Thank you for doing this story justice. Rob and Fab were kids who got messed over, but got all the blame. I wish Rob was here today to see that people understand it’s usually the executives in charge and the artists get raw deals. It’s such a sad story, I’m glad that Fab has been able to get through it. He’s wonderful to listen to in his interviews. As far as the comment Rob made about other artists, having English not their first language is so important, I see many of my friends taken out of context or saying something that doesn’t sound right. I don’t know what he meant, but I just get it. With the few seconds floating around of Rob singing terribly, you can catch even Mariah Carey singing awful..I wish we had more of his voice, Fab has said they recorded, but I’m guessing it’s not out there or you’d have found it. I haven’t looked honestly.
I agree! People/agents/ handlers totally did those kids way dirty! While they all got rich off their backs! Then when s**t hit the fan, they threw Rob & Fab to the wolves, so they could look all shiny and clean! But OC as per usual people did not disappoint with the vicious hate! Like they were the only ones doing this at the time? Come on! Lip syncing, sampling, what ever! Look at the CNC music factory fiasco. Shame on whoever is still profiting they have blood on their hands!
@@Traxploitation I used to have little sympathy for them as a kid, but now I feel so fkn bad for them. People were so in the dark about how this happened back then, and largely blamed the Damn boys for it!! They were kids living in the Damn projects who had a pot of gold thrown in their laps. Plus, they worked their asses off and were talented physically (performance wise). It's just a damned shame.
I wouldn't dream of asking for a refund best Album I ever bought. With Rob and Fab's great stage presence dancing and good looks combined with John Davis's great Voice it was pure Magic. Thanks for the Wonderful Memories. Rest in Paradise to Rob and John Davis💙🕊🙏😢
Such a tragic story, that producer is a con artist no matter how it's told. So good to see Fab rising above and performing. He among John Davis, may he RIP.. showed that it can still be a success while keeping it real.
Fab is a terrific singer: it still baffles me as to why Frank just didn't let him and Rob sing on the albums (which would have prevented the whole fiasco).
@@MRB16th Your so right he is such a terrific singer..but to be fair I don't think he was always a terrific singer. Pretty sure in the begining he wasn't that good. but he could've probably sang the songs well enough. I believe that the songs were recorded way before he was in the picture. .. and let's face it they are great recordings. He probably wouldn't have been as good back then... and they probably didn't have time or didn't want to wait for him to get better.
@@MRB16th Because they aren't talented, they aren't good singers at all and Morvan with his thick french accent was actually the first crack in the charade, because people noticed he sounded completely different than on stage. This wasn't even a unsual thing to do, as especially in Italy it was common to have different people portray the music on stage. Countless projects like Black Box (their biggest hit being Strike it Up). It's not different than the Monkees, C+C Music Factory and countless others. There's usually a good reason why you have to go that way and it usually is because the original musicians sing great, but aren't marketable, while they need a marketable face, which usually lacks the talent. This is what happened here and it was neither the first or the last time Farian did it, he did the same thing with Boney M. in the 70's and La Bouche in the 90's for example.
Frank Farian is just something else ain't he, a proper piece of work. My aunty was one of the original members of Boney M (Maizie Williams) whom Farian also tried to take for fools all because he didn't have the looks to sing his own songs therefore always getting models/actors and studio singers to front his groups/singers. RIP Rob😇🙏
@@chucks_88 Frank Farian should have went to jail for planning everything. He set this up before even meeting Fab and Rob. So he was going to steal regardless
I still like the album!!! I still sing the all the songs. I'm sad to see they got thrown under bus and left to take the blame by a industry that deals in fantasy and ran by criminals!!! R.I.P. Rob Pilatus!!!
@@chucks_88 You are missing the whole point of the video. It is not about who sang the songs, Brad and John or whoever sung did a great job and nobody is denying that. It is about the illusion that was created and how well you can sell it to the masses. They couldn't sell the original singers because they didn't have the look. Rob and Fab had the complete look of what a Milli Vanilli would look like; you couldn't imagine nobody else playing the role. The bad part is they took all the blame for being the faces of an illusion used to make people feel good, sing along and spend money on a recording! Really who gives a Sh** put on another record and turn the volume up!!
That Farian character didn't seem to suffer any form of consequences. Rob and Fab took the fall and all the hate while he just walked away like "whatever".
Rob and Fab were the most beautiful men on TV and a lot of people got happy when they got exposed for lip syncing. Who cares? They were so sexy and performed well. If they were ugly no one would have noticed lol. There was no social media then and now we know that most singers do that on a regular basis.
Rob & Fab didn’t just lip-synced, they were doing it to other people’s vocals. Milli Vanilli had won a Grammy, which was the highest music industry honor, and they completely embarrassed Arista Records and the Recording Academy when the producer admitted that Rob & Fab were a front. Rob & Fab were huge celebrities at the time and it was just such a shocking story for the media, particularly in America. Milli Vanilli had sold a lot of albums and there were bound to be fans that were going to feel conned in some way by the truth.
@@RocStarr913 Fans were ok with the truth. Their manager used them to get richer. Rob and Fab suffered long term. If an artist looks crap (like the real singers) then music won't sell.
@@joannadziokan3267 It didn’t help that no big fish in the music industry wanted to work with them again. They had to sign to a tiny little independent record label and it had little money to print records and promote their music and it ended up going bankrupt.
Where there’s a lot of love there’s a lot of hate. A lot of people do not like them for whatever reasons….it was too good to be true for them when it was revealed they didn’t sing on their records. They were savoring the entire scandal.
Wow, I never knew there was such a tragedy behind this story. I was just looking for some information on the scandal and how it actually happened. Thank you very much for this video!
Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment. So glad you enjoyed the video...please check out the other videos, it's all similar stories, other shady tales from the music industry.
This story is both tragic and triumphant at the same time. I'm sad for Rob but glad to see that Fab has found some peace and success despite everything that happened.
I think that at the MTV concert it was a sabotage. Many in the music industry knew about the Milli Vanilli, they were actually not the only group/project to practice the lip syncing at that time. I'm maybe wrong, but there were a lot of envy and jealousy against them. They sold millions of discs, they were loved by millions of fan and let's not be blind, they were very good looking, getting a lot of attention and admiration from ladies. The backlash against them was very harsh and mean. At least they lived their dream even for a short time.
This is such a tragic story but at the same time up lifting. These two guys have talents but were not given the chance to show it. They just were naive at the time and trusted someone who did not appreciate their art. If they were in good hands I believe they can go the distance. I mean they can do their own singing and dance moves they also have the looks too including manners. They got the dream all worked out. It was sad that no ody got their back during that time. R.I.P Rob and god speed Fab.
In 1989 most people held the belief the singer/performer/artist/celebrity associated to singing or playing the popular song they were known for was actually responsible for creating that tune or album from it's initial recording, to the live stage, television and the awards shows. Milli Vanilli stood-out that year for being exposed singing to a backing track. A practice done long before them, and a practice now embraced in the 20s as common-place for any big name popular act.
