I've read an article recentely in which a former X-Factor finalist criticised her mentor for not singing live and apparantely this mentor caused controversy by appearing to sing to a backing track on a performance on the show. Whether this particular singer sang live or not is not something I really give a damn about but it has made me think about these pre-recorded performances and why they are such a big deal.
I've seen several occurances where Meat Loaf has been accused of 'miming' to a backing track and with the way some people react, it's as if he's commited some dreadful sin. Sometimes there are limitations in the TV show environment which prevents the performance being done as the show goes out on air. Maybe there are time constraints and they want to ensure the performance fits in with the schedule, maybe they can't fit the whole backing band on the stage? We don't know these limitations unless we are there so I believe that people ought to go easy on these performers a little bit. As I have said in the past when people have criticised Meat for 'miming', it's still HIS voice regardless of whether he's singing it at the present or whether he recorded it a few hours prior to that. I can't speak for other singers but I have been told by a friend, who has been in the audience when Meat has performed on these shows, that you can actually hear him singing, even if it's the pre-recording that the viewers at home hear, almost like he were doing karaoke to his own song.

I tend to just sit back and enjoy seeing my favouriote singer on these TV shows rather than try to look for the negatives. Some may feel that this way of viewing is just a niave way of looking at things but if that's the way they feel then I'll hold my hands up and admit that I'm proud to be that way because I enjoy the performance for what it is and feel that there are better uses for my time than to look for negatives in something that is there to provide us with entertainment.