Did Shania Lip Synch her Superbowl Half-Time show?

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[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

Did Shania Twain Lip-Sync Her Super Bowl Halftime Songs?
By Julia Turner
Posted Tuesday, January 28, 2003, at 2:48 PM PT

Shania Twain: Live or Memorex?

ABC producers promised that the pop stars they recruited for this year's Super Bowl halftime show would do their singing live—no lip-syncing allowed. But what about country star Shania Twain, who seemed to hop around the stage without missing a note?

Paul Liszewski, who produced the sound for the show, says Shania's mic was hot and her vocals were live. (Other audio engineers who watched the broadcast agreed.) Twain's accompaniment, however, was what's called a "band in a box," which means the back-up vocals and instrumentals we heard were prerecorded. So while the diva was belting out show-stoppers like "Man, I Feel Like a Woman," her onstage drummer was thrashing away merely for effect.

Other bands use a different mix of taped and live elements, depending on the nature of the show. At a dance-heavy concert where the lead singer does exhausting choreography, we might hear a tape of the lead vocal track. At an event like the Super Bowl, where sound engineers have five minutes—rather than the usual six or eight hours—to set up, bands are more likely to rely on tape. During No Doubt and Sting's halftime sets, we were also hearing live vocals and canned instrumentals. Last year, when U2 played, we heard both Bono's voice and the Edge's guitar live, though the rhythm section was prerecorded.

For big events, even totally "live" bands have tapes standing by in case of emergency. If, say, Bono's microphone had suddenly failed last year, an engineer in a broadcast truck equipped with an audio mixer would have quickly brought up the sound on a prerecorded version of Bono's vocal track. If the person doing the blend did the job right, the audience would never even notice the glitch. (That explains the moment when Shania ran back to the stage after mingling with the crowd and didn't appear to be singing, even though her vocals came through loud and clear. When Twain took too long getting back to the stage, the mixing engineer likely brought up the prerecorded vocal track, and then took it back down it as Shania started to sing.)

How do performers keep time when they're faking it? Musicians are almost always listening to a recording of the song on a monitor as they perform. (Most often, that recording is a mix of all the song's tracks, but drummers sometimes prefer to hear a "click track," which just goes tick-tick-tick like a metronome.) Traditionally, the monitors were speakers placed on stage. But that meant that the performers couldn't move around freely and that their microphones might pick up the tape track. These days, many musicians opt for a wireless in-ear monitor, which allows them to strut through a song without losing the beat or tripping on a wire. Each one is custom-molded to the ear canal, looks a little bit like a hearing aid, and can run somewhere in the neighborhood of $2,100.

[dpa5923]

I mean" She never faked it for me!"

Damn I can not type!

[MadelineZapeezda]

They don't show them here, but I jealous of her six-pack.

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

Thank you for the close up. I need to pick up an outfit like that, I have a friend who really liked it.

[1stFreedom]

I saw her smile at someone while her lips should have been moving. Obvious lip sync.

Great body though!

LOL

[Senator Pardek]

Of course she did - the very question is ludicrous.

[BOBWADE]

I noticed this during the show. her lips did not follow the music,

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

I can't keep a thread up more than a couple of minutes today.

[MonroeDNA]

"I can't keep a thread up more than a couple of minutes today. "

Don't worry, we'll keep it up just fine.

[lainie]

...this is a woman with issues.

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

For a skinny chick with the figure of an 11 year old boy, she sure does sweat alot.

[lainie]

She's very weird. I saw a show about her band during which she said, "I had no idea I wanted this so much!" regarding her engagement. That's funny, the whole hour had been spent telling the story of how she chased and obsessed over the poor guy that plays bass.

Who, by the way has a nice six pack himself:

[Yeti]

Heck, I could care less if she was Lip-Sync or not! I just like looking at her.

Nothing against you, sonof, but when I see one like this I think:

Wow! She the sexiest whore in the WHOLE BAR!

[Yeti]

I read elsewhere that Shania lip-synched but Gwen Stefani didn't.

I know a few people who know or have met Gwen Stefani, and from that and what I have read about her, I think she just would not do that, period. I have heard she is one very REAL human -- something rare which I admire. Although I can't say I am a huge fan of her music, she sounds like a really cool girl.

[lainie]

Check out the look on Shania's face:

[justshe]

~~~For a skinny chick with the figure of an 11 year old boy, she sure does sweat alot.~~~

With the President of the United States giving the State of the Union Address......this really MATTERS to you?

REALLY?

[VRWCmember]

Did Shania Twain Lip-Sync Her Super Bowl Halftime Songs?

Is a frog's @$$ water-tight?

[Mr. K]

who cares, I'd pay to see her lip synch a reading of the phone book...

[sonofatpatcher2]

Re: Nothing against you, sonof, but when I see one like this I think:
Wow! She the sexiest whore in the WHOLE BAR!

Gad! Where are you doing your drinking?

Work on that sense of humor, Yeti. It will save you a world of unnecessary anger.

[Yeti]

Work on that sense of humor, Yeti.

I'll try, sono : )

Actually, I like that outfit.
Very country-s&m-goth.
Wholesome fun for the whole family ; )

Those boots just scream "Class act!" -- don't they?
And the boustier : ) -- now THAT's country!

[lainie]

She must have a thing for dominatrix boots (or want men to think she does).