This is taken from a longer documentary I made called Mime and Punishment...and you just summarised it perfectly. It covers all the points you mentioned, and more. ua-cam.com/video/mFWh2HV5T0s/v-deo.html&si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE
They were young and naive and fell for the trap, they wanted the fame and fortune and didn't realise how much they had to sacrifice until it was too late,sadly to this day it shows how cruel and heartless the entertainment industry is and also scary how it is a lesson still not learnt it's why the most "successful" entertainers lives for the most part end so tragically.
I didn't realise circulation of their Rob and Fab album was so small. Picked up a copy on release day from a local store along with one of the CD singles. Probably worth a lot more to me than eBay 👍 Thanks for the detailed video!!
the label executives must be held accountable for fraud but the guys were blamed for everything. its just like britney lipsync for most of her gigs in australia that the oz govt finally passed a law that artists in concerts must perform live or else charged with fraud.
Hello again 👋 That's a very interesting story. I lived in Australia for 10 years, and was there for that controversy. I don't think any state or federal laws were ever passed concerning this. They talked about it but never did anything. AFAIK. NSW State gov came the closest but all they wanted was artists that lip sync to make it clear to ticket buyers, rather than outlawing the practice entirely.
But you're right, the label executives should take responsibility too. There's no way Clive Davis, who famously refused to sign Whithey Houston until she had personally sang for him, didn't know they weren't the singers. He's also in the past been involved in all kinds of corruption, not least of all payola, he also once threw a really expensive party for his kid and claimed it back from the record label as a business expense. He was investigated for fraud and yet Somehow he managed to stay out of the line of fire on this one!?!? Very fishy!
This story is a prime example to how disgraceful the music industry is, them 2 guys were victims, I followed this story right from the very beginning and it was just sad to how it ended for 2 vulnerable victims,
I remember when it was on the news that these guys didn't sing, nobody really cared anymore, they were already fading away because they were too trendi and once the trend fades you fade with it so all it did was speed up the process. They had a lot of talent but the people in charge exploited them instead of helping them develop until it exploded in their face.
Actually Frank Farian IS Boney M. The first Boney M song, Do You Wanna Bump is Frank Farian singing the male and "female" vocals. His voice was pitched down for the male vocals and pitched up for the backing vocals. He then hired models and dancers to mime to his performance, and eventually hired actual female singers, but for most Boney M records the male voice is Farian and Bobby Farrell mimed to his performance. Here's the video on Frank Farian and Boney M. ua-cam.com/video/SpU3ZGggeoQ/v-deo.html
Sad story. But let's be honest here.... That All Or Nothing album was very very good. The sound was crazy for the time... Also I don't look at them as one of the biggest scandals in music. They were one of the biggest groups in music for two years. Lip sync or not the fans loved the package... I'm very happy Fab is doing well these days. People can say whatever they want but Milli Vanilli will forever be remembered... RIP Rob.
I remember the very early 90s as kinda just being an extension of the 1980s, but there was a real shift happening at the same time with the emergence of grunge music…so, the fact that these two were already getting spoofed on SNL by 1990 isn’t all that surprising. They were riding the rim of played out 1980s, when people were starting to move on to the 90s. Reminds me of the kids in school who were still tight-rolling their jeans when everyone else had moved on to wearing the newest trends, like straight leg, bootcut or baggy jeans. Anyway, well done video!
Years later, I always thought that it was peculiar that the track skipping is was the “smoking gun” moment of them lip-syncing…as MANY live performances, past and present, are to a recorded track! (especially, if they’re dancing a lot). Why didn’t people/the press just assume that the two, simply, were not singing live???
If you're wondering WTF David Letterman was referencing with that "Fact Checkers at 20/20 Buckwheat division" joke, the news program 20/20 had been taken in by an imposter claiming to have played Buckwheat in the Our Gang films, known as The Little Rascals on TV. The real Buckwheat, William Thomas, had recently passed away. After 20/20 aired an interview with the Bogus Buckwheat, George "Spanky" McFarland contacted the program to straighten them out and 20/20 had to issue a major mea culpa. This was a big deal because 20/20 presented itself as a serious, hard news program and got caught having not done the most basic research.
@@tommym321 neither is Madonna. She certainly is no Whitney Houston but look how far she went. Sometimes it’s as much about stage presence, image and energy as voice.
Absolutely! In my work as a studio engineer and producer, I've seen all sorts of people with varying levels of singing ability, and that singing ability always seems to be the least important factor in their success. number 1 is worth ethic! people always forget how important that is. Say what you want about Madonna's voice. she worked her butt off to get where she is. I've worked with tons of amazing singers who got nowhere, they were acutely aware of their talent and thought they could get by on that alone and had terrible work ethic. Turning up late and unprepared to sessions. Then of course, like you said, there is stage presence, attitude, and image. If you're a good singer but don't have those things you'll never be the lead/solo star... you'll have to be a backing singer, session singer, etc.
At the end of the day we all learned they were the only milli Vanilli unfortunately for rob it was to late. I can’t even imagine what frank said to them to release another album.
A lot of bad stuff resulted from the fallout of Milli Vanilli. They suffered. But if they didn’t try to deceive the public in the first place, all of this would not have happened. The producers and those who strung them up should have been punished.
So sad that they were left to face all this alone. The record companies and Frank Farian should’ve been held accountable. So sad Rob was taken away so soon. Love and peace. Fab keep going you’re a shining star in your own right and deserve all that’s good ❤❤❤❤loved you both then and still love you both now
Once again musicians and authors got nothing but misery and producers and lawyers got all and switch all responsibility on musicians. Nice thing capitalism, where some thief steals other's author rights, got all royalties and then even sue other authors because one sequence in song happen to be similar to real author's song. And he is right because he is businessman and he have right to profit.
Is this relating to Milli Vanilli, or were you watching one of the copyright case videos? But you're right about capitalism, the word capitalise literally means exploit or take advantage of. The word exploit appears frequently throughout most recording contracts. When signing a deal you're giving consent to your own exploitation. 🤷♂️ It's why i called my business Traxploitation.
Thank you for posting this a\mazing, yet tragic explanation of the TRUTH! I've heard SOOOO many different iterations of this story via word of mouth, it's nice to know what actually happened. RIP, Rob, so sorry you were confused about answers you never received, and Fab, keep on keeping on!
@@Traxploitation I agree. Maybe you could do some research into other toll-free numbers from like 40 years ago to see if they are still active and if so, what they are being used for.
That's what makes the story so tragic. They weren't the only ones, not even first, weren't even last..weren't even the most successful ones to do it, and yet someone took their own life as a result.
Damn , I wouldn't stand being ridiculed like that either...Takes a strong mind to pull through this kind of trauma. Kudos to Fab such an inspiration! Also, the "emotional trauma" that that kid apparently had, David Letterman and all the law suits, returning money... Such a bullshit , they left to kids to deal with all of this! Today it will be no biggie.
Thanks but that's the result of an edit that UA-cam did to remove copyright content. Nothing I can do about it. Originally the song "Girl I'm gonna Miss you" played at that point But the youtube content ID system made me hack it out, it was that, or delete the video! This video is 3 years old, and back then you would get the copyright claims AFTER the video was published, sometimes weeks or even months later. Now, you can check for copyright issues and fix them BEFORE publishing the video, so these rough edits don't really happen anymore. It's kind of weird that people think these bad edits are on purpose.
