Over thirty years after one of the biggest music scandals in history, Fab Morvan is officially back in Grammy territory.
On Friday, the former Milli Vanilli star landed a Grammy nomination for Best Audio Book, Narration and Storytelling Recording for his memoir “You Know It’s True: The Real Story of Milli Vanilli.”
It’s a major full-circle moment for him. Back in the late 80s, Morvan and the late Rob Pilatus became global sensations with hits like “Girl You Know It’s True” and “Blame It on the Rain.” But their success came crashing down when it was revealed that they weren’t actually the ones singing on the records.
The scandal made history when the Recording Academy revoked the duo’s 1990 Best New Artist Grammy, an unprecedented move that has never been repeated before or since.
“People always thought they knew the story, but my story has never been told,” Morvan said in a 2023 interview with PEOPLE, just before the release of the Milli Vanilli documentary.
The film’s director, Luke Korem, said he became curious about Morvan after seeing him tell his story live at The Moth in New York.
“He sang at the end,” Korem recalled. “He had this beautiful voice, and I thought, wait a minute, I thought these guys were frauds. I didn’t know he could sing.”
Morvan’s story goes back to 1987 when he and Pilatus met producer Frank Farian, who offered them what seemed like a dream record deal. But there was a catch they didn’t see coming. After signing, they learned they wouldn’t be recording any vocals. The real voices behind the songs were Charles Shaw, John Davis, and Brad Howell, while Morvan and Pilatus were expected to lip sync for the cameras.
“Every time we came to the studio, we tried to find the singers, but no one was there,” Morvan explained. “They made sure we never crossed paths.”
When the truth came out, everything fell apart. The same public that once loved them turned on them overnight.
“We went from being loved to being laughed at,” Morvan said. “We were easy targets. It was ugly, and Rob took it really hard.”
Now, after years of silence and rebuilding, Morvan is finally telling his side in his own voice. Along with his memoir and documentary, he’s been back performing and even released a new version of “Girl You Know It’s True” in August 2024.
