any audio track coming through whatsoever. How do you know that there was an audio glitch or whatever when there was no voice track coming through? All I saw was a band sounding [censored]. Selena

Editor's Response to Selena: If you didn't hear the audio, then you were probably watching the edited feed played in the west coast. CNN.com has the original, unedited video.

• Big Surprise, Ashlee Simpson lip-syncing! The MTV made for TV "pretty" artist have NO musical talent. They're just faces and bodies. Prefab crap for the instant gratification generation. The only way most of the phonies sound half-way decent is thru the use of multi-tracking, studio edited, reverb echo filler to fill out their thin weak voices. Real musicians have little or no chance if they don't "look the part" these days. The music industry deserves the contempt of all real music lovers. Burn 'em at the stake! Chad
   

• While I agree that Lip-Syncing sucks and that it proves that the artists that do lip-sync can't sing live for crap (I.E. Britney Spears). But I did see the SNL mess-up and I did not hear any singing or her attempt to lip-sync. I have her C.D. and I didn't even know what the hell her band was playing. Did you guys see her show on MTV? She had a very hard time doing live shows like her first one where she couldn't hear herself and everything. Now, she doesn't have a voice like her sister, but give her some credit. When her songs start to sound EXACTLY like her C.D. then we can rag on her. E
  

• I am on the *east* coast (okay, Ohio) and when I watched SNL, Ashlee's voice was not audible. I just saw her walk off the stage and originally thought they were having mic problems or something. I am wondering if there was an optional slight tape delay? Perhaps my affiliate on the eastern side of the country decided to use this delay. Jasqui
   

• You haven't referenced the most egregious aspect of the Ashlee Simpson "lip sync" scandal. SNL removed her voice from the West Coast feed and all we heard was the band playing! Clearly, they decided they would handle it this way right after she left the stage. Without her voice, Ashlee's bizarre explanation ("my band played the wrong song") appears to be the truth! Lynn
   

• Well, Well, Well!!! Caught red handed! And does she take the blame for pretending to sing?????? NO!!!!! She blames the band! If she could sing she wouldn't have gotten caught! Just proves she sure can't and is just another cookie cutter manufactured "Pop Star" I have seen Clay Aiken in concert too. The man CAN and DOES sing. But you rarely hear his REAL singing on the radio. We are subjected to this flavor of the month crap on most stations. Jean
   

• I feel kind of bad for Ashlee. do u remember she went to Dr. Sugarman on her show due to acid reflux which had created prenodular swelling? well if they came back again, do u realize what a nightmare that is??? she still has to promote her album, yet her cords are swollen!! that is really sad! I am a singer and am going through something like this right now. it is devastating and would be worse if I was amidst promoting an album and be required to sing over and over again. seriously, have some compassion. Jason
   

• I have no professional respect for somebody who claims to be a singer but can not perform real singing. Calling it a 'dramatic performance' would be much better, because at least it's honest... Dancing vigorously on stage is a talent that's not easy. I have no trouble giving credit for dancing, as long as singers are honest when dancing is all they're doing. Meg
   

• Just goes to show that too many people buy style over substance. Yeah, Ashley (and others of her ilk) have really paid their dues in the music business by.....what? A few strategic sexual favors? It's sad to think that most people wouldn't give Janis Joplin a shot in today because she doesn't have the "look". But let's not focus on Ashlee alone. We need to lump her in with every bubble-gum princess and boy-band out there and remember that NONE can play their own instruments, write their own music, or even marginally sing without the aid of high technology to cover all the flaws. No MTV Unplugged for Ashlee! David
   

• People seem to be assuming that her excuse about the band playing the wrong song was a lie. What happened was that SNL played the prerecorded audio and vocals from the wrong song (the other one she sang). The band simply realized this and started playing that song. She was expecting them to stop that song and restart with the one she was supposed to sing. By that point there was no way for her to start singing that song in the middle of it or do anything else at that point, which prompted her to leave the stage. The fact remains, however, that if she hadn't been lip-syncing things would have gone much better. Chris
   