Never had any time for Milli Vanilli back in the day. I had a huge dislike for their music and still do. Now I've seen this though I can at least feel sorry for them. They were badly used and left to the wolves. I suppose, if there's a lesson to be learnt here it's, get a lawyer before you sign anything.
They emailed me a couple of years ago asking where I got certain bits of footage and information as they couldn't find it...I replied that I'd be happy to help, but we'd need to agree some sort of credit and/or payment. Never heard back after that. 🤔🤷♂️
Thanks for watching and commenting, I have to strongly disagree though. Autotune isn't the same at all. Not even close. You still have to be able to sing. It's an absolute myth that Autotune can make someone who can't sing, sing. There's more to singing than being in tune. Rhythm, tone, and attitude are all part of it. Pitch is probably the least important. It's also worth noting that while autotune is a brand that launched in 1997, devices that can tune vocals have existed since the 1970s. It's not a new thing. It's just people started talking about it after the Cher song. Does anyone really think Cher can't sing? 🤷♂️ I'm going to have to make a video on this as I've had literally hundreds of comments comparing autotune to pretending you sang on a recording that you didn't. I've been a sound engineer and producer for over 30 years, I've worked with some of the best singers (my first job was working in Motown UK studio) and I've worked with some of the worst. I engineered some of the first Perer Andre album but asked not to be credited. So I know what can and can't be achieved with technology. Autotune can't help someone who has zero vocal skills. 🤷♂️ As I have the equipment, I won't just talk about, I'll be demonstrating it.
Autotune is a brand name, but the function it performs, pitch quantize, DID exist then 🤷♂️ the eventide h910 came out in 1974. And can tune vocals. It was used by led zeppelin on "kashmir". We used one of these to tune Peter Andre's voice too. There was also the Publison IM90 from 1984. Used by Prince quite a bit, he used it to make the "camille" voice and to do the harmonies on "7". It's a common misconception that "autotune" is a modern thing. It's been around for decades. The other myth is that it can make anyone into a good singer. It really can't, there's much more to a good vocal performance than just being in tune. Thanks for watching and commenting.
I wouldn't say this was one of the biggest scandals... But, say what you will, Frank Farian is one of the best producers, ever. Check out his work with Boney M on their albums, the musicality is nothing short of awesome. What a sad story, and from the performance angle, it seems that at least one of them could really sing.
OK, well I think it was a pretty big scandal at the time, and arguably one of the biggest, here we are still talking about it. That alone tells a story. Still, it's all subjective, just like how good a producer Frank Farian was. If I was to compile a list of who I thought the best and most influential producers of all time were. He wouldn't be on it. Not even close. A thousand other names come to mind first. Boney M, while very successful, was still cheesy Eurovision-style disco and I just don't hear the "awesome musicality". "Do you wanna Bump" is just Prince Buster's "Al Capone" with a disco beat. But, it's subjective, so your opinion is valid. I should also mention this video is from a longer video, that does also include the story of Frank Farian the artist and the creation of Boney M. ua-cam.com/video/mFWh2HV5T0s/v-deo.html&si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE
@@Traxploitation Hey, not denigrating your work, but Milli Vanilli were hardly the first to perform to music they had no part in...I wonder if the furore at the time was more racial based than anything else, much like the US Disco Sucks campaign.. With Farian and Boney M it's not so much the hits that are awesome, although some of the middle eights are rather slick, it's the album tracks... But yes, it's all subjective, agreed! Thanks for the link, I'll check it out. Oh, and if I didn't before, you've gained an extra subscriber.
@@peterjones596 I agree, The message of the full length was Milli Vanilli WAS the biggest scandal, but it shouldnt have been, they werent the first by many decades, they werent the only ones in the 80s and 90s and werent the biggest selling...and yes i think theres a big element of racism/xenophobia in the reaction from the US music industry, i think they just couldnt accept that 2 european black guys, one french one german duped them into giving them the most prestigious awards in USA. The "disco sucks" thing was racism plus homophobia, and thats going to be the subject of a future video. Thanks for watching and commenting, always nice to get feedback. Let me know what you think of the full length one...cheers
@@Traxploitation Oh yes, I forgot about the homophobic angle of disco sucks... And then they tried to foist country and western on us, via John Travolta's Urban Cowboy movie... Yuck! Yeah, I'll definitely provide feedback, here's a bit, you've got a great commentary voice and you say smart and relevant things! The video editing was slick and professional, too, and the sound in general was excellent, too. Respect!
Mir was das sooooo egal ob sie singen konnten oder nicht ❤sie waren einfach wunderschön und sexy ❤schade das einer sterben musste r.i.p ich liebte sie ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
UA-cam removed a section due to copyright. 🙄 The full length video is here, with no edits. If you go to 25.55 it will pick up from that spot. 😎 ua-cam.com/video/mFWh2HV5T0s/v-deo.html&si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE
I honestly believe they should give back the Grammy, they didn't give it to anyone else, they should just add the caveat that "Milli Vanilli" is not simply Rob and Fab and the award should go to everyone involved in the record.
@@Traxploitation To do that would tarnish the Recording Academy as an organization. Milli Vanilli was a charade dependent on both Rob & Fab and the studio vocalists to work.
It is so sad how that event took Rob's life. On the other hand, I feel so happy that Fab took a different path and continue to believe in him. He really is an intelligent and nice person.
The people suing are disgusting. I remember that song being played non stop on the radio and the whole fake outrage. It never mattered to us and sadly the media always has to have a scapegoat to divert the public’s attention to.
I just realized something, you know what could've save Milli Vanilli ? If Rob, Fab & the real singers (John Davis & Brad Howell) form a group together. John & Brad does the singing while Rob & Fab does dancing & backup vocals.
Well I get your idea and the overall physics of it I see where you're going with that and it's a good foundation for possibly a very successful collaboration......But if I remember correctly the real singers and musicians weren't the song writers....However ...If the singers and musicians had hit songs written or if there were others that wrote those Milli Vanilli songs and ALL parties involved....Except that jerk Farian.....Could come up with a mutual agreement and work together that could very well work...There are even ways to get around the recording/live performance issues as to not be technically deceptive during live performances....Not a bad idea ...Oh and Cam James has a good point as well but that's the WHOLE reason behind your idea !
@@CamJames yep. nobody wanted to see "fat" and "ugly" ppl dance nor sing. everybody had to look good for club MTV, the grind, that usa dance party show, etc. im surprised MTV showed SEAL!
I, along with some friends and family, saw Milli Vanilli in St. Louis, MO the summer of 1989. This was before the MTV debacle. However, I remember that in no more than a week's time, there was an article written in a local newspaper which had pointed out that anyone at the concert did not actually see Milli Vanilli performing "live." Though the article only pointed out that the pair did lip sync over a music track but didn't imply that they were not the actual, original singers. Fyi, no one who I was with at the concert ever concerned themselves with any kind of refund, nor did we immediately trash our Milli Vanilli CD(s). In fact, I still have the original "Girl You Know It's True" album on CD that was purchased before the scandal broke. Before watching this video, I had not known the extended details of how the group came to be what it was and all the before and aftermath. Now I am really glad that I never bought into the "hate" aspect of it all. Really, it seems that the true villain in the history of Milli Vanilli is the devil who orchestrated the deal. Last lil' bit from me, my favorite Milli Vanilli song has always been, "Blame It On The Rain."
