How to differentiate live vocals vs lip sync?

If you can clearly hear 2 overlapping sounds then it is most probably live, one is the backtrack and the other is the live singing

If you can only hear one uniform sound then it is definitely not live no matter how different from the studio recording it is and no matter whether you can hear their breathing or not. singing (while dancing) without a backtrack is a myth.

it's very easy when one hasn't been listening to only kpop for so long.

Sometimes it's obvious, if the singer doesn't have the mic at their mouth but the sound of them singing is there, sometimes you have to look closer. Like if they are doing jumping choreo and there is no hitch in their voice 0% at all, they are either lip syncing or the back track is really high and their live voice is really low then. Also, when they finish a line, look to see when they take the mic away, unless it's for high or powerful notes, they hold the mic away farther but it's still directed towards their lips. Some take it away too fast for held out notes, and the back trap keeps going for half a second or something. Also look to see if their lips match up, obviously

It's pretty hard especially if the singer is good at hiding it.

If the singer's mouth isn't in line with their voice, they're probably lip syncing and not doing a good job.

If the voice also seems really loud and too much like the studio version, they can be lip syncing too.

Live vocals don't sound like the freakin record. But as chounim said, everyone uses a backtrack, even those who sing live. So when idols sing live, you may hear both the live voices and the backtrack one over the other. Most of the time the backtrack is quite loud though and covers live voices a lot.

Here's an example of live singing, with a backtrack so quiet you barely can hear it. It's easy to hear the voices shaking when the members dance actively. Especially at 3:38 during the shuffle dance move, poor Sora is unable to keep a stable voice for obvious reason. Stan woo!ah!

Here is a obvious one. If they miss a line on purpose then they are singing live.

Quote from JaedaKim

Sometimes it's obvious, if the singer doesn't have the mic at their mouth but the sound of them singing is there, sometimes you have to look closer. Like if they are doing jumping choreo and there is no hitch in their voice 0% at all, they are either lip syncing or the back track is really high and their live voice is really low then. Also, when they finish a line, look to see when they take the mic away. Some take it away too fast for held out notes. Also look to see if their lips match up, obviously

We have a true detective here

Quote from JaedaKim

Also, when they finish a line, look to see when they take the mic away. Some take it away too fast for held out notes.

this tactic doesn't work on singers who resonate as if it is drinking water like Kyuhyun

see this @ 3:03

again @ 3:43

and again @ 3:35 (this one is absolutely ridiculous)

Once Handong touch her mic in the middle of her performance

Quote from chounim

this tactic doesn't work on singers who resonate as if it is drinking water like Kyuhyun

see this @ 3:03

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again @ 3:43

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and again @ 3:35 (this one is absolutely ridiculous)

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I should've been more clear on that, I'll change it

It's different when it's a high or powerful note but if it's just regular singing or talk-singing, that's different. You can tell he's singing a powerful note there so it makes sense the mic is farther away

Quote from JaedaKim

I should've been more clear on that, I'll change it

It's different when it's a high or powerful note but if it's just regular singing or talk-singing, that's different. You can tell he's singing a powerful note there so it makes sense the mic is farther away

i know what you meant, you don't have to edit it. i just wanted to show off Kyuhyun's pipes

Quote from chounim

i know what you meant, you don't have to edit it. i just wanted to show off Kyuhyun's pipes

It was pretty great lol

All I know is many of the performances people have linked here based on a cue sheet are not as live as people think it is

Essentially there are two types situations one with very heavy back track (this is most common in kpop) where it looks like they’re singing live in some parts but they’re barely actually trying and the other is the AR. This first is what the majority of the performances that kpop fans like to call “live” but it’s not different than lip sync’ing.

Tbh it’s quite easy to say when something is live isn’t it. If you aren’t struggling to breathe as you dance it’s not live or the back track is too loud (When a show is airing live)

for recorded performances they’re almost always corrected in post to so it’s harder to distinguish. Tbh unless something is airing live or it’s a live concert you’re attending I wouldn’t really bother finding out if it’s truly live or not because it’s processed anyway. So as long as it sounds good.

Stan RBW group they're really bad in lip sync so it's more easy to know

Quote from chounim

singing (while dancing) without a backtrack is a myth.

Perhaps these days it is, but singing while dancing without a backtrack happened fairly often back in the Second Generation.

If the singer's voice cracks or they go out of tune for a moment or two. Both of which are completely normal, especially when dancing.