• Ahh, what else can be said about this waste of flesh. The word "punk" used to stand for something. An ideal, a lifestyle, a form of music. However, thanks to Ashlee and her many counterparts (simpleplan, goodcharlotte, new found glory etc.) it is reduced to nothing more than a flashy slogan on the many products sold at Hot Topic. Ashlee should feel a little shame but her band should feel worse. The guys wearing the glossy suits sporting the the latest "punk-like" hair do playing the brandnew Gibsons need to fill the very desolate void where their balls used to be. Jesse
   

• Pre-recorded voice track is so negatively charged. I know you were searching for a better term. How about "time-shifted vocal performance"? Or a "pre-optimized vocal presentation"? Maybe if you are a little daring... a "synchronized artistic performance"? Josh
   

• People keep saying that they have no respect for someone who claims to be such a great performer and is a fraud because they cant perform and sing at the same time... two words... wrong! Why can an artist not be a good vocalist, and leave it at that. Why is the public's view of artists so strict, you have to sing and dance, or not be good... why cant an artist release a cd, and not have to perform. It's just a thought, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy a cd for an artist who didn't perform, as long as they sound good. What's to come of the people who are blessed with a voice, but are stage-shy or have no dancing rhythm? Gary
   

• In response to the person who wrote in saying there is a 3 second delay in a ball park -- he is partially correct. However, singers wear ear pieces or have monitors at their feet, so they can hear themselves -- with out a delay. And in the case of almost any other outdoor venue, the speakers are carefully timed (aka the delay stack is configured) so there is no difference in timing to the person listening way at the back. Zach
   

• I don't care for Ashlee, but with this SNL lip syncing topic on the net, please don't tell me it going to be as Janet Jackson's Super Bowl nipplegate, I mean, I'm so tired of media/tabloids going nuts beating a dead dog to death. Also, how is it that no one cared for her before, but after the SNL snafu, I noticed all the haters have jumped on the trashing bandwagon. Since when did they care about her. I never thought I'd say this but, I'm more interesting George W. Bush/John Kerry election news than this soon to be has-been/never was! Kifer
   

• I watched the west coast feed of Ashlee on SNL. It did not appear to have been edited. It looked and sounded just as bad as what I later downloaded from the Internet, which was presumably the east coast feed. Since SNL is live theatre, I would like to see them require their musical guests to fall in step with that, and sing live with no pre-recorded tracks. Lip synchers need not apply. Megan
   

• I'm so sick of these "singers" who don't do anything but lend their voice to studios and get paid millions for it. I knew Ashley Simpson was lip syncing her first song because in her show she couldn't even sing in the studio. I hope this embarrassing goof will send her made-up career to the trash can where it belongs. It was obvious the only reason she forced her way into the music biz was because she was jealous of her sister Jessica. Bren
   

• Actually, I think the show last night needed this screw up. I mean, it was the funniest part of the entire show! Personally, I'm not a big fan of Ashlee. Did anybody see the documentary on her aired on MTV??? They showed her in the studio where she sounded awful...just goes to show you what music producers are for! I just can't help but think about Milli Vanilli. Unlike Milli Vanilli, she has her sister to fall back on...which is too bad, because I think Jessica does have some talent. I loved the statement she said towards the end of the show, blaming the band. Come on!! Why would the band play the exact song....again....live? There was another release explaining what had happened, that was totally different than "blaming the band". Don't you think that you would try and get your lies straight and just tell one...instead of two. Dan
   

• I just wanted point out that the lip sync trick is one that was started back in Philly on the American Bandstand show. The audiences then as now are going to see the artist, the performance of the material and then the event itself - usually in that order. The audiences that watched American Bandstand knew that they were not going to hear the real deal, but even the viewers watching it on TV weren't there to hear anything except the song - exactly as they'd heard it on the radio. With all of the current hype about how talented this artist is over the other, it should be given a disclaimer. I do like the concept of providing a message like the one suggested, "Electronically Enhanced," but in all fairness we should give credit where credit is due. How about calling them "BS (Bandstand) performances..." (Caution: Objects in your TV may not be as close to real as they seem...) Milli Vanilli got what they deserved because they were attempting to fool people as a part of a money grabbing merchandising deal. LV Johnston
   

• Here in Korea, there was a lip-synching scandal a few years ago. Television stations addressed the problem by putting a graphic of a reel-to-reel tape on the corner of the screen when the performance was lip-synched. Kkachi

Editor's Response to Kkachi: Thanks for sharing that. The reel-to-reel icon seems like a perfect way to address the issue, they should adopt that policy here in the states.

