Lip-synching in Music - For Irony and Effect

For Irony and Effect

Lip-synching, as a form of musical pantomime – in which the performer moves his or her mouth to a recording – is often performed by drag queens and, more recently, drag kings; Lypsinka has starred in movies and several touring shows. Other artists have chosen to lip-synch quite obviously for comedic value. During short, pre-recorded performances, such as guest appearances on a TV show, some artists purposely include in-jokes like swapping instruments among band members or desynching their instruments in obviously erroneous ways, as a protest against being requested to lip-synch a performance. A famous example is an Iron Maiden appearance on a German TV show in 1986.

A number of artists, such as Nirvana, Oasis, Muse and Travis, have also made similar mock performances in the British TV show Top of the Pops.