Chinese defend Olympic ceremony lip-synch

[poster_boy]

BEIJING: Chinese officials defended their decision to pass off the voice of a 7-year-old songbird as that of another girl at the Olympic opening ceremony, calling it a simple casting choice. Critics said it was a step too far in China's obsession with the perfect Olympic Games.

Beijing organizers of the games faced tough criticism Wednesday after a whistleblower revealed that the 9-year-old who performed a song during the spectacular opening ceremony was lip-synching to another girl's vocal track.

Yang Peiyi, a 7-year-old with bright eyes and a smile made crooked by the stubs of her first grown-up teeth, was heard by an audience estimated in the billions during Friday night's ceremony, singing "Ode to the Motherland."

But they never saw her face.

International Herald Tribune [iht.com]

[briggidere]

I don't think it's that big a deal. It's pretty common for this to happen.

[Visit Thailand]

I don't think the lip synching is a problem as it was an amazing opening.

I do think the Olympics needs to do some serious thinking about itsself though.

The team parade at the opening is so boring, I mean do we really need that can't just one team member carry a flag and four flags come out at once.

And why are so many professionals in the Olympics? I thought it was supposed to be for amateurs.

I mean does the Olympics really need to have the Williams sisters or even tennis at all. Same goes for football, why? Do they want to compete with the world cup?

I really do not get it. I watched the opening and loved it. I will watch the closing but I will watch next to nothing in between.

[vincevincevince]

On its own, it's not too bad; unfortunately it is symptomatic of the whole event. Living in Asia I see it all the time - the focus is on looking like you are doing a good job and not actually doing a good job. It leaves a shallow plastic taste in the mouth as it becomes more and more obvious that it's not about elite sport but about a silly show for the international media. In the past the olympics has had a lot of fanfare and fuss, but the focus has always been on the sport - something I think is quite the opposite here.

[Marcia]

I think it's disgraceful and dishonest, what they did.

[thecoalman]

I certainly feel sorry for the little girl but i guess thats show business. The biggest issue I have is I read in the newspaper it was a last minute decision for the switch, I'm sure she was upset but shes young and its probably water under the bridge already for her. There may have been other factors involved no one is aware of.

And why are so many professionals in the Olympics? I thought it was supposed to be for amateurs.

I believe its a variety of reasons but how to distinguish between pros and amateurs has really become a very fine line. Are the state sponsored teams that have no financial obligations to worry about pros or amateurs?

To become an Olympic level athlete simply requires a huge amount of money.

If you look at basketball for example the U.S.'s record was pretty abysmal in the sport during the Olympics prior to the pros coming in. You'd have a bunch of U.S. college kids playing men from other countries.

[Rugles]

Professionals have been participating in the Olympics for 10 or 20 years now. They did away with the amatuer only thing after it was revealed that certain countries (will remain un-named) that were giving their athletes "jobs" that gave them plenty of money but with no actual work involved. So they were able to focus on traning.

Also, it was stupid to have events were the best 100 people in that sport were no where near the Olympics... such as football and basketball.

I really wish they would add golf. The venue could build a new course with world class designer. Stick a resort beside it and it would be a golf tourist draw for a century. People would love to play a course that say Tiger Woods won a gold on.

On the subject, it was shameful what they did with the lip-synch.

[engine]

Yeah, miming and substituting is quite common, especially in the popular music world, but I agree, it's a shame it was done like this.

Credibility needs to remian intact.

[nicknick]

I think the olympics should have a turn at each continent and during that turn a turn at each country so that its fair . some richer countries have had it a couple of times and that not fair on the poorer countries

[Rugles]

where is a dirt poor country supposed to get the several billion dollars to build the venues and infrastructure?

[edited by: Rugles at 6:58 pm (utc) on Aug. 15, 2008]

[LifeinAsia]

I think the olympics should have a turn at each continent and during that turn a turn at each country so that its fair.

Besides the cost, most countries simply don't have the infrastructure to handle the Olympics. Not just stadiums for the games themselves, but the infrastructure for housing the athletes, coaches, and administrative staff from each country, as well as the media; the electricity and communications infrastructure needed to handle the media of around 200 countries; the transportation means to handle the thousands of athletes (and support staff) between venues, not to mention the tens of thousands of visitors; and the government beauracrcy to process all the visa applications and other related paperwork. Oh, and don't forget security for the athletes, visitors, and hundreds (if not thousands) of high ranking diplomats.

Even the big countries like the U.S. and China are put to the limits to accomodate everything. Do you really think the Vatican, Monaco, Tuvalu, Liechtenstein, or Andorra could hanlde it? The Olympics would bring in more than 1000% of the populations of some of those countries.

As it is, the continent changes each time and even the countries within each continent change. The ones that feel they could pull it off bid for it, and the IOC determines which city they believe could do the best job.

[Syzygy]

Wasn't there an accusation of miming at the Superbowl [nme.com] this year - and indeed in other years..?

Syzygy

[Slinger]

What bothers me is that the world (not blaming China) continues to have these "peace keeping" events, currently at $40 Billion dollars an event and yet, there are more homeless people in the world then ever including here in the USA. Sports are great...but...darn-it, lets get our priorities straight.

[Visit Thailand]

I find that the media are trying to pick holes in the whole thing. The BBC and CNN kept going on how the Chinese had promised full access etc and yet they kept complaining they could not access fanlungung (or whatever it is).

I wish the two would stop doing that and just concentrate on the Olympics.

I am looking forward to the closing ceremony. London must be pretty worried as it will have to try and better one of the best opening ceremonies I have ever seen.

[Lobo]

Whole music careers have been destroyed for this kind of treatment, Milli Vanilli spring to mind [en.wikipedia.org...]

I know the games are fundementally a political event but if any political party pulled this kind of stunt they would also be outed ..

In saying that all though disgusting, it is so far the most disgusting thing to have happened on which is a beautifully organised extravaganza, you've got to give it to them they know how to manipulate an audience :)

[edited by: Lobo at 6:58 am (utc) on Aug. 16, 2008]

[callivert]

the media are trying to pick holes in the whole thing

It's a big hole. It doesn't "happen all the time," and on the rare occasions it does happen, it's someone lip-synching their own voice from an earlier recording.

Passing a non-singer off as a singer is total credibility suicide. eg, Milli Vanilli (as already pointed out).

The worst thing is that the "ugly" girl who actually sang isn't ugly, she's a normal cute kid. She would have been fine.