Is sad that J.lo committed the same thing and the music industry said nothing as a matter of fact they praised her for it but Milli vanilli they got the Oscars taking from now they got their names dragged through the mud I thought it was fk up what they did to these two, I still like I like they singing I like they dancing.
100% thats what I discuss in the full documentary. ua-cam.com/video/mFWh2HV5T0s/v-deo.html&si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE JLO did sing on the verses but it's someone else singing some choruses. Nevertheless there's little difference and she gets to "sing" at the superbowl while Rob is in the ground. 🤷♂️
@@Traxploitation Ashanti and JLo have two different voices, it's no way you can get away with telling me and want me to bite down on it that J-Lo song 1 verse with her voice on Ashanti song, the only difference is Irv Gotti gave the okay for JLo to pull A Milli vanilli period
The performative outrage over Milli Vanilli at the time was more fake than the music itself. Anyone who didn't realize many of the pop bands, at the height of MTV, were prefabricated clearly either weren't paying attention or didn't actually care in the first place.
I would pay anything to hear their 1997 comeback album" Back in attack!" Fab Morvan should get the rights from Frank Farian to release the cancelled album
Wow. I knew Rob after the scandal. He told me what happened from start to finish one night, he was very troubled and very needed. This video has given me more insight and closure. One thing that stuck with me that Rob said in 92, If ever he was sent back to Germany that he would kill himself. He died I'm a hotel in Germany. Ferrian was like many producers in the 80's and 90's terrible!! The music industry knew they weren't singing. So many groups weren't sing back then. They used them! Poor fragile Rob was weak from the start...never having a true sense of self or grounded! He told me he hate the orphanage and the life in Germany...never belonged. Being fake and never knowing who you are is deadly..as well as fame and shame! Rest in Love Rob.🤍🕊
She did the vocals for "Gonna Make Ya Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) and the entire Black Black album (except Ride on Time which was an uncleared, uncredited sample of Loleata Holloway) I cover those stories in the full video this is taken from you can watch that here ua-cam.com/video/mFWh2HV5T0s/v-deo.html or you can watch just the Martha Wash section here ua-cam.com/video/eSefwVQVVpU/v-deo.html the Story of Snap and "I Got The Power" is a whole other complicated story which I will get to one day :)
They did nothing wrong. This is how MOST music is made today, maybe not with a whole group in the background, but with a background track. They were victims who thought they were going to be given a chance to become stars, had signed the contract before they knew better..They were victims.
Poor sods. Talk about being thrown to the wolves once they’d served their purpose and the record company and Farian got their pound of flesh i.e millions and millions of dollars.
I was little, like 6 or something, when this “scandal” happened and I didn’t care because I adored THEM.. their dancing, clothes and wow were they gorgeous! The music was just the accompaniment! I will always love you and miss you Rob and Fab! ❤
Thank you for doing this story justice. Rob and Fab were kids who got messed over, but got all the blame. I wish Rob was here today to see that people understand it’s usually the executives in charge and the artists get raw deals. It’s such a sad story, I’m glad that Fab has been able to get through it. He’s wonderful to listen to in his interviews.
As far as the comment Rob made about other artists, having English not their first language is so important, I see many of my friends taken out of context or saying something that doesn’t sound right. I don’t know what he meant, but I just get it. With the few seconds floating around of Rob singing terribly, you can catch even Mariah Carey singing awful..I wish we had more of his voice, Fab has said they recorded, but I’m guessing it’s not out there or you’d have found it. I haven’t looked honestly.
Rob and Fab chose to be part of the scam. They were not victims.
I agree! People/agents/ handlers totally did those kids way dirty! While they all got rich off their backs! Then when s**t hit the fan, they threw Rob & Fab to the wolves, so they could look all shiny and clean! But OC as per usual people did not disappoint with the vicious hate! Like they were the only ones doing this at the time? Come on! Lip syncing, sampling, what ever! Look at the CNC music factory fiasco. Shame on whoever is still profiting they have blood on their hands!
@@docsavage8640🤡
They need to make a movie about them
@@tcbtheking01 They do have a documentary.
It’s cool to see Fab singing their old songs live 💖 He looks happy. I wish Rob had gotten to have that experience before he passed.
Yeah tragic story. Glad that Fab is still going.
I found watching that footage really moving, just a shame they both didn't make it to that moment.
@@Traxploitation I used to have little sympathy for them as a kid, but now I feel so fkn bad for them. People were so in the dark about how this happened back then, and largely blamed the Damn boys for it!! They were kids living in the Damn projects who had a pot of gold thrown in their laps. Plus, they worked their asses off and were talented physically (performance wise). It's just a damned shame.
and he can sing perfectly well!
They made it serm that due to the grally he was depressed. Yo they still were n are the faces n dancers of milli vanilli forever
That guy suing as a fan is beyond hilarious lmao
I wouldn't dream of asking for a refund best Album I ever bought. With Rob and Fab's great stage presence dancing and good looks combined with John Davis's great Voice it was pure Magic. Thanks for the Wonderful Memories. Rest in Paradise to Rob and John Davis💙🕊🙏😢
Not to mention good looks😊
What's sad is that this isn't so scandalous in today's shitty pop world
Ur right 🤷♂️It would just be a 24hr story then we'd move on
@@Traxploitation
MV was the 1st to experience "cancel culture."
Exactly, Rob would be rolling in his grave seeing how lip syncing have become a norm in most live performances.
They basically fell on the sword. It's all so tragic. But Fab seems to be doing very well right now! His Vlad interview is really good
@@KingofgraceSARAI guess you missed the backlash from when John Lennon said The Beatles were bigger than Jesus.
Arista Records KNEW they were Fake... but Acted shocked... .. smh
Such a tragic story,
that producer is a con artist no matter how it's told. So good to see Fab rising above and performing. He among John Davis, may he RIP.. showed that it can still be a success while keeping it real.
Fab is a terrific singer: it still baffles me as to why Frank just didn't let him and Rob sing on the albums (which would have prevented the whole fiasco).
@@MRB16th Your so right he is such a terrific singer..but to be fair I don't think he was always a terrific singer. Pretty sure in the begining he wasn't that good.
but he could've probably sang the songs well enough.
I believe that the songs were recorded way before he was in the picture. .. and let's face it they are great recordings.
He probably wouldn't have been as good back then... and they probably didn't have time or didn't want to wait for him to get better.
@@julienceaser Even if his vocals weren't 100%, surely that would have been a workable situation given the backing singers and resources Frank had.
Rob and Fab chose to be part of the scam. They were not victims.
@@MRB16th Because they aren't talented, they aren't good singers at all and Morvan with his thick french accent was actually the first crack in the charade, because people noticed he sounded completely different than on stage.
