The famous R&B duo group Milli Vanilli was founded in Germany by Frank Farian. The Duo group that consisted of Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus. They are the most famous pop acts of the late 1980s as well as the early 1990’s having sold millions of records. The band has earned them a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
Having hit the world, the band came crumbing down in 1998 after it was said that that the duo did not sing any vocals on music releases having them return their Grammy Award for Best New Artist. They were involved in different genres such as Dance-pop, new jack swing, R&B, funk, Eurodance, and hip hop, in addition to Dance-rock
Inception
Having met in Los Angeles, Rob Pilatus met Fabrice Morvan while in a dance seminar, the duo connected having spent life in European cities. Morvan spent his childhood in Paris while Pilatus in Munich. They even attribute their bond to having been foreigners who met at a foreign country where there were not too many blacks.
Finding work as back singers, the duo met again in Munich, and they got things rolling. Then they got things rolling. The Duo picked the name Milli Vanilli.
As such, the band was founded in 1988 by Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus before they were discovered by Frank Farian. While their first album, which they recorded with a small German label, was not successful, they were determined to be stars.
Evolution
Having started in 1988 in abject poverty and trying to become famous, the duo Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus were invited by Music producer Frank Farian in his Frankfurt studio to listen to their demo on the song “Girl You Know It’s True.”
It was after this, their fame came to reality after being signed for ten songs each year. While the recording by the duo didn’t impress Farian, he opted for using studio performers such as Charles Shaw, John Davis, Brad Howell, Jodie Rocco as well as Linda Rocco. Before they knew it, the duo was traversing pain, France, and Italy lip-syncing on the tracks that were pre-recorded.
Continually, Farian wrote most of the songs for the All or Nothing album released the same year in November. Selling in the United States, All or Nothing was repackaged as Girl You Know It’s True hit the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 with three singles of the album hitting the first position. Additionally, the song Girl You Know It’s True got the 6× platinum certification by RIAA after seven weeks at the top. In Canada, the album was certified a Diamond with over a million unit shipments. The song led to the duo being awarded for Best New Artist by Grammy Awards.
However, the do couldn’t get away with this for too long, and on 21 July 1989, a hitch on the hard drive caused a am and skip repeating only a section of the “Girl, you know it’s… causing them to run away from the stage. Additionally, Beth McCarthy-Miller indicated that when having an interview with the duo doubted, they sang the songs having heard them talk.
A scandal turned true. While the duo pushed for being included in the recording of the following album while all outside was a buzz, Farian fired them on 14 November 1990, saying they did not sing in any of the songs.
What followed is a revoking of their award, and through a press conference in Los Angeles, they admitted to being willing to give back their award in addition to also proving they could sing. What followed were lawsuits requesting refunds, and approval was made for everyone who attended concerts and those who bought their recordings. While 10 million buyers had the chance to return, the deadline was 8th of March 1992.
In 1991, the duo released a new album titled The Moment of Truth. The album also included “Keep On Running,” “Nice ‘n Easy” as well as “Too Late (True Love).” The cover of the album indicated the real singers of the album—this time, thy ditched Milli Vanilli for The Real Milli Vanilli.
Later, the Milli Vanilli released the album Try ‘N’ B in 1992 that included singles like “Ding Dong,” “Who Do You Love,” as well as a remake of Dr. Hook’s “Sexy Eyes.” The success of this album led to the release of an international Try ‘N’ B debut album.
Having moved to Los Angeles, the duo was signed by Joss Entertainment Group, and they did an album titled Rob & Fab, but the album did not do well due to constraints of money. There was little publicity as well as distribution.
IN 1998, they then recorded a new Milli Vanilli album titled Back and In Attack that involved Morvan and Pilatus on lead vocals. However, Rob Pilatus woes with assaults, and drinking led to his death on the eve of the promotional tour of the album. HE previously had been put to jail and rehabilitation.
Since then, Morvan went to be a session musician as well as a public speaker as well as doing singles.
Awards & Achievements
Among their awards, Milli Vanilli was awarded the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. But had to be revoked later on. The revoking of the award was the emergence that they had not provided any vocals in their songs.
Net Worth of Milli Vanilli in 2024
Through their sales of albums and their awards as well as involvement in different advertisements, the Milli Vanilli has an estimated net worth of about $500 Thousand as of December 2024. Their wealth is attributed to sales of their most successful song, “Girl You Know It’s True.”
Milli Vanilli has wowed the world with the biggest hoax ever; however, the duo was just trying to be famous, and they did. They remain legends all through time. From a song that was meant to be only a demo, the duo became famous instantly, and their fall was as quick as their stardom was.