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“My honest opinion about Afro Nation day one: beautiful place, amazing energy but my biggest criticism of the festival so far is …my beautiful West African artistes…especially Omah Lay, partly Rema…why are you not singing? We came to see your live performances; your main instrument is your voice….”
These were the words of Akuvi, a singer/songwriter with roots in both Ghana and Norway, who watched Afro Nation Portugal day one concert live. Her honest feedback sparked widespread reactions regarding Nigerian artistes’ performative qualities.
Even though Omah Lay and Rema, who she targeted with her constructive criticism, have since replied in an equally mannered approach with justifications that the Afro nation sound production on the said day was terrible.
Kizz Daniel made matters worse with his lateness to a concert in Silver Spring, Maryland, in the United States, on July 8, 2022. The ‘Buga’ star was reported to have kept fans waiting for over four hours – a complacency which appears to be the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.
Since then, netizens have thrown in their opinions on the issue of live performances, with many concluding that Nigerian artistes have been ‘cheating’ audiences with their performances
Live performances in music go beyond the story, the content and the message. Unlike the pre-recorded version of songs, sadly a fixed form, performances are marked by face-to-face interaction with the audience, which suggests audience participation.
Performances include facial expressions, gestures, body movements, and most importantly, a recreation of the music text, which foregrounds the intensity of the context, reveals the performer’s intricacies and multidimensional charisma, and enhances the emotive substance released by the audience. All of these add to the artistic capabilities of an artiste.
While many Nigerian artistes supply audiences with an abundance of energy and body movements, the same cannot be said about the live recreation of their music texts. That is, extensively exploring their vocal capabilities in real-time and singing their songs live to a backdrop of spontaneous instrumentals, choir, or band.
It has been a burning question in concertgoers’ minds whether they get their money’s worth just to help artistes sing half of their songs, watch them lip-sync to recorded vocals and jump around the stage. However, the same concertgoers are to blame, as they have repeatedly accepted the bare minimum and failed to speak up about artistes’ live performances.
Unfortunately, their comfortability with buying costly tickets to watch poor performances has ignited a chain reaction: show promoters and organisers do not insist that artistes put up good performances, nor do artistes themselves have to put in work since they get hailed for doing the barest minimum. Maybe if the fans booed artistes, as they did for Kizz Daniel in Maryland, US, they would learn to put in real work for the vast proceeds they get from live performances.
I have witnessed a concert where an artiste performed for 10 minutes – less than a quarter of the time allocated to him. I was uncertain if such a situation didn’t rile the audience up or if they just didn’t realise that they were genuinely getting junk for their money’s worth. The majority didn’t care, but I, for one, did.
Watching Burna Boy’s electrifying concert at Madison Square on April 28, 2022, you could see an artiste who understands the crucial place of performance in music. His act opened with Youssou N’Dour, singing to a subtle instrumental without voice backups. This entry set the stage for the whole performance for the night as Burna himself began with ‘Pakoropa’, jiving live vocals to a backing choir and live instrumentals – without any background streaming of an already recorded version.
This is reminiscent of his Dublin Concert in April 2022, where he began with the song ‘Ye’, flexing his vocal talent while being urged on by drums and the audience’s call and response.
Meanwhile, at Maddison, a rousing, almost angelic rendition of the seemingly mundane but covertly loaded ‘Last Last’ sat at the heart of Burna’s performance, leaving the audience in amusement. This was succeeded by the rockstar’s impeccable legwork, the trumpeter’s timely horns and Christina Matovu’s vocal excellence, which scaffolded an all-round impressive performance. Burna Boy is miles ahead in terms of performance.
Davido, on his part, is known for his raspy vocals, energetic performances and on-stage fan accommodation. Nevertheless, his live performances in terms of live vocals might be in doubt. OBO’s entry at 02 Arena, London, on March 5, 2022, started with the song ‘Skelewu’, which featured powerful instrumentals, drums and a backing choir. However, the performer allowed the pre-recorded song version to do most of the work for him. He jumped and hopped but, predictably, the rest of the night unraveled with, though energetic and colourful displays, similar lip-syncing.
Wizkid, the last of the trio, is known for his calm demeanour and typically quieter performances. Although his stealth endears him to fans, Wizkid’s live performances have been called into question now and then.
At his December 2021 Live Concert in Abuja, for example, fans had a taste of a long night as the Star Boy first arrived late. So much, that organisers had to improvise by bringing known and unknown artistes to entertain the audience until the leading man came. When he finally arrived, you would think the audience would get rewarded for their wait, but it turned out that the sound production wasn’t good enough for an artiste as big as Wizkid. Perhaps there would have been a proper sound check to avoid such a debacle if he had arrived earlier.
