Was Kanye West lip-syncing on SNL?
The hip-hop superstar's foray into singing comes under scrutiny
Hip-hop superstar Kanye West may have “committed what many fans regard as the greatest on-stage sin of all—lip-syncing,” said Sheila Marikar in ABC online. “Whether by fault of his own or because of his audio equipment,” West’s performance of songs from his new album 808’s and Heartbreak on Saturday Night Live over the weekend (watch here, via Daily Motion) “came off as feeble at best, fueling rumors that he requires a little help in the vocals department.”
Sure, the “struggle” between Kanye’s “imperfect voice and the trying-its-damndest-to-fix-it Autotune was uncomfortable,” said Maura Johnston in Idolator, “but both performances were compelling, with Kanye seemingly becoming possessed by the tracks as he sang them.” And his new album is all about heartbreak, which “ain't a pretty thing”—what I saw on SNL “was a man trying to work through demons by creating something” raw and beautiful.
“It’s a frustrating situation,” said Thomas Connor in the Chicago Sun-Times, “because here's an artist who stepped out on a limb to try something fairly interesting and maybe bold in the context of hip-hop.” Supposedly, Kanye uses an Autotuner to give his voice a “Vocoder-like effect,” but “judging by Saturday's performances, man, the ‘voice of this generation’ needs the help.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Ecuador's cloud forest has legal rights – and maybe a song credit
Under the Radar In a world first, 'rights of nature' project petitions copyright office to recognise Los Cedros forest as song co-creator
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Today's political cartoons - November 3, 2024
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - presidential pitching, wavering convictions, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Why Man United finally lost patience with ten Hag
Talking Point After another loss United sacked ten Hag in hopes of success in the Champion's League
By The Week UK Published