'We wanted to sing all along': A new documentary seeks to reframe the Milli Vanilli controversy

Before they became an international punchline, Milli Vanilli was one of the biggest pop acts of the late '80s and early '90s. Their North American debut album, "Girl You Know It's True," featured a distinct blend of R&B, rap and dance music, produced three No. 1 singles and sold more than 6 million copies in the U.S. alone. With their striking looks and distinctive style — long braids, Spandex and broad-shouldered blazers — the duo of Fabrice Morvan and Rob Pilatus were telegenic stars tailor-made for the MTV era.

The problem, as the world eventually learned, was that they a single note on the album, and at concerts and live performances — including the Grammy Awards — were lip-synching to music recorded by other singers. The scheme was devised by German producer Frank Farian, who signed Morvan and Pilatus to a recording contract but used session musicians including Brad Howell, Charles Shaw and John Davis on the album. The ruse collapsed in November 1990 when Farian, angered that the duo wanted to sing on their next, Pilatus admitted the claims were true."We are true singers, but that maniac Frank Farian would never allow us to express ourselves," he said.