Mietei Ikoli, who was at the Abuja Concert Live, captured the situation in her thread of tweets published on Netng in December 2021.
“Wizkid: As we all know, Wizkid did not perform until 3 in the morning”, Ikoli said.
“People of Nigeria, we need to start treating artistes’ performances like products. We should not support people that do not respect our time and hard-earned money. We need to take our power back. Imagine if he came at 3 am, and no one was there. It would have shocked him. Yes, I am angry. I paid N35,000 for that ticket. I could have used it for a myriad of things.”
Of course, Wizkid didn’t have the luxury of keeping his fans waiting at his 02 Arena concert in London. And although it was a successful outing overall, the presence of a live band and sonorous choristers didn’t mean that all Big Wiz’s beats were manufactured on stage. Wizkid has already cemented his place in the music scene, but he can do better with his use of on-stage vocals.
Asa and Brymo are two pop artistes whose performances impress. For most of his renditions at Terra Kulture on June 25, 2022, Brymo’s beats were created live on stage by a live band. Much like his Live in London 2022 show, where he performed songs like ‘Mirage’, ‘Den Dey Go’, ‘Okunrin Meta’, and ‘Meji Meji’, hobnobbing between his vocal fluidity and his intellectual depth to provide a performance brimming with confidence and emotions.
Asa is in another class of her own. Suppose her Live (Home) Concert and her beautiful evening of songs in Eko Hotel Concerts 2022 are anything to go by. In that case, she is never afraid to put her voice to use, matching her songwriting skills with vocal excellence to produce blissful and timeless pieces. Asa is a seasoned performer that new artistes must emulate.
Yemi Alade, too, comes close. Her 2021 Yam Carnival in Clapham Common, London, helped to give renewed credence to her Headies win as the Best Performer in 2018. Lively dances beautified this performance, with colourful costumes and an intricate vocal range. With her rendition of ‘Shekere’ ft Angelique Kidjo, she invited on stage “small pikin and arugbo” – both old and young – to join in recreating her music text. Yemi Alade and Niniola are indeed up there in terms of live performances.
For the new wave of artistes, the situation is a mixed blessing. Ruger’s performance at Industry Nite 2022 was impressive. With unmatchable energy that defies his age and the right “bounce”, the pink-haired artiste had his backing choir to lean on but never failed to use his voice too – even when the recorded version played in the background. Of course, that performance ended abruptly when a lady grabbed him without consent.
Asake, NET Honours 2022 Breakout Artiste of the Year, is also making his mark in terms of performance. His performance at Glitch Sessions was electrifying. Although relaxed and easy-going, his energy and confidence were infectious. He is setting the pace for other up-and-comers like him. Other notable mentions in this category include Ybnl’s Fireboy, The Cavemen and Lojay.
In many parts of the world, the performing arts is reverenced as a genuinely intrinsic part of culture. In China, for example, the China Association of Performing Arts placed a ban on lip-syncing in 2021. This guideline, directed to all entertainers working in music, theatre, folk art, acrobatics, dance and other types of live performance, was put in place to check and balance artistes and create standards for generally acceptable behaviour.
“lip-syncing…should no longer be allowed to deceive audiences through measures like fake singing or performances in commercial shows”, Rebecca David of Variety reported.
In Vietnam, it wasn’t until 2020 that the ban on lip-syncing was lifted. During the period of the ban, an organising committee in Quang Ninh Province had paid a whopping fine of VND9 million (US$387) after a performer, Bích Phương, was discovered using pre-recorded vocal tracks.
Lip-syncing is also a crime in Turkmenistan. The ban was placed in order to create new culture and keep talent alive.
There is a high possibility we would never get to that level of regulation here. Still, performance goes beyond lip-syncing, jumping and putting hands in the air. Stage performances include dances, creativity, promptness and vocal power. Artists must learn that racking up streams is not enough; they must supplement their efforts with great live shows.
The audience, too, must demand more from their faves. They must realise that they are being exploited by accepting the bare minimum. If the majority of fans learn to speak out, as Akuvi did, maybe it might just push more homebred artists to do even better on the world stage, beyond the curtains of their studios and the curl of Africa.
The post How Fans Are Helping Music Artistes Get Away With Lip-syncing In Live Performances appeared first on Nigerian Entertainment Today.
Source: TheNet
