Taiwanese rock band Mayday under investigation by Chinese authorities for lip-syncing at mainland concerts
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 4 — Taiwanese rock band Mayday is being investigated by Chinese authorities for lip-syncing during their recent concerts in the mainland.
The allegations came to light after a video uploaded by influencer Maitian Nongfu on Bilibili, China’s leading video platform, compared 12 songs recorded by a fan at the band’s Shanghai concerts on a music analysis software.
The results revealed that Ashin, the lead singer of the band, lip-synced at least five of the songs during the band’s three-hour concert, reported Global Times.
Beijing’s law enforcement on culture confirmed on Sunday they are investigating and they will “make a judgment according to the situation they recorded”.
The topics had since trended on mainland social media where it garnered more than 240 million views within a day, as many fans who attended the concerts expressed their disappointment with the band.
The band, who is one of the best selling rock bands in Taiwan and China, had yet to publicly respond to the allegations, fans are divided over the matter.
“If that is true, I’d be really disappointed. The lyrics and music style of Mayday are quite unique and they really helped me get through the dark days,” a fan using the handle Cappuccino on Bilibili said.
Another fan known Qicha, who had just returned from the band’s Shenyang tour on July 15, told said that she sympathised with the band for their “occasional fake singing situation”.
“Nowadays there are only a few divas who can do their full live singing, while some will do live singing with back vocals,” said the 27-year-old Beijing-based tech firm employee.
“The band has been receiving full marks in terms of its creativity and talent for being excellent songwriters, and for me it is more important to enjoy the atmosphere of the concert. We should support them.”
According to the Regulations on the Management of Commercial Performances, performers are not allowed to deceive the audience by lip-syncing, and concert organisers are disallowed from arranging performers to lip-sync.