This wasn't even a unsual thing to do, as especially in Italy it was common to have different people portray the music on stage. Countless projects like Black Box (their biggest hit being Strike it Up). It's not different than the Monkees, C+C Music Factory and countless others. There's usually a good reason why you have to go that way and it usually is because the original musicians sing great, but aren't marketable, while they need a marketable face, which usually lacks the talent. This is what happened here and it was neither the first or the last time Farian did it, he did the same thing with Boney M. in the 70's and La Bouche in the 90's for example.
Frank Farian is just something else ain't he, a proper piece of work. My aunty was one of the original members of Boney M (Maizie Williams) whom Farian also tried to take for fools all because he didn't have the looks to sing his own songs therefore always getting models/actors and studio singers to front his groups/singers.
RIP Rob😇🙏
Like C&C Music Factory, they used a model to lip sync in the videos.
The only ones that was hurt by this, were Fab and Rob, especially Rob. So sad
They scammed millions off this and would have kept steeling if that song didn't skip .So stop acting like there 2 were guilt free
Rob and Fab chose to be part of the scam. They were not victims.
@@chucks_88 Frank Farian should have went to jail for planning everything. He set this up before even meeting Fab and Rob. So he was going to steal regardless
I still like the album!!! I still sing the all the songs. I'm sad to see they got thrown under bus and left to take the blame by a industry that deals in fantasy and ran by criminals!!! R.I.P. Rob Pilatus!!!
Then go thank Brad Howell and John Davis because they were actually singing not these two frauds
@@chucks_88 You are missing the whole point of the video. It is not about who sang the songs, Brad and John or whoever sung did a great job and nobody is denying that. It is about the illusion that was created and how well you can sell it to the masses. They couldn't sell the original singers because they didn't have the look. Rob and Fab had the complete look of what a Milli Vanilli would look like; you couldn't imagine nobody else playing the role. The bad part is they took all the blame for being the faces of an illusion used to make people feel good, sing along and spend money on a recording! Really who gives a Sh** put on another record and turn the volume up!!
You like bad music.
@@docsavage8640 "Blame it on the Rain!!"😂😂
That Farian character didn't seem to suffer any form of consequences. Rob and Fab took the fall and all the hate while he just walked away like "whatever".
Rob and Fab were the most beautiful men on TV and a lot of people got happy when they got exposed for lip syncing. Who cares? They were so sexy and performed well. If they were ugly no one would have noticed lol. There was no social media then and now we know that most singers do that on a regular basis.
Rob & Fab didn’t just lip-synced, they were doing it to other people’s vocals. Milli Vanilli had won a Grammy, which was the highest music industry honor, and they completely embarrassed Arista Records and the Recording Academy when the producer admitted that Rob & Fab were a front. Rob & Fab were huge celebrities at the time and it was just such a shocking story for the media, particularly in America. Milli Vanilli had sold a lot of albums and there were bound to be fans that were going to feel conned in some way by the truth.
@@RocStarr913 Fans were ok with the truth. Their manager used them to get richer. Rob and Fab suffered long term. If an artist looks crap (like the real singers) then music won't sell.
@@joannadziokan3267 It didn’t help that no big fish in the music industry wanted to work with them again. They had to sign to a tiny little independent record label and it had little money to print records and promote their music and it ended up going bankrupt.
@@RocStarr913 Yes, I know.
Where there’s a lot of love there’s a lot of hate. A lot of people do not like them for whatever reasons….it was too good to be true for them when it was revealed they didn’t sing on their records. They were savoring the entire scandal.
The biggest scam is that the awards were not then given to those who wrote and performed the music
You're talking about the Nurmax band ?
It’s sad NO ONE had there back when it went to shit! Poor Rob my heart breaks for him, but end the end the shame was too much for him.
Wow, I never knew there was such a tragedy behind this story. I was just looking for some information on the scandal and how it actually happened. Thank you very much for this video!
Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment. So glad you enjoyed the video...please check out the other videos, it's all similar stories, other shady tales from the music industry.
@@Traxploitation Absolutely! Sleng Teng is next 🔥
@@EISERMANN80 oh that's a really good one!!
Yes they were used and thrown to the wolves but back in the 80s we loved them and we still do forever Rob and Fab fan
They would be huge today. All these hacks using auto tune are horrible.
This story is both tragic and triumphant at the same time. I'm sad for Rob but glad to see that Fab has found some peace and success despite everything that happened.
Well done I enjoyed this mini documentary.Its a pity that they didn't sing on their music cause their songs were very good.
😆 🤣 😂 the music was godawful formula pop garbage
@@docsavage8640 one persons pleasure is anothers poison
@@docsavage8640 no dude
I think that at the MTV concert it was a sabotage. Many in the music industry knew about the Milli Vanilli, they were actually not the only group/project to practice the lip syncing at that time.
I'm maybe wrong, but there were a lot of envy and jealousy against them. They sold millions of discs, they were loved by millions of fan and let's not be blind, they were very good looking, getting a lot of attention and admiration from ladies. The backlash against them was very harsh and mean. At least they lived their dream even for a short time.
This is such a tragic story but at the same time up lifting. These two guys have talents but were not given the chance to show it.
They just were naive at the time and trusted someone who did not appreciate their art.
If they were in good hands I believe they can go the distance. I mean they can do their own singing and dance moves they also have the looks too including manners.
They got the dream all worked out. It was sad that no ody got their back during that time. R.I.P Rob and god speed Fab.
In 1989 most people held the belief the singer/performer/artist/celebrity associated to singing or playing the popular song they were known for was actually responsible for creating that tune or album from it's initial recording, to the live stage, television and the awards shows. Milli Vanilli stood-out that year for being exposed singing to a backing track. A practice done long before them, and a practice now embraced in the 20s as common-place for any big name popular act.
This is taken from a longer documentary I made called Mime and Punishment...and you just summarised it perfectly. It covers all the points you mentioned, and more.
ua-cam.com/video/mFWh2HV5T0s/v-deo.html&si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE
thats crazy. and you didnt lie.
They were young and naive and fell for the trap, they wanted the fame and fortune and didn't realise how much they had to sacrifice until it was too late,sadly to this day it shows how cruel and heartless the entertainment industry is and also scary how it is a lesson still not learnt it's why the most "successful" entertainers lives for the most part end so tragically.
I didn't realise circulation of their Rob and Fab album was so small. Picked up a copy on release day from a local store along with one of the CD singles. Probably worth a lot more to me than eBay 👍 Thanks for the detailed video!!
Yeah, people assume it just sold badly. But you can't sell millions if you only have thousands 🤷♂️
the label executives must be held accountable for fraud but the guys were blamed for everything.
its just like britney lipsync for most of her gigs in australia that the oz govt finally passed a law that artists in concerts must perform live or else charged with fraud.
Hello again 👋
That's a very interesting story. I lived in Australia for 10 years, and was there for that controversy.
I don't think any state or federal laws were ever passed concerning this. They talked about it but never did anything. AFAIK. NSW State gov came the closest but all they wanted was artists that lip sync to make it clear to ticket buyers, rather than outlawing the practice entirely.
But you're right, the label executives should take responsibility too. There's no way Clive Davis, who famously refused to sign Whithey Houston until she had personally sang for him, didn't know they weren't the singers. He's also in the past been involved in all kinds of corruption, not least of all payola, he also once threw a really expensive party for his kid and claimed it back from the record label as a business expense. He was investigated for fraud and yet Somehow he managed to stay out of the line of fire on this one!?!? Very fishy!
