Lady Gaga Warns Against A Super Bowl Tradition: Lip-Syncing A Performance

Bruce Haring
·3 min read

Click here to read the full article.

Lady Gaga warned Jennifer Lopez and Shakira not to lip-sync their performances at today’s Super Bowl halftime.

Gaga said ” I better hear no lip-syncing tomorrow!” during a Saturday performance at the Meridian at Island Gardens venue in Florida as part of an AT&T TV Super Saturday Night event.

More from Deadline

Lady Gaga has been adamantly against lip-syncing – the practice of using pre-recorded music and/or vocals to simulate a live performance. Her performance at the Super Bowl three years ago saw her descend down from the sky onto the stage in Houston, which caused some to wonder whether she was actually singing. But Gaga released the isolated vocal track from the performance, proving she did sing.

However, performers for the National Anthem and at the Super Bowl halftime have extensively used backing tracks and prerecorded vocals in their performances.

Some of the most iconic Super Bowl moments were lip-sync performances Whitney Houston’s iconic National Anthem performance at the 1991 Super Bowl (when patriotism was high because of the Gulf War) was done with a dead microphone.

ABC News reported that Jennifer Hudson and Faith Hill submitted pre-recorded tracks of the national anthem.

At halftime, the Red Hot Chili Peppers copped to using backing tracks and miming their performance, although lead singer Anthony Kiedis was claimed to have sung live

Katy Perry also admitted that some of her halftime performance was pre-recorded. “I think a lot of it will be live,” she said in 2015, according to Reuters. And Beyoncé was guilty of the same tactic during her Super Bowl appearance.

Today’s performer, Demi Lovato, may very well use a pre-recorded track for safety’s sake. Coming off a long performing hiatus stemming from some personal problems, Lovato appeared at the Grammys on Jan. 26 and had to re-start her performance of her song Anyone after one line. After composing herself, she began again and delivered a powerful performance.

After her initial Saturday comments, Lady Gaga walked back her comments a bit, saying she loves the performers.

“I wish so much love and so much luck to everyone that’s doing the halftime show, to both the teams that are playing each other in the Super Bowl,” Gaga told the crowd. “They’re all champions.”

 

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.