I just came across an interesting video where a professional musician
and YouTuber reacts to a claim Dave Grohl made recently that Taylor
Swift isn't signing live at her concerts but is instead miming to a pre-recorded vocal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqFZYYvWmHg [19 minutes]

He uses audio software to compare four separate audio recordings from
her most recent tour and presents strong evidence that the vocal was the
same at each of those shows. I don't mean that the same lyrics were sung
but that every note had the same pitch and duration to very high levels
of precision, something no singer can do. Live performances *always*
contain variations: a note starts a couple of milliseconds earlier than
it did at the previous show and is slightly flatter or sharper and will
be held slightly longer or shorter. It's usually such a small variation
that the average listener will not notice it but music software can
absolutely detect those differences and show them graphically. And
that's exactly what Fil, the presenter in this video, does.

He is actually sufficiently certain of himself that he states explicitly
that this is NOT an opinion or a belief, it is fact. Given Swift's
immense power in the music industry, this is a very bold claim since
she's obviously able to hire lawyers and sue his ass for defamation if
so inclined. He is surely smart enough to know that.

It remains to be seen how she will react. If the allegations are true,
she'd be best to admit it, explain it, and either promise never to do it
again or admit that future shows will also feature her grooving along to
the songs but not actually singing live. Even if she does that, I
imagine enough of her fans will be disappointed that they'll boycott
future live shows so that she'll see lower turnouts or have to lower her
ticket prices dramatically to fill up the stadiums. And that's the most optimistic scenario.

The fan reaction could be a LOT more hostile than that. Could millions
of fans launch a class action suit to get their money back from the
latest tour because they reasonably assumed she was singing live and not
just miming to a recording? (Actually, it would have to be multiple
class action suits since these performances happened in a multitude of different jurisdictions.)

--
Rhino

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On Mon, 18 Aug 2025 10:33:50 -0400, Rhino
<[email protected]> wrote:

I just came across an interesting video where a professional musician
and YouTuber reacts to a claim Dave Grohl made recently that Taylor
Swift isn't signing live at her concerts but is instead miming to a >pre-recorded vocal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqFZYYvWmHg [19 minutes]

I haven't seen her performances other than screen shots. That suggests
a very energetic performance which is going to be difficult to do
while still singing. So I could see her choosing to lip sync instead
of singing live. I'm not sure most of her fans are going to care as
this is a choice every performer has to make. Weighing the desire to
have an actual live performance of the music versus the quality of the performance.

He uses audio software to compare four separate audio recordings from
her most recent tour and presents strong evidence that the vocal was the
same at each of those shows. I don't mean that the same lyrics were sung
but that every note had the same pitch and duration to very high levels
of precision, something no singer can do. Live performances *always*
contain variations: a note starts a couple of milliseconds earlier than
it did at the previous show and is slightly flatter or sharper and will
be held slightly longer or shorter. It's usually such a small variation
that the average listener will not notice it but music software can >absolutely detect those differences and show them graphically. And
that's exactly what Fil, the presenter in this video, does.

He is actually sufficiently certain of himself that he states explicitly
that this is NOT an opinion or a belief, it is fact. Given Swift's
immense power in the music industry, this is a very bold claim since
she's obviously able to hire lawyers and sue his ass for defamation if
so inclined. He is surely smart enough to know that.

It remains to be seen how she will react. If the allegations are true,
she'd be best to admit it, explain it, and either promise never to do it >again or admit that future shows will also feature her grooving along to
the songs but not actually singing live. Even if she does that, I
imagine enough of her fans will be disappointed that they'll boycott
future live shows so that she'll see lower turnouts or have to lower her >ticket prices dramatically to fill up the stadiums. And that's the most >optimistic scenario.

The fan reaction could be a LOT more hostile than that. Could millions
of fans launch a class action suit to get their money back from the
latest tour because they reasonably assumed she was singing live and not
just miming to a recording? (Actually, it would have to be multiple
class action suits since these performances happened in a multitude of >different jurisdictions.)

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On 2025-08-18 11:14 AM, shawn wrote:

On Mon, 18 Aug 2025 10:33:50 -0400, Rhino
<[email protected]> wrote:

I just came across an interesting video where a professional musician
and YouTuber reacts to a claim Dave Grohl made recently that Taylor
Swift isn't signing live at her concerts but is instead miming to a
pre-recorded vocal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqFZYYvWmHg [19 minutes]

I haven't seen her performances other than screen shots. That suggests
a very energetic performance which is going to be difficult to do
while still singing. So I could see her choosing to lip sync instead
of singing live. I'm not sure most of her fans are going to care as
this is a choice every performer has to make. Weighing the desire to
have an actual live performance of the music versus the quality of the performance.