I still play mili vanili music this day's they had some dance hits
This story is a prime example to how disgraceful the music industry is, them 2 guys were victims, I followed this story right from the very beginning and it was just sad to how it ended for 2 vulnerable victims,
I remember when it was on the news that these guys didn't sing, nobody really cared anymore, they were already fading away because they were too trendi and once the trend fades you fade with it so all it did was speed up the process. They had a lot of talent but the people in charge exploited them instead of helping them develop until it exploded in their face.
Frank Farian did the same thing with Boney M when their hits dried up.
Actually Frank Farian IS Boney M. The first Boney M song, Do You Wanna Bump is Frank Farian singing the male and "female" vocals. His voice was pitched down for the male vocals and pitched up for the backing vocals. He then hired models and dancers to mime to his performance, and eventually hired actual female singers, but for most Boney M records the male voice is Farian and Bobby Farrell mimed to his performance.
Here's the video on Frank Farian and Boney M. ua-cam.com/video/SpU3ZGggeoQ/v-deo.html
Thank you for the research in this video... I learned a lot and my appreciation for Rob and Fab is real.
Sad story. But let's be honest here.... That All Or Nothing album was very very good. The sound was crazy for the time... Also I don't look at them as one of the biggest scandals in music. They were one of the biggest groups in music for two years. Lip sync or not the fans loved the package... I'm very happy Fab is doing well these days. People can say whatever they want but Milli Vanilli will forever be remembered... RIP Rob.
Its completely possible to not hear an accent when you sing in a language that is not your first.
Might be true for singing, not so much for rapping though🤔
18:52
"Top Ten New Jobs for Milli Vanilli"
"Professional Objects of Scorn for Years to Come"
...Well, Lettterman got that part right.
I remember the very early 90s as kinda just being an extension of the 1980s, but there was a real shift happening at the same time with the emergence of grunge music…so, the fact that these two were already getting spoofed on SNL by 1990 isn’t all that surprising. They were riding the rim of played out 1980s, when people were starting to move on to the 90s. Reminds me of the kids in school who were still tight-rolling their jeans when everyone else had moved on to wearing the newest trends, like straight leg, bootcut or baggy jeans.
Anyway, well done video!
Years later, I always thought that it was peculiar that the track skipping is was the “smoking gun” moment of them lip-syncing…as MANY live performances, past and present, are to a recorded track! (especially, if they’re dancing a lot). Why didn’t people/the press just assume that the two, simply, were not singing live???
@@MrDeadHead69 whaaaaaaaaat??? Do tell🫖
If you're wondering WTF David Letterman was referencing with that "Fact Checkers at 20/20 Buckwheat division" joke, the news program 20/20 had been taken in by an imposter claiming to have played Buckwheat in the Our Gang films, known as The Little Rascals on TV. The real Buckwheat, William Thomas, had recently passed away. After 20/20 aired an interview with the Bogus Buckwheat, George "Spanky" McFarland contacted the program to straighten them out and 20/20 had to issue a major mea culpa. This was a big deal because 20/20 presented itself as a serious, hard news program and got caught having not done the most basic research.
They were just 30 years ahead of their time and the TikTok-world 🤣
Lol, so true!
Good interview with Fab. Very interesting person and intelligent
I still have the CD in its original case I bought when it came out. I stashed it away so still in great condition.
Wow! Amazing a piece of history!
Probably the best explanation of the story on the internet.
THANKS :)
It so sad because with their looks, their dancing and energy, if they had been allowed to use their own voices, they would have been a hit anyway.
They were not good singers.
@@tommym321 neither is Madonna. She certainly is no Whitney Houston but look how far she went. Sometimes it’s as much about stage presence, image and energy as voice.
@@purplepoppyz well I suppose that’s true about Madonna, but I think she is the exception rather than the rule.
@TommyM321 maybe but I see a lot of 'stars' who cant really sing very well but have all the image, looks etc right.
Absolutely! In my work as a studio engineer and producer, I've seen all sorts of people with varying levels of singing ability, and that singing ability always seems to be the least important factor in their success. number 1 is worth ethic! people always forget how important that is. Say what you want about Madonna's voice. she worked her butt off to get where she is. I've worked with tons of amazing singers who got nowhere, they were acutely aware of their talent and thought they could get by on that alone and had terrible work ethic. Turning up late and unprepared to sessions. Then of course, like you said, there is stage presence, attitude, and image. If you're a good singer but don't have those things you'll never be the lead/solo star... you'll have to be a backing singer, session singer, etc.
At the end of the day we all learned they were the only milli Vanilli unfortunately for rob it was to late. I can’t even imagine what frank said to them to release another album.
A lot of bad stuff resulted from the fallout of Milli Vanilli. They suffered.
But if they didn’t try to deceive the public in the first place, all of this would not have happened. The producers and those who strung them up should have been punished.
Blame Frank Farian,not these guys
Stuff like this, still won't make me take down all my posters.
Good. You obviously like music for musics sake. The way it should be. 😁
I feel bad for Milli Vanilli.
So sad that they were left to face all this alone. The record companies and Frank Farian should’ve been held accountable. So sad Rob was taken away so soon. Love and peace. Fab keep going you’re a shining star in your own right and deserve all that’s good ❤❤❤❤loved you both then and still love you both now
Once again musicians and authors got nothing but misery and producers and lawyers got all and switch all responsibility on musicians. Nice thing capitalism, where some thief steals other's author rights, got all royalties and then even sue other authors because one sequence in song happen to be similar to real author's song. And he is right because he is businessman and he have right to profit.
Is this relating to Milli Vanilli, or were you watching one of the copyright case videos?
But you're right about capitalism, the word capitalise literally means exploit or take advantage of.
The word exploit appears frequently throughout most recording contracts. When signing a deal you're giving consent to your own exploitation. 🤷♂️
It's why i called my business Traxploitation.
I called the 1-800 number and it was a sex line lol.
Lol 😆 seems kind of poetic 🤷♂️😂
Thank you for posting this a\mazing, yet tragic explanation of the TRUTH! I've heard SOOOO many different iterations of this story via word of mouth, it's nice to know what actually happened. RIP, Rob, so sorry you were confused about answers you never received, and Fab, keep on keeping on!
You're welcome, glad u liked it. Thanks for watching 👀 🙂 🙏
When that tape recorder jammed,they knew they were caught out !!! 😂😂😂😂
I'm not Into the music of Milli Vanilli at all but still an interesting story. Thanks a lot...great content! 💖
*I proudly own my Milli Vanilli cd, I dig the songs, I don't care who sang them. Jus sayin'.*
23:41 Fun Fact: The lawsuit phone number is now being used as a fee sex hotline.
Lol...a couple of people have commented that too...that's pretty funny 😁 and sounds like a decent topic for a short 🤔
@@Traxploitation I agree. Maybe you could do some research into other toll-free numbers from like 40 years ago to see if they are still active and if so, what they are being used for.
This is the norm today
GIRL AM GONNA MISS YOUUUUU...A Classic
Dancers lip-syncing to someone else's song is just the way Korean K-pop works. It's totally acceptable here.
