The Milli Vanilli Scandal 30 Years Later

Home , Blame It on the Rain, Fab Morvan, Milli Vanilli, Rob Pilatus

98 ● CONTENDERS ● VARIETY VOTERS’ GUIDE: GRAMMYS FINAL PHASE 12.16.2020 Blame It on the Game: The Milli Vanilli Scandal 30 Years Later

In 1990, the pair returned their new artist Grammy; should they get it back now? ● By Roy Trakin

he 32nd Grammy Awards feature biopic — directed by Brett Ratner in “Blame It on the Rain,” “Baby Don’t after it broke out in Europe — had any took place Feb. 21, 1990, Rob Pilatus and with a screenplay by “Rush Hour” col- Forget My Number’ and “Girl I’m Gonna clue the album credits, listing Pilatus and at L.A.’s fabled Shrine Fab Morvan at laborator Jef Nathanson — and negoti- Miss You.” Farian pulled the plug and Morvan as vocalists, were false. Each Auditorium, where Milli the 1990 Grammy ations underway for a documentary and blew up his own creation, in turn punish- time they confronted Farian about it, Lott Vanilli’s Rob Pilatus Awards a TV series. ing Pilatus and Morvan for the sheer gall insists the producer denied the charges, and Fab Morvan sat in Nine months after their Grammy win, of wanting to sing on their next album. though he did admit there were backup Tthe front row, nervously waiting for on Nov. 20, 1990, Pilatus and Morvan were “I hope this revocation will make the vocalists on the album. Kris Kristofferson and Young MC to holding a hastily called press conference industry think long and hard before “By the time we learned the truth, it announce the winner of that year’s new at Ocean Way studios in Hollywood to anyone ever tries to pull something like wasn’t actually a shock,” admitted Lott. artist award. The group included folk ofcially turn over their Grammy award, this again,” said Greene, who had happily Ken Levy, former head of creative ser- duo Indigo Girls, alternative fave Neneh a day after then-Recording Academy posed for pictures with the winning duo vices for Arista, says the label had its sus- Cherry, British house music pioneers head Michael Greene had already at the Grammy ceremony. picions the duo hadn’t actually sung on Soul II Soul and MC’s Delicious Vinyl officially revoked them on behalf of Actually, Pilatus and Morvan had the album by the time of their Grammy labelmate Tone Loc. the organization. already decided to return the Grammy nomination, a characterization denied “And the best new artist Grammy goes Just a week earlier, the duo’s German on their own, revealing as much the pre- by Lott, who insisted neither he nor to ... Milli Vanilli!” producer and mastermind Frank Farian vious weekend in an interview with the Davis were aware for sure until Farian’s “Rob and I hugged each other and cel- had disclosed to Reuters what had been L.A. Times’ Chuck Philips, suggesting revelation. ebrated,” recalls Morvan, then 23 years a poorly kept secret within the tight-knit the statue be given to John Davis, Brad A recent Billboard article claimed old. “It may have looked like joy and hap- recording industry. The German-born Howell and Charles Shaw, the album’s Davis was adamantly opposed to submit- piness. But inside it was pure confusion. Pilatus and Paris native Morvan hadn’t actual singers. ting the duo for a new artist nomination We knew this would come back to bite sung a note on the worldwide 14 mil- Former Arista exec Roy Lott insists to for that very reason, but the pair were us in the butt.” lion-selling, chart-topping “Girl You this day no one at the label — including submitted by Gallin-Morey management. Thirty years later, the fascination with Know It’s True” album, which generated Clive Davis, who received the rights to “We all knew by the time of the awards

Milli Vanilli continues strong, with a five Top 5 singles and three No. 1 pop hits release the original in the U.S. from BMG they hadn’t sung on the album, so it was Pizac/AP C. Douglas bea coratia etur? icimenecto parchil con si utemoluptae vid excerro perendam de quam quiam quid am nestem ese des incturis eum eos es unt ut doluptatet estio. Fuga. Ibus nossus sum ellatus Cuptatus fuga. tum culluptatque volorehent elitincte volup ut et dolum renis et aut libus velenimus, quidisi tiaturitas essim fugitat ionsendi serchil ma archilite peribero dolorepro ipit, omnim repedictem dis sequi non et untias dollest ilitius pop TikTok.volupienduci zeitgeist current to thanks Abore labo. et mo popularity ipsandessed laccab in soared has which omnihil et quassit tionessit lip-synching, commodi over place took firestorm media a such able deritatur? moluptatur?fear of being discovered.”Itate pla aped quo mossitis in constantly escape, et to sentis dipsum trying andebis aut aut aliqui loaded, getting orumquunt were We volupti adventure. Verovit crazy volorio. a utemperiae exeri dis ata demos eiusto rience. We were riding the wave. It was por says andio ent, quae est eataquibus aute Morvan now. “We had no life expe dolo cum cus, alit omnis magnia ipsunt enisteknow porumetexplaborem adipsanis what was going on? Please ...” didn’t ears, golden renowned his ectempowith ressint erore, voluptas sequamet tour.“You Davis,Clivebelievereally the for engineer sound front-of-house Chris and producer sperciisCuben-Tatum,show excestethe says mquiatatur? Abdul,” Paula doloreriincluding nostis maio voloribus et la ver- acts, other the of many were neither Vanillilive,Milli but100% werenot quia conet, quia venimus tibus. quam volum qui quiatur, ped optat net “Downtown” Brown. JulieVJ MTV host, evening’s the Tectur, exceper uptur? aspel by se cum ea set the finish to and back coaxed be to nonhad possiminstage nihicitist, the ut fugitendit fled aut pair The latisMusic.” illitatibus min nonsequi blacil inita the “Behind VH1’s to insisted autPilatius ium quat por asperumquam ut as ipietendlessly, skip et didn’t it — show nobitemthe et ad que si odio dipissimpos et of start the at crashed Vanilli rem et Milli imodiorpos quam quod aeperro for parts vocal the containing drive ider qui et con as utem ium eosandia hard veribus dicium the Conn., rectum Bristol, in park voluptatempe amusement inisil ma il aligenimil et officius ant, eium ipisinciis volorest, ut X aliquid Abdul. after right et status headliner net, to rempore bill the quam up sum move que to verferum began Morvan and Pilatus charts, the of estiortop as debisci picaepe rnatus evendam pres“Girl Youipsunt, voluptat aut Know faccus It’s quaspel True” consendene soared to the consequo la at nit omni Society and Tone Loc. As the ubiquitous aliati t odi to ullic aut delit qui t WasWas), Un Abdul, (Not Information the inaugural Club MTV Tour with Paula the summer, Milli Vanilli was booked on 1989. March in By released was album U.S. for the first time just as their debut us when they did win,” Levy says. a little awkward and uncomfortable for 100 rehene quiatus, audam qui alition alition qui audam quiatus, rehene 100 Um audande llorist aut ullanis paria paria ullanis aut llorist audande Um later,decades unbeliev Threeit’s “We were andvery seduced young,” tiatium volores corit earia Enimus Agnihit ectiani hiliquatur aut esendia Nam quo bla sequam eligendus. knew scenes the behind “Everyone On July 21, 1989, at Lake Compounce thein Morvanarrived and Pilatus ● ● CONTENDERS FOCUS

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GutterLil Baby: Credit Kenneth Cappello; Milli Vanilli: NewsBase/AP