I know where I'd come down on that question but to each their own I
suppose. I like the suggestion some commenters made under the video: the performer/group should indicate up-front in their promo materials what,
if any parts of the show, will be pre-recorded so that potential
attendees can make informed decisions about if they want to go, knowing
what will be performed live and what will be a recording. NOT telling
people in advance just seems dishonest, even sleazy, to me.>

He uses audio software to compare four separate audio recordings from
her most recent tour and presents strong evidence that the vocal was the
same at each of those shows. I don't mean that the same lyrics were sung
but that every note had the same pitch and duration to very high levels
of precision, something no singer can do. Live performances *always*
contain variations: a note starts a couple of milliseconds earlier than
it did at the previous show and is slightly flatter or sharper and will
be held slightly longer or shorter. It's usually such a small variation
that the average listener will not notice it but music software can
absolutely detect those differences and show them graphically. And
that's exactly what Fil, the presenter in this video, does.

He is actually sufficiently certain of himself that he states explicitly
that this is NOT an opinion or a belief, it is fact. Given Swift's
immense power in the music industry, this is a very bold claim since
she's obviously able to hire lawyers and sue his ass for defamation if
so inclined. He is surely smart enough to know that.

It remains to be seen how she will react. If the allegations are true,
she'd be best to admit it, explain it, and either promise never to do it
again or admit that future shows will also feature her grooving along to
the songs but not actually singing live. Even if she does that, I
imagine enough of her fans will be disappointed that they'll boycott
future live shows so that she'll see lower turnouts or have to lower her
ticket prices dramatically to fill up the stadiums. And that's the most
optimistic scenario.

The fan reaction could be a LOT more hostile than that. Could millions
of fans launch a class action suit to get their money back from the
latest tour because they reasonably assumed she was singing live and not
just miming to a recording? (Actually, it would have to be multiple
class action suits since these performances happened in a multitude of
different jurisdictions.)

--
Rhino

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 2025-08-18 11:29 AM, Melissa Hollingsworth wrote:

Verily, in article <107vdkg$333le$[email protected]>, did [email protected] deliver unto us this message:

I just came across an interesting video where a professional musician
and YouTuber reacts to a claim Dave Grohl made recently that Taylor
Swift isn't signing live at her concerts but is instead miming to a
pre-recorded vocal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqFZYYvWmHg [19 minutes]

This isn't new. Fil's been arguing with Swifties for months. He has
several followup videos further proving his points, though I'm not sure
the Swifties are listening.

Yeah, I didn't realize the video was 9 months old until after I'd posted.

Some of the comments claim to be from Swifties who don't believe him or
who claim not to care even if his claims are true. Various professional
audio people have weighed in to say he's correct: the evidence he's
presented inevitably leads to the conclusion that she's
miming/lip-synching to a (heavily edited) recording.>

It's been a while since I watched the first video, but IIRC, he said
that *some* of the show is mimed. Do I recall incorrectly? Is he saying
that the whole show's a recording?

You recall incorrectly. He compared short excerpts of one song from four different shows and a trailer for a concert film to each other and they
were all the same vocal. I haven't looked at his *other* videos on this
topic.
> I've heard some young people say that they expect shows to be mimed and

that anyone who expects actual singing is naive. I think that's sad,
because (real) live music has beneficial effects on the human nervous
system, effects recordings don't replicate.

I agree completely. If the singer (or any of the other musicians for
that matter), are just miming their performance, I am at a loss to
understand why anyone would pay $10, let alone $1000, to see the show.
I'd have a much better time listening to the recording on my headphones
in a comfortable chair. I suppose people who love being in a huge crowd
might feel different but that's not me.

--
Rhino

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Rhino wrote:

I just came across an interesting video where a professional musician
and YouTuber reacts to a claim Dave Grohl made recently that Taylor
Swift isn't signing live at her concerts but is instead miming to a >pre-recorded vocal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqFZYYvWmHg [19 minutes]

I depsise Dave Grohl, but did you know James Comey is a Swift fan?

https://youtu.be/E4uvCIp2jFU?si=PmAj3oHso3jB0mrT

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