That's what makes the story so tragic. They weren't the only ones, not even first, weren't even last..weren't even the most successful ones to do it, and yet someone took their own life as a result.
Fake or not Milli Vanilli is the 80s and good times.
Absolutely, the music was real 🤷♂️
Damn , I wouldn't stand being ridiculed like that either...Takes a strong mind to pull through this kind of trauma. Kudos to Fab such an inspiration! Also, the "emotional trauma" that that kid apparently had, David Letterman and all the law suits, returning money... Such a bullshit , they left to kids to deal with all of this! Today it will be no biggie.
Your accent is absolutely SMASHING ....ALRIGHT MATE ?
Lol. Thanks
15:10 correct the text time on screen.
Thanks but that's the result of an edit that UA-cam did to remove copyright content. Nothing I can do about it. Originally the song "Girl I'm gonna Miss you" played at that point But the youtube content ID system made me hack it out, it was that, or delete the video! This video is 3 years old, and back then you would get the copyright claims AFTER the video was published, sometimes weeks or even months later. Now, you can check for copyright issues and fix them BEFORE publishing the video, so these rough edits don't really happen anymore.
It's kind of weird that people think these bad edits are on purpose.
I love Fab so much 😍
I saw them at the Pontiac silverdome,very polished act.. who knew?? Lol
Now Don Henley gets paid to mime to 3 year old pitch corrected vocals for $100 a ticket for the nosebleed seats .
Their Grammy should be given back to them.
Dancers dont get grammies
Welcome to the music industry. I'm a musician and i can't stand it. Too many sharks all around
Never had any time for Milli Vanilli back in the day. I had a huge dislike for their music and still do. Now I've seen this though I can at least feel sorry for them. They were badly used and left to the wolves. I suppose, if there's a lesson to be learnt here it's, get a lawyer before you sign anything.
my youngest brother was into this band, dont ask me lol i had to troll him
There is a new documetary that literally stold all of this content.
They emailed me a couple of years ago asking where I got certain bits of footage and information as they couldn't find it...I replied that I'd be happy to help, but we'd need to agree some sort of credit and/or payment. Never heard back after that. 🤔🤷♂️
in the 2000s auto tunes were wildly used and accepted by fans.
biggest culprits in auto tunes are nikki minaj and lil wayne.
Thanks for watching and commenting, I have to strongly disagree though.
Autotune isn't the same at all. Not even close. You still have to be able to sing. It's an absolute myth that Autotune can make someone who can't sing, sing.
There's more to singing than being in tune. Rhythm, tone, and attitude are all part of it. Pitch is probably the least important.
It's also worth noting that while autotune is a brand that launched in 1997, devices that can tune vocals have existed since the 1970s.
It's not a new thing. It's just people started talking about it after the Cher song. Does anyone really think Cher can't sing? 🤷♂️
I'm going to have to make a video on this as I've had literally hundreds of comments comparing autotune to pretending you sang on a recording that you didn't.
I've been a sound engineer and producer for over 30 years, I've worked with some of the best singers (my first job was working in Motown UK studio) and I've worked with some of the worst. I engineered some of the first Perer Andre album but asked not to be credited.
So I know what can and can't be achieved with technology. Autotune can't help someone who has zero vocal skills. 🤷♂️
As I have the equipment, I won't just talk about, I'll be demonstrating it.
20:29
Fail
If auto-tuned vocals existed back then they would be pop legends! PLAY LOUD
Autotune is a brand name, but the function it performs, pitch quantize, DID exist then 🤷♂️ the eventide h910 came out in 1974. And can tune vocals. It was used by led zeppelin on "kashmir". We used one of these to tune Peter Andre's voice too.
There was also the Publison IM90 from 1984. Used by Prince quite a bit, he used it to make the "camille" voice and to do the harmonies on "7". It's a common misconception that "autotune" is a modern thing. It's been around for decades. The other myth is that it can make anyone into a good singer. It really can't, there's much more to a good vocal performance than just being in tune.
Thanks for watching and commenting.
Better than Paul McCartney wow
Hoollld up. They released music after the pespormance. Whaard. Get outta here
IKR.. you'd think that it would have ended then...but shows it wasn't the audience that got upset...it was the industry.
I wouldn't say this was one of the biggest scandals... But, say what you will, Frank Farian is one of the best producers, ever. Check out his work with Boney M on their albums, the musicality is nothing short of awesome.
What a sad story, and from the performance angle, it seems that at least one of them could really sing.
OK, well I think it was a pretty big scandal at the time, and arguably one of the biggest, here we are still talking about it. That alone tells a story. Still, it's all subjective, just like how good a producer Frank Farian was. If I was to compile a list of who I thought the best and most influential producers of all time were. He wouldn't be on it. Not even close. A thousand other names come to mind first. Boney M, while very successful, was still cheesy Eurovision-style disco and I just don't hear the "awesome musicality". "Do you wanna Bump" is just Prince Buster's "Al Capone" with a disco beat. But, it's subjective, so your opinion is valid. I should also mention this video is from a longer video, that does also include the story of Frank Farian the artist and the creation of Boney M. ua-cam.com/video/mFWh2HV5T0s/v-deo.html&si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE
@@Traxploitation Hey, not denigrating your work, but Milli Vanilli were hardly the first to perform to music they had no part in...I wonder if the furore at the time was more racial based than anything else, much like the US Disco Sucks campaign..
With Farian and Boney M it's not so much the hits that are awesome, although some of the middle eights are rather slick, it's the album tracks... But yes, it's all subjective, agreed!
Thanks for the link, I'll check it out. Oh, and if I didn't before, you've gained an extra subscriber.
@@peterjones596 I agree, The message of the full length was Milli Vanilli WAS the biggest scandal, but it shouldnt have been, they werent the first by many decades, they werent the only ones in the 80s and 90s and werent the biggest selling...and yes i think theres a big element of racism/xenophobia in the reaction from the US music industry, i think they just couldnt accept that 2 european black guys, one french one german duped them into giving them the most prestigious awards in USA. The "disco sucks" thing was racism plus homophobia, and thats going to be the subject of a future video. Thanks for watching and commenting, always nice to get feedback. Let me know what you think of the full length one...cheers
@@Traxploitation Oh yes, I forgot about the homophobic angle of disco sucks... And then they tried to foist country and western on us, via John Travolta's Urban Cowboy movie... Yuck!
Yeah, I'll definitely provide feedback, here's a bit, you've got a great commentary voice and you say smart and relevant things! The video editing was slick and professional, too, and the sound in general was excellent, too. Respect!
What's f'ed is he killed himself over it. Today all these artist don't sing without autocorrect in some way or another.
Shame.
Mir was das sooooo egal ob sie singen konnten oder nicht ❤sie waren einfach wunderschön und sexy ❤schade das einer sterben musste r.i.p ich liebte sie ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Das ist so wahr! :)
Milli und Vanilli
Please do a segment about Italian dance act, Black Box, who did the same thing involving Martha Wash.
Like this? ua-cam.com/video/eSefwVQVVpU/v-deo.html
Enjoy 😉
barry bolton please is unnecessary it's annoying like Trump
What’s with the bit missing around 19:00?
