The world of live performances can be a fickle and nightmarish dream for many of today’s performers; to be fair, that’s quite understandable. With thousands of eyes on you, prying for the slightest hint of weakness with their cameras, who wouldn’t be intimidated? Still, despite the nerve-wracking experience of performing in front of your fans, the real icing on the cake nowadays lies in people lacking basic human decency at concerts, and not even Cardi B is immune to the disrespectful and annoying trend.
Just recently, the “Bodak Yellow” singer went viral after a fan threw a drink at her as she performed the 2018 hit, and expectedly, Cardi B did not tolerate any of the trendy shenanigans and promptly threw her mic toward the disrespectful fan. After the altercation (which led the fan to be escorted out of the concert venue), fans could still hear the song track playing, while the rapper didn’t even have a microphone with her. Aside from the questionable action by the fan, one more question arose among concert attendees: Was Cardi B lip-syncing?
Does Cardi B lip-synch?
In the video, we can see that during her set and in the momentary instance when Cardi B did not have a microphone on her, the music continued to play. With many netizens calling her out for lip-syncing, neither the rapper nor her team has ever come forward to confirm or deny the accusation. What’s more, this is not even the first time Cardi B has been the target of lip-syncing allegations, and performances where her live-rapping was questionable can date back to 2019.
During the 2019 Grammy Awards, the musician performed an incredible rendition of “Money”, showcasing perfectly what a fantastic stage set money can really buy. Regardless of the eye-grabbing spectacle, many netizens quickly took to Twitter to share their thoughts, wholeheartedly believing Cardi B lip-synced during the entire performance, as her voice barely wavered even as she danced the intricate choreographies.
However, it is unlikely that the entire performance was lip-syncing – especially because lip-sync has been banned at the Grammys since 2012. What might have happened, however, is that instead of lip-syncing, Cardi B’s performances may have undergone a slight track augmentation. This means that the track, which includes the artist’s vocals, will be overheard by the audience even if the singer isn’t singing. This usually creates a stronger base for singers to work with, in case their voice fails during any song – or in case they get thrown water at their faces.
By using track augmentation, also called background music, the artist’s voice can usually still be heard singing on top of the track. Ultimately, it creates a safer way of performing that won’t affect their performance or the audience’s enjoyment. Of course, many artists opt not to use any backing tracks during live performances, but even our favorite artists likely use them – although they often go unnoticed. These artists include BeyoncĂ©, BTS, Madonna, and even Queen used backing tracks during certain sets.
Overall, this doesn’t necessarily mean that Cardi B never lip-syncs. But it also doesn’t mean that she does. In the end, having playback music is more often done than we might realize, and it just creates a much better atmosphere for both the artist and the attendees.