Blame it on the Fame: Milli Vanilli
When Frank Farian first laid eyes on Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan, he saw everything he wasn’t. They were handsome, young, and Black. But Frank had something they didn’t. He had power.
So, Frank offered them a devil’s bargain. Almost overnight, Milli Vanilli’s debut album went five times platinum and scored a Grammy nomination. But when the lie at the center of their success started to unravel, Rob and Fab would discover the hard way the difference between star power and real power.
From Wondery, Blame It on the Fame is a story about the lie that shot to #1 and what it cost to tell the truth. Hosted by Amanda Seales.
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Our Editor's Take
Blame it on the Fame: Milli Vanilli is a seven-part documentary series. The podcast reveals the entire story of one of the biggest American scandals in pop music. In the late 1980s Milli Vanilli was one of the most successful R&B groups around. They had legions of adoring fans and songs that reached number one on the charts. The act even won several American Music Awards and a Grammy for Best New Artist.
However all of this was a lie as the duo wasn't actually performing the songs. Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan were the faces of the music. In reality studio artists Brad Howell and John Davis provided the vocals. This new podcast explores how this facade began and the outcomes of it getting exposed. It tells the rise and fall of the group from the perspectives of Pilatus and Morvan. It examines how the story told by the media only got part of the picture.
The host of Blame it on the Fame: Milli Vanilli is a successful actor and comedian. Most people might recognize Amanda Seales from her role on HBO's Insecure. The host also has a comedy special called I Be Knowin. However Seales is also an activist who promotes the representation of Black culture. She created and hosted the live comedy show Smart Funny & Black. Seales is also involved in several non-profit organizations that support Black girls.
Seales became interested in the topic of Milli Vanilli after learning about the producer who started it all. Like most the host knew about the lip-syncing of the two charismatic Black men. But she didn't realize it was a white German record executive who convinced the two to engage in the lie. Seales decided to join this podcast to help reclaim the narrative of the two performers. She wanted to show more of the reality of their exploration. By doing so she also discusses the role race plays in the music industry in general.
Blame it on the Fame: Milli Vanilli offers compelling storytelling. Seales' wit and humor help expose broad issues of inequality while keeping the listeners entertained.
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