UA-cam removed a section due to copyright. 🙄
The full length video is here, with no edits. If you go to 25.55 it will pick up from that spot. 😎
ua-cam.com/video/mFWh2HV5T0s/v-deo.html&si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE
Where is the scam ? I just never understood it.
How was we this group different from Boney M. ?
Whatever you do..don’t tell anybody about the Wrecking Crew...people will stroke out
They were betrayed by those who created them and who were supposed to help them, they were cruel to them, justice for Milli Vanilli!!
I honestly believe they should give back the Grammy, they didn't give it to anyone else, they should just add the caveat that "Milli Vanilli" is not simply Rob and Fab and the award should go to everyone involved in the record.
@@Traxploitation To do that would tarnish the Recording Academy as an organization. Milli Vanilli was a charade dependent on both Rob & Fab and the studio vocalists to work.
They chose to so it. They were no victims.
@@docsavage8640 well, they took responsibility and the fallout for it.
They chose
It is so sad how that event took Rob's life. On the other hand, I feel so happy that Fab took a different path and continue to believe in him. He really is an intelligent and nice person.
Love your comment 💜💜💜💜💜💜❤❤❤❤❤❤
It sucks that Frank was still using lip singers in the form of Gina and Ray. RIP Rob Pilatus and John Davis.
The people suing are disgusting. I remember that song being played non stop on the radio and the whole fake outrage. It never mattered to us and sadly the media always has to have a scapegoat to divert the public’s attention to.
👏👏👏
I just realized something, you know what could've save Milli Vanilli ?
If Rob, Fab & the real singers (John Davis & Brad Howell) form a group together. John & Brad does the singing while Rob & Fab does dancing & backup vocals.
Nah. Fans want to believe the pretty faces are the voices.
Well I get your idea and the overall physics of it I see where you're going with that and it's a good foundation for possibly a very successful collaboration......But if I remember correctly the real singers and musicians weren't the song writers....However ...If the singers and musicians had hit songs written or if there were others that wrote those Milli Vanilli songs and ALL parties involved....Except that jerk Farian.....Could come up with a mutual agreement and work together that could very well work...There are even ways to get around the recording/live performance issues as to not be technically deceptive during live performances....Not a bad idea ...Oh and Cam James has a good point as well but that's the WHOLE reason behind your idea !
@@CamJames yep. nobody wanted to see "fat" and "ugly" ppl dance nor sing. everybody had to look good for club MTV, the grind, that usa dance party show, etc. im surprised MTV showed SEAL!
Exactly
This whole sharade was blown out of proportions back in the day.
I don't think Rob and Fab didn't deserve that kind of backlash!
No they didn’t
I, along with some friends and family, saw Milli Vanilli in St. Louis, MO the summer of 1989. This was before the MTV debacle. However, I remember that in no more than a week's time, there was an article written in a local newspaper which had pointed out that anyone at the concert did not actually see Milli Vanilli performing "live." Though the article only pointed out that the pair did lip sync over a music track but didn't imply that they were not the actual, original singers. Fyi, no one who I was with at the concert ever concerned themselves with any kind of refund, nor did we immediately trash our Milli Vanilli CD(s). In fact, I still have the original "Girl You Know It's True" album on CD that was purchased before the scandal broke.
Before watching this video, I had not known the extended details of how the group came to be what it was and all the before and aftermath. Now I am really glad that I never bought into the "hate" aspect of it all. Really, it seems that the true villain in the history of Milli Vanilli is the devil who orchestrated the deal.
Last lil' bit from me, my favorite Milli Vanilli song has always been, "Blame It On The Rain."
Thank you for sharing
Is sad that J.lo committed the same thing and the music industry said nothing as a matter of fact they praised her for it but Milli vanilli they got the Oscars taking from now they got their names dragged through the mud I thought it was fk up what they did to these two, I still like I like they singing I like they dancing.
100% thats what I discuss in the full documentary. ua-cam.com/video/mFWh2HV5T0s/v-deo.html&si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE
JLO did sing on the verses but it's someone else singing some choruses. Nevertheless there's little difference and she gets to "sing" at the superbowl while Rob is in the ground. 🤷♂️
@@Traxploitation Ashanti and JLo have two different voices, it's no way you can get away with telling me and want me to bite down on it that J-Lo song 1 verse with her voice on Ashanti song, the only difference is Irv Gotti gave the okay for JLo to pull A Milli vanilli period
I Adore milli vanilli ❤ Jlo sucks 🤮
The performative outrage over Milli Vanilli at the time was more fake than the music itself. Anyone who didn't realize many of the pop bands, at the height of MTV, were prefabricated clearly either weren't paying attention or didn't actually care in the first place.
yea, this was the prime of "scandal" culture, right after they destroyed Michael Jackson
I would pay anything to hear their 1997 comeback album" Back in attack!"
Fab Morvan should get the rights from Frank Farian to release the cancelled album
Wow. I knew Rob after the scandal. He told me what happened from start to finish one night, he was very troubled and very needed. This video has given me more insight and closure. One thing that stuck with me that Rob said in 92, If ever he was sent back to Germany that he would kill himself. He died I'm a hotel in Germany. Ferrian was like many producers in the 80's and 90's terrible!! The music industry knew they weren't singing. So many groups weren't sing back then.
They used them! Poor fragile Rob was weak from the start...never having a true sense of self or grounded! He told me he hate the orphanage and the life in Germany...never belonged. Being fake and never knowing who you are is deadly..as well as fame and shame!
Rest in Love Rob.🤍🕊
@@DixonDixon65 Blame MTV and music videos, if you were good looking you sold albums.
Blame it on the phony producer frank farian he’s a piece of 🤬@@haileyshannon7548
I would not have wanted a refund, you still saw them. They still had talent. Rip rob.
Remember the group Snap? C&C Music Factory? Didn't Martha Wash do the vocals for both groups?
She did the vocals for "Gonna Make Ya Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) and the entire Black Black album (except Ride on Time which was an uncleared, uncredited sample of Loleata Holloway) I cover those stories in the full video this is taken from you can watch that here ua-cam.com/video/mFWh2HV5T0s/v-deo.html or you can watch just the Martha Wash section here ua-cam.com/video/eSefwVQVVpU/v-deo.html the Story of Snap and "I Got The Power" is a whole other complicated story which I will get to one day :)
They did nothing wrong. This is how MOST music is made today, maybe not with a whole group in the background, but with a background track. They were victims who thought they were going to be given a chance to become stars, had signed the contract before they knew better..They were victims.
Now that everyone knows the truth it’s messed up how the world did them
Poor sods. Talk about being thrown to the wolves once they’d served their purpose and the record company and Farian got their pound of flesh i.e millions and millions of dollars.
Rob and Fab chose to be part of the scam. They were not victims.
They were puppets
Rob and Fab chose to be part of the scam. They were not victims.
The biggest and saddest! Now, John Davis has just passed.
I was little, like 6 or something, when this “scandal” happened and I didn’t care because I adored THEM.. their dancing, clothes and wow were they gorgeous! The music was just the accompaniment! I will always love you and miss you Rob and Fab! ❤
So it started with a guy copying someone else's hit song beat for beat.... and it only went downhill from there.