PULLMAN, Wash. — Fabrice Morvan, one-half of the infamous pop duo Milli Vanilli, will lecture Thursday, April 1, on the Washington State University campus.
Sponsored by the ASWSU Lecture and Performance Series, Morvan’s talk, “Finding My Own Voice,” is set for 7 p.m. at Beasley Performing Arts. The lecture will be followed by a musical performance from his debut solo album set for release in the fall.
Morvan is an up and coming Los Angeles based singer/songwriter. He has been selling out in clubs like L.A.’s famed Viper Room for the past year. He has received rave reviews for his singing, stage presence and song writing.
Morvan has a story to tell, lecture organizers said. He was one-half of the biggest scandal ever to hit popular music.
In his lecture performance, Morvan brings his story to audience members in a program that motivates, educates, inspires and entertains. Morvan discusses his early days in Germany when the notorious lip-synching scam was hatched with producer Frank Farian, the media frenzy surrounding their “outing” and subsequent media lynching, and the tragic death of his partner.
Milli Vanilli was one of the hottest touring acts of the day until they admitted that they had lip-synched their way across three continents. In 1989, Morvan and partner Rob Pilatus had to forfeit their Grammy Award as best new artists of the year when it became known that they had not sang a note on “Girl You Know It’s True,” a Milli Vanilli album that had sold 10 million copies.
Milli Vanilli became the butt of a long-running national joke. Morvan and Pilatus were mocked and vilified by the record industry and media. French-born Morvan managed to weather the public humiliation relatively unscathed. He retreated to the background to study English, write songs and improve his voice. Conversely, Pilatus became addicted to drugs and had trouble with the law before ultimately meeting his tragic death last year.
In spite of Pilatus’ death, there is a wave of nostalgia for Milli Vanilli. Recently, VH1 enjoyed the success of its highest rated show in its history, “Behind the Music: Milli Vanilli.”
Morvan candidly discusses his rags to riches to rags to redemption story, ending with a live (definitely not lip-synched) performance of his exciting new music.
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