• I'm not surprised by this Ashlee Simpson lip-synching performance. Has no one watched her reality show on MTV? She can't sing! The only way she sounds decent is when her voice is digitally enhanced and the only way she can EVER sing "live" is by lip-synching. Any performer who does not sing live, in my opinion, can't sing in the first place. I know I can't sing, you don't see me in a studio trying to record a song. These singers should realize what may sound good in the shower sucks over a mic. I just have one last comment: STAY OFF THE STAGE if you can't give a LIVE performance. Thanks and have a fabulous day! Alissa
   

• Lip-syncing should be criticized not just when it "flubs up", but when a singer does it on a regular basis (even if there are no "flubs"). Beyonce (who probably can sing) is very well-respected by music critics and I have NEVER seen her sing live on many television programs. Britney is the joke of many comedians for lip-syncing, and now Ashlee will be, too. But, hey, go after ALL the singers who do it! By the way, to "Gloria", you are so right about Clay Aiken! It is pitiful that radio won't play him and he is a fantastic vocalist! Most singers on the radio today couldn't carry a note in the pockets of the latest "fashions" they're all designing! Jim
   

• I can forgive lip-syncing, with the truth being that most pop performers do so and have for years now. In some cases it's not unexpected, as in the cases of performers like Madonna and Janet Jackson who have highly involved routines. Of course Ms. Simpson hardly falls into the same category, vocally or performance-wise. I was slightly more disappointed in how she handled the whole situation, both during and after. Cutting her some slack, she was probably extremely embarrassed, but I can't help but think that a true performer would have recovered and gone on to at least try and appease the audience. For a few moments there I thought she would (what with her bouncing about before she walked off stage). In the end, the band did the recovering and were likely upset with her blaming the whole incident on them. Just makes you appreciate the artists out there that write, play and/or sing their own or someone else's material. Jesse
   

• This doesn't surprise me one bit. I am sick of seeing so many manufactured pop artists these days like Ashlee, Britney, etc. Its about time the music buying public takes notice of those who cant really sing at all. It makes me appreciate artists who can actually sing well live like Clay Aiken. I also appreciate artists who can sing and write their own material like Darren Hayes (ex- Savage Garden front man), Daniel Bedingfield, Sarah MacLachlan, etc. Janet
   

• Sadly, commercially viable artists are not always the most talented. Who do we blame? Who knows. The industry is so fatally flawed we may never see it reformed in our lifetime. But can we really blame anyone but ourselves? We make it, consume it, and export it to the world. At some point, talent and the entertainment industry veered off on separate paths. Long live the real singers!!! Matty THE DIN www.the-din.com 
   

• Ashley Simpson is a hack. Her fans have 0 taste in music and are rewarded with a fake live performance. You can substitute the name of any performer who lip synchs to the above comments. We need to stop paying for these mindless albums and concerts but never will. Americans as consumers are stupid morons. Look at any Saturday morning infomercial. If that crap did not sell, it would be pulled off the air, and yet........... Jon
   

• If you saw her show on MTV, you would have seen her sing live. I could tell she sang live for her first performance ever and she killed it. Those vocal tracks were probably there to make her performance perfect, b/c it was an important one. Or they could have been background/support vocals. A lot of songs have multiple vocal tracks. No Doubt is a good example of an artist that uses them. That doesn't mean you're a bad singer, it is just how the song was meant to be. I really think people should lay off of her because she does have problems with her acid reflux affecting her voice and she actually plays a big part in writing her songs (whose lyrics are quite novel, unlike her sister's). Lesley
   

