The Beach Boys Get Tangled Up in Lip-Syncing Controversy

BY Alex HudsonPublished Oct 26, 2010

Lip-syncing has long been a common practice amongst pop stars, but it's still taboo enough to ruin an artist's career when they get caught – just ask Ashlee Simpson. Now, California pop legends the Beach Boys have become the latest act to come under fire for allegedly lip-syncing during a concert in Australia.

The current incarnation of the band, lead by Mike Love, performed at the Gold Coast 600 concert in Queensland, Australia. According to some fans in attendance, the group's patented vocal harmonies sounded a little too perfect. One unsatisfied concertgoer told Sky News, "The Beach Boys were a fraud, they were miming everything. You could tell they weren't even singing, he [Love] was barely even moving."

Love has responded to the accusations, releasing a statement denying that any lip-syncing took place. "We pride ourselves on providing a great live show to our millions of fans around the world and spent time that day sound checking our vocals to ensure a great live mix," he said. "'In our almost 50 years of performing, the Beach Boys have never lip-synced and we are not about to start!''

Click on the embedded video below to hear a recording of "Kokomo" from the performance. At least on this song, we have to give Mike Love the benefit of the doubt, since the vocals actually sound a little shaky, at times.

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