Remember singer Justin Bieber’s 2017 gig in India or musician A P Dhillon’s performances at Lollapalooza India 2023 and more recently at the Women’s Premier League? Their acts left audiences fuming. Reason? The artistes were accused of lip-syncing at their respective shows.

Singer Armaan Malik’s recent tweet denouncing the trend of lip-syncing triggered reactions on social media. He wrote: “Sad to see that lip-syncing at a live concert has become a normal thing. Like c’mon, why is there zero effort? The worst part is some people don’t even lip sync and the let the track play as is while they “vibe”. Like is this a joke? Do you not care about your fans? (sic).”

Ask how fair is it for musicians to lip-sync on stage when music lovers buy tickets to see them sing live, and artistes unanimously criticize the trend. Singer Jasleen Royal, who returned from a concert tour along with actor Akshay Kumar recently, says, “I perform all my songs live. The fans pay to watch me sing on stage. There are so many things one does at live shows — talk, dance, jump... So, sometimes, you can go off-note too. I feel live rendition should be different from the original version.”

Singer Shaan says artistes like him invest a lot of effort in their shows, as they like to entertain the audience. He adds, “Thanks to technology, anyone can sing in the studio. The real test of a singer is when you sing live. If it’s a regular show and someone is lip-syncing, it’s criminal. Whether it’s a ticketed show or not, you should put in effort in your singing. If someone is not even lip-syncing and just ‘vibing’, what’s next? Kal ko main apna poster laga ke chala jaunga and my songs will be played on a recorder!”

Singer Alka Yagnik feels one should take to lip-syncing only “if there is an issue with the singer’s voice”. She explains, “If the artiste has to take the stage because the show cannot be cancelled last-minute, lip-syncing can be an SOS, but not otherwise. Fans pay to see us perform live.”

Malik’s tweet also suggested that lip-syncing sets “a wrong precedent for the next generation”. Singer Amit Mishra says, “I have never lip-synced in any show yet. Since we, musicians, have such big bands, we can produce music live, with so many instrumentalists on stage.”