• This only serves to highlight the hypocrisy of the music industry. We have Usher, Christina, Britney and Justin all from talent shows and somehow have credibility. . However, we have scorn shown to the Idols or Pop idols contestants as not being real artists. At least they can sing.....live. Elivs, came second in a talent show, Frank Sinatra came from a talent show. If you can sing, what difference does it make where you get your start. Why does some new kid, like Hilary or Ashlee who come off a tv show get credibility and are considered artists?. Well, that is until they get bust for lip synching. It is time to stop having double standards. If you can sing, so what if you don't write your own music. The actor who wins an Oscar does not write the script. I for one, am glad that this will open the door to the pretty frauds out there who cannot sing!!!. Dee
   

• I'm rather confused by the "scandal." Many, many popular artists, lip-synch their concerts. It's an accepted practice in the industry. Sometimes, the artists don't know their being dubbed. As Madona's head sound engineer told me once, "If we told her, we'd be fired. If we didn't do it, she'd ask why the sound was so bad, and we'd be fired." This is our culture, people. Don't acted shocked, and don't single Ashlee out. The only quality for being a star in music is star quality. Bill

Editor's Response to Bill: The point of our article is not that we are surprised. We agree that it's become commonplace. Our view is that artists should either be honest; or be required to reveal when they are lip-synching as it is unfair to their fans to deceive them into thinking a performance is "Live" when the vocals are pre-recorded.

• I saw this supposed technical error, being that I live in the Midwest. Sad...now lets just set aside the fact that she did get caught faking. And in the words of former president Harry Truman "passed the buck" and blamed this all on her band. What kind of entertainers are we producing that run off stage at the first sign of trouble!?!? I recall being at a Randy Travis (country singer) concert last summer and after starting the 4th song, there is no volume in his mic. What a true performer he started talking to the audience, telling jokes and playing impromptu music with his band. All the while making light of the situation. After a good 5-10 minutes they got the mic working again and he continued by giving an awesome concert. perhaps instead of looking for pretty faces, good dancers and good media makers we should look for talent. Obviously Ashlee doesn't have enough talent, in her MTV show it was episode after episode of her sucking in the studio, what makes us think she could turn it around for the live stage!? Kelly
   

• Just want to mention that I live in Seattle and I heard the vocal track during the fiasco. Seriously, folks, what did you expect? It's Ashlee Simpson! She's a product. The majority of her fans (most of which, I'm guessing, are young and female) are buying her music based on her image, not her talent. Mike
   

• While as a singer myself I do not like people who lip-synch in performances, I think it is a bit unfair to compare Ashlee Simpson to Milli Vanilli. Milli Vanilil lip-synched to other people's voices, making even their recorded music a fraud. It's no secret that Ashlee Simpson's voice only sounds good on the album because of brilliant editors in the studio, but at least it was her voice at some point. Jo
   

• There is a much bigger problem here, beyond the issues of lip-synching and the decline of musicianship as important to musical performances. The need to lip-synch results from the industry-generated demand for homogenized experiences. Time was, normal people got sheet music and performed it themselves at home. Now, you'd be laughed out of the house if you tried to imitate the studio-generated "perfection" of mainstream performers. The recording industry, in general, strives for exact reproduction of a single, branded product. Of course, there are exceptions, both specific and general. For example, remixing of songs. Or performances by artists who transcend the pop blender - Bruce Springsteen's video-only performance of "Fire" that was released on MTV to promote his "Live" album is a great example of a video performance that is unique and transcends the originals (both original album and "Live" album versions). It's too bad that SNL got caught in this, since they have had great, truly live performances in the past - Bobby McFerrin's solo, utterly unique and perfect SNL performance being the most amazing example. Bruce
   

• I think most people have known that pop stars don't sing at their shows for years, and just put it on the backburner. But when something like this happens it can no longer be ignored. If you can't play live, you can't play at all. Devin
   

• Even Jessica Simpson sings live. A few months ago at a concert she screwed up and started to sing the first verse of one of her songs instead of the second. Except she kept going, and if you didnt know the song by heart you wouldn't have known any better. Its obvious that little girls should not ride on their big sisters coat-tails... NEVER BE FAMOUS FOR A FAMILY NAME.... That's why Jakob Dylan hates it when people so much as mention his father in the same article as him. He made it big without his fathers help. Mae
   

