A mimin' Dolly

No Foolin'
-- Dolly Parton may be doing some lip-syncing on her current tour, but she's not trying to put anything over on those who come to her shows.
Dolly owns up to, shall we say, taking advantage of certain technological advancements that have come along since her last major tour.
"It's not to fool you, it's to entertain you," she's been telling her audiences.
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Almost every major star does it on some tracks, and this is a long tour

Well, you can´t expect her to remember all the words to all the songs and the music, do you?

And, what if she does sometimes? She puts out some great performances! :)

Sorry but I disagree with you all and I'm usually the first to jump to Dolly's defence. I've seen Dolly a bunch of times in concert and I know she mimes at times but I just wish she wouldn't do it. Watching some of the clips of the Knoxville concert, it looked like she was miming from the outset and it's just not good enough... not when Dolly has such an amazing voice. As for the long tour, well that's no excuse. I want to see a real live Dolly and I know many other people will as well.

I too was disappointed the first time I noticed Dolly lip sync in a concert. Then I realized how hard it must be for her to sing live night after night during a tour. First of all, she is so tiny. That itty bitty waist and those huge boobs, it's a wonder she can talk much less sing. I don't think her lungs could handle singing for 2hrs every night. Plus, she is 65 and has so many songs to remember, even with a teleprompter. She wants to entertain us the best she can. She truly has an amazing voice - like an angel. I love to watch her sing live on tv shows and at Dollywood. She shows her human side when she forgets a word or comes in at the wrong time. But a tour is so exhausting and she wants to give fans the whole Dolly experience. I love Dolly and wouldn't care if she came on stage and talked for 2hrs. But when she sings or lip syncs plus dances around, like she does in this tour, it's all the better. A Better Day - that is...

Dolly is a pro - she can last out 2 hours singing live I'm sure. OK maybe the odd song can be lip-synced, but the Los Angeles Times said the following: "Parton, 65, appeared to lip-sync large portions of Saturday’s 2 1/2-hour show, most noticeably when the tempo climbed above a rootsy shuffle, as in an aerobic rendition of “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina & the Waves or in “Together You and I.” They even suggested that singing live was "an act now below her station" which is an awful thing to say of Dolly.

See the article here - http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2011/07/live-review-dolly-par...

I worry that her miming makes Dolly look bad to the people who don't love her as much as many of us do. It's magical being in Dolly's presence... it's also magical being in Dolly's presence and hearing her voice live. Tina did it on her last tour... so why not Dolly.

Aw come on guys. I am 3 years younger than Dolly and I can't remember where I put stuff - Dolly has to remember all her songs - and don't forget she has to remeber them to mime. I understand that she was on stage 2.5 hours at the first concert - her voice wouldn't take all that - do we want to kill her. Only those who love Dolly come to her concerts so we should understand. Give her a break folks.

I just saw Dolly do two shows in a row and she was AMAZING! She did a lot of the songs live!!!!, I am just so thankful she is willing to go on tour as most artist her age are retired! I LOVE YOU Dolly and you were beyond FANtastic in CT and VA!

First, I LOVE Dolly! I saw her this past Saturday night in Connecticut from the 2nd row and it was a pleasure. I do understand the need for her to lipsync a number of the songs to conserve her voice and breath. However, I strongly suspect she lipsynched EVERY song... even the slower songs like "Little Sparrow" and "I Will Always Love You". The change in sound from when she spoke to when she "sang" was simply too different. I must admit, she's pretty good at it, as I saw only three or so blatant mess ups (where her lips went one way and the vocals went another!) ... I hate to admit it, but I am a bit disappointed with the extent of lip synching. Still, it was great to be in the same room and listen to her humor and stories.
Miming the playing of the harmonica was simply silly and should not be included in the show.

This is an old debate and a never ending one. Certainly, the truth is between. I have seen reviews that confirm that the essential songs are live, others are mixed, also with strong support from ber backing singers. I just admire her courage. This is a gruelling tour and she knows that there will always be people to slate, criticize, as well as those who appreciate. Every time she goes out on stage, she has to humble herself for that. I have looked at utubes from Better Day Tour and find that she is singing live quite a number, the voice varies too much to be mimed. Certainly for flashy numbers, there is miming. She is however giving 200 percent. Remember, no media internet or other press is objcctive. Many are designed to provoke and get reaction. If I had followed some reviews, I would never have bought Better Day album. Fortunately I did and loved it. Power to Dolly to make this tour all the way through to Australia and keep on rowing your own canoe.

It's great to read people's opinions on this. What really comes across is our need, want and desire to protect Dolly and stand up for her. I've seen Dolly 10 times in concert and met her twice and I completely idolise the woman. I could never tire of her and I feel guilty even bring up the miming in concert.

However if I play devil's advocate for a minute, Dolly is a pro getting paid a lot of money and choosing to put herself out there and do this tour. She is without doubt a genuine Tennessee gal and that's what people expect to see when they go to see her show. But for me, being genuine and lip-syncing are at odds with one-another.

Please don't shoot me :-)

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. However what some fail to realize is this is a STAGE SHOW and as such is supposed to SCRIPTED and planned out. Of course she is using Teleprompters!! How else would she stay on track? I like to see some of you do a 45 stop tour at the age of 65 and NOT need some help!! Come on!! I've also heard the same jokes thousands of times but I still laugh my butt off each time and so does Dolly because she knows we've heard them!
I have been a fan for over 32 years and I have seen Dolly HUNDREDS of times and each time I am thankful. Yes I have seen the lipsynching but it hasn't detered me from going again. I am glad she is doing some lipsynching otherwise it wouldn't be a 45 stop tour it would be 2!!! At least when she is lipsynching it is her VOICE coming out the speakers unlike some other artists. And she is standing if front of us!!! Her voice would give out within days of nonstop singing. Be realistic!! I for one am just thankful she is out touring at all and this tour is just mindblowing!! I was on the front row for CT and I can assure you Little Sparrow was DEFINITELY live! I could hear her breathing and her neck muscles were strained. In VA there were alot of songs live. Either way, I am still going!!! I love you Dolly and thank God everyday for bringing you into my life!!

Dolly doesn't care about fans? I don't understand at all how can you say this...