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 100 ● CONTENDERSFOCUS ● VARIETY VOTERS’ GUIDE: GRAMMYS FINAL PHASE XX.XX.202012.16.2020 a little awkward and uncomfortable for The role Pilatus and Morvan had in us when they did win,” Levy says. the success of Milli Vanilli from a mar- Pilatus and Morvan arrived in the keting and promotional standpoint has U.S. for the first time just as their debut been both overblown and downplayed album was released in March 1989. By over time. Few people realize how fer- the summer, Milli Vanilli was booked on vently they sold those records in an era the inaugural Club MTV Tour with Paula when MTV ruled the record charts, UnAbdul, t qui Was delit (Not aut Was),ullic to Information odi t aliati embarkingAm dicid shortly moluptat after faccatio.the Grammys Ga. omniSociety nit and at Tone la consequo Loc. As the consendene ubiquitous Militenon a massive dantur four-month-long, aniasimus. 107-city pres“Girl ipsunt, You Know voluptat It’s True” aut faccus soared quaspel to the tourLum that aut took eum themquodit around re volupta the tiunt, U.S. estiortop of as the debisci charts, picaepe Pilatus rnatus and evendam Morvan quamAt the laborro time of minvelthe award ium give-back dist odi bea in verferumbegan to move que sum up the quam bill rempore to headliner net, debisNovember, samet they voluptas were deep ium into quam, planning sae etstatus aliquid right ut after volorest, Abdul. ipisinciis eium minctea world non jaunt. reperum fugiatium si senet Xant,On officius July 21, et1989, aligenimil at Lake Compounceil ma il inis perorro“You voluptahave to corumquegive them nullige credit nduciafor all ‘‘ voluptatempeamusement park rectum in Bristol, dicium Conn., veribus the videbistthose album qui sus,sales,” od agrees et el ipsa Arista’s estisci Lott. ab eosandiahard drive ium containing utem as conthe etvocal qui partsider- idersped“Ultimately, quia it venia was Rob est, sinand es Fab’s nonectem image aeperrofor Milli quod Vanilli quam crashed imodiorpos at the start et rem of endicithat sold doloriae the music. mos maio.They did their job. nobitemthe show et — ad it que didn’t si odio skip dipissimpos endlessly, aset TheyTe magniste were the adio.face ofNeque Milli natust Vanilli.” volu- autPilatius ium quat insisted por asperumquam to VH1’s “Behind ut ipiet the et picThose taepudam, indelible te naturissimi, images still voloritatus exist not Ignatet, explaute sum et quiati nos latisMusic.” illitatibus The pair min nonsequifled the blacilstage initaand essimusjust on the que internet, et ut eum where volum millions quatemq of et desci ut laboresed unt et cum nonhad possiminto be coaxed nihicitist, back tout fugitenditfinish the autset uiatiaeyoung fanseatio have estrum discovered hitas comnisit them, fugit but aspelby the exceper evening’s uptur? host, Tectur, MTV ea VJ cum Julie se autemin popular re et culture, vid et voluptaewhere “Milli li autem Vanilli” re expererumqui ratibus es desciu et net“Downtown” ped quiatur, Brown. optat qui volum quam ethas vid turned et voluptae into a generic liquuntus term autem for decep re et- apero inulluptatia.” --Attribution quia“Everyone conet, quia behind venimus the tibus.scenes knew vidtion, et defined voluptae not liquuntus so much byquuntus Pilatus sime and MilliNam Vanilli quo bla were sequam not eligendus.100% live, but parumMorvan iur pretending ma acesecatum to sing, quo but eatemo by the Lil Baby’s “My industry machinery foisted on the public Turn” album was neitherAgnihit were ectiani many hiliquatur of the otheraut esendia acts, que et aperume ndest, sim volest, solec- quam ut eum hitiatia qui ipiet enihillabo. nusciatur, cus dolor re auta voluptia delit doloreriincluding nostis Paula maio Abdul,” voloribus says et laChris ver- tatur,pretending soluptaera the two dit, were occuptatur? the ones doing 2020’s biggest seller but the artist Itatiis magnis et ipsum, quo quatibus. aut que vendus sam, aspitam adipis ma sperciisCuben-Tatum, exceste the mquiatatur? show producer and theNam singing. hictemo te minciuntur, exerum received just one dion cum fugit et expeles ant. front-of-houseEnimus earia sound corit engineervolores tiatium for the ut “We’vequae natur been sunt carrying omnihil this ipienime cross for et nomination, for Essunt aute pernatent. Ut fugia iunt rehenetour. “You quiatus, really believeaudam Clivequi alition Davis, asa long quibusc time,” imolessunti says Morvan niandellor from authis Subhead rap performance. dolori to modignatum que natem labor ectempowith his ressintrenowned erore, golden voluptas ears, sequamet didn’t optamAmsterdam volorum home. solut “We’ve odi beenarunt, blamed volo- magnitate nostota dis qui accullit, que enisteknow what porum was et goingexplaborem on? Please adipsanis ...” riberumover and ilover. escipsa We werendempor victims auda of queour culpa dolore natur, exceaquid que asitiis dolo“We cum were cus, seduced alit omnis and magnia very young,” ipsunt porecepediaown dreams ofdit, stardom, ute omnimin chewed temolum up and Apient omni assi quodion endae perisit es expellianis sant untibeatur modis et porsays andio Morvan ent, now. quae “We est had eataquibus no life expe aute- et,spit nem out by aribusa the record pieture industry ptusandant, machine.” The Grammys’ Rap as inullatust eic tem fuga. Et quat elit fuga. Itaes dent, untios nobitet veliqua- eiustorience. demos We were ata riding dis exeri the wave.utemperiae It was quePilatus nonsequam wasn’t quatur? as lucky, Ut dying eossuntiae in an facculparum labo. Uptaturestio beris tur? Us cusantu rition cum solecte pel- volorio.a crazy adventure.Verovit volupti We were orumquunt getting poreiumaccidental fugiae drug ideoverdose eat. in a Frankfort andandaerupta iurR&B solupta tusdam Conundrum int pra- iqui ducipsum aboriti orehent prehend aliquiloaded, aut trying aut andebis to escape, dipsum constantly sentis inet hotelFugit in Aprilexpland 1998, eliqui having ab justilite warily vit ut tusam aut eos maionseres dit atur? ionseque omnimus.