• In regards to lip singing (syncing) I have gone to numerous concerts and spent mega bucks only to have the so called star lip sync their songs. Maybe if these people had to start paying all they're fans back they would think twice. Janet Jackson, Madonna, Britney, Whitney, N-Sync, Backstreet boys, 98 degrees, Jessica Simpson and the list can go on forever. There is no excuse for this, like you said if I am paying for a "Live" concert then it should be live, if I want to just hear the music, I have a Cd player to do that with. If your going to charge mega bucks, then give the fans what they pay for, I have decided that from now on when I attend concerts and if they involve this practice that I will demand my $$ back since the show was not live and promised or promoted. See how the so called singers enjoy that. Thanks for hearing me out. Kelly
   

• I taped the SNL performance and watched it this evening. The second song that caused Ms. Simpson her problem was the same song she had sang earlier. When I went back and watched her first performance, you could hear the taped music start, but then her band kicked in and she appeared to be singing live. The "echoing voices" sound stopped right at the end of the first verse and the song sounded live and clear after that. As far as the Star Spangled Banner performance, I did not tune in to see her sing live, I tuned in to watch a baseball game.  While I thought her performance might have been taped/lip synched at the time, it also seemed as though it could have been a TV audio glitch. Sometimes the words and lips don't go together. In her case it seemed that you could hear the words long before her lips moved. To me, it's not that big of a deal when someone is performing the national anthem before a ball game or singing at halftime. That is a bonus (or a distraction) and I don't think it matters too much. Now if a band is advertised as performing after the game, then you would expect a live show. And certainly on Saturday Night LIVE you would expect a live band, but I have seen many others do the same. If the TV show's producers (in this case Lorne Michaels) allow the performing artists to do this, then they must accept part of the blame as well. Anyway, it's not like Ms. Simpson was trying to pull a Jan Berry ala Jan and Dean as portrayed in the movie Deadman's Curve! He faked it out of necessity. Today's artist do it because their performance is studio-enhanced and probably can't be replicated live. Jeff
   

• I think that Ashlee should not of thought that she could get by with lip-synching. If she knew that she wouldn't be able to sing for whatever reason, she should have canceled the show or at least told the SNL people or the audience that she would take questions but would not be able to sing. Second, Who Would Blame The Band????, just because she got caught lip-synching doesn't mean she should blame everyone else.....or do a "hoe-down" Melissa
   

• This proves yet again what Marshall McCluhan so wisely put decades ago through his numerous discourses on media and communication: The media is the message. Overall, I am disappointed with what happened, but not surprised. I myself am a performing artist, and in the jazz idiom, it is fairly impossible to produce a live performance that is pre-recorded. If I actually saw one, I might applaud the effort for the sheer mathematical quality of it. As for the younger Simpson twin (for all intents and purposes, they twins in my humble opinion) her flagrantly horrid professionalism is simply unacceptable. I have seen pros...idols of mine. flub the beginnings of tunes. They simply laughed about it, and then proceeded to start again. Could the drama queen at hand handle this, and just start again and actually -sing- the song? Not a chance. Too often these young, fabricated stars are afforded maturity far beyond their years, and this is a perfect example of why they do not deserve it. Travis
   

• I have developed a level of tolerance to lip syncing as a part of certain kinds of entertainment. For example, some performers have demanding dance routines that are too intense to allow them to sing at the same time, e.g., Britney Spears. But these people are not vocal artists or musicians. I would instead label them "entertainers", and they should be advertised as such. To promote a lip-syncing "entertainer" as a "singer" is fraud, plain and simple. Chuck
   

• I saw the baseball game and besides hearing the main vocals you could faintly hear the echo. What was clear was that the performer started to lose track and began to lip-synch to the echo, which I'm sure was what she could hear clearly. The cameras then quickly began to show anything but the singer. Fans, the field, anything. As far as Simpson, I think it's petty that she blamed her band for "the wrong song". When Elvis Costello was on SNL in '77 he intentionally stopped his band and went into another song. If she was a true performer she would have done the same or adjusted to the situation rather than relying on a farce to prop up her so called "talent". Strider
   
   

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