How Fab Morvan of Milli Vanilli mounted one of the greatest comebacks in Grammy history

This clip 36 years ago, Fabrice Morvan was preparing for his archetypal Grammy Awards. It had been a chaotic fewer years for the 23-year-old Parisian and his champion person Robert Pilatus from Germany. The duo known arsenic Milli Vanilli had rocketed to fame, going from obscure dancers successful Munich to predominate the popular euphony scene. Not lone were they nominated for champion caller artist, but they were expected to execute live. Underneath it all, the brace were rapidly reaching their breaking point.

Don Henley’s “The End of the Innocence” was nominated for some opus and grounds of the year. Indeed, for the tens of millions of Milli Vanilli fans who bought their records, the 1990 Grammy ceremonial marked an extremity of innocence of sorts. To this day, Milli Vanilli are the lone artists successful the past of the Grammys to person their grant revoked.

L-R: The popular duo Milli Vanilli comprised of Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus, the taxable of the Paramount+ documentary Milli Vanilli, streaming connected Paramount+ opening October 24, 2023.

(Ingrid Segeith/Ingrid Segeith/Paramount+)

“Rob and Fab,” arsenic they were known, ne'er sang — unrecorded oregon successful workplace — connected immoderate of the smash deed singles from their 6x platinum debut North American album, “Girl You Know It’s True.” Their Grammy show was them lip-synching to a playback.

The existent singing was done by paid league vocalists John Davis, Brad Howell and Charles Shaw portion Rob and Fab captivated with their charisma, diversion creation moves and oculus for style. In the aftermath of the fallout, Milli Vanilli remained steadfast that what they did was wrong. There was, successful fact, plentifulness of blasted to spell astir adjacent if Rob and Fab suffered the brunt of it.

“They removed the platinum records from the partition astatine Arista,” says Morvan, present 59. He is perched connected the borderline of a poolside lounge seat from a boutique edifice successful the bosom of Hollywood. It’s a sunny December day, but he’s dressed each successful achromatic with glasses to match, slim fingers adorned with a customized metallic skull ring. He loves the sunshine, but offers for my involvement to determination determination successful the shade. Able to walk for decades younger, helium present basks successful beingness connected the different broadside of infamy.

“They accidental the information volition acceptable you free. The information takes the stairs portion the lies instrumentality the elevators. And that is true,” Morvan said. “So finally, aft 35 years, my information comes to the surface.”

(Stephen Shadrach)

Now, successful a redemption arsenic astounding arsenic his rise, Morvan is backmost successful the moving for the 2026 Grammys arsenic the lone idiosyncratic successful Recording Academy past nominated aft a anterior revocation.

This time, the dependable is unmistakably his. Nominated successful the audio book, narration, and storytelling signaling class for his memoir “You Know It’s True: The Real Story of Milli Vanilli,” Morvan’s lilting French dialect and brushed code are hypnotizing and helium has a earthy knack for storytelling. The signaling was performed unsocial successful his location studio.

“They accidental the information volition acceptable you free. The information takes the stairs portion the lies instrumentality the elevators. And that is true. So finally, aft 35 years, my information comes to the surface,” helium contends. “And people, they get it, they recognize that.”

Sadly, Rob Pilatus isn’t present to spot it. Unable to grip the fallout and struggling successful addiction, helium died successful 1998. In 1 of the much moving parts of his memoir, Morvan speaks to his erstwhile partner, laying bare for the archetypal clip immoderate of the much unhealthy aspects of their narration but successful a mode that makes wide his emotion for Pilatus runs deep.

After Pilatus’ death, Morvan tried his champion to determination on. He taught French astatine a Berlitz schoolhouse for a portion erstwhile not performing astatine tiny venues. “I’m not adjacent looking astatine becoming big,” helium told Times writer Carla Rivera successful a 1997 profile. He adjacent had a stint connected vigor hosting “Fabrice’s Fabulous Flashbacks” for KIIS-FM. But helium ever returned to making music.

“Music was ever determination with me,” helium says, his excitement building. So erstwhile it came to moving guardant successful life, and, I said, ‘OK, what americium I going to do?’ Music benignant of popped up and said, ‘Hey, amusement maine however overmuch you emotion me.’ And past I worked connected that, and I learned however to play guitar, and I learned however to produce, and I learned however to constitute … it allowed maine to instrumentality the symptom away, to region it.”

But aft 20 years successful Los Angeles, Morvan felt it was clip to permission “Hotel California,” arsenic helium calls it, for opportunities successful Europe. In a follow-up Zoom telephone from his location successful Amsterdam, helium confides that helium astir felt similar giving up, but figured possibly a alteration of scenery was what helium needed.

“I was precise disillusioned,” helium says, headphones crowning his dreadlocked updo. “I recovered a shaper that I could enactment with and physique thing with, but owed to definite circumstances, it didn’t travel together. So I met immoderate Dutch radical that wanted to motorboat a manner line. And I heard that Holland was a spot wherever creation euphony was evolving.”

Becoming a DJ, helium played festivals and kept Milli Vanilli’s bequest alive, performing with a unrecorded band.

Morvan with his woman Tessa van der steen and their 4 children

While preparing for a task astir 15 years ago, Morvan met his existent partner, Tessa van der Steen, who is Dutch and works arsenic a wellness and fittingness manager and alternate medicine practitioner. Together, they person 4 children: a 12-year-old boy, 9-year-old girl, and a acceptable of 4-year-old duplicate boys.

During Milli Vanilli’s heyday, almighty antheral (mostly white) figures held the cards, but successful this signifier of his beingness it’s women who play large roles. Not mentioned successful his publication is Kim Marlowe, who Morvan says, successful the 1997 Times nonfiction was his manager and champion friend. They astatine 1 constituent married; Marlowe softly filed for divorcement successful L.A. successful 2024.

Van der Steen, however, is the emotion of his life. She had nary thought who helium was erstwhile they archetypal met, helium was simply “Fabrice.” And according to Morvan, she is fiercely protective. “Fab is the astir loving spouse and begetter I could ever imagine,” Van der Steen writes implicit email. “We are soulmates. We person been unneurotic for much than 15 years. We recognize each other, and it happens often that we are reasoning of the aforesaid things, without saying a word.” She champions his efforts to merchandise archetypal euphony and proceed performing.

In caller years, changes successful culture, exertion and the euphony manufacture person opened up conversations casting Rob and Fab successful a much sympathetic light. Morvan himself took portion successful the well-received 2023 Paramount+ documentary “Milli Vanilli.” That aforesaid year, “Girl You Know It’s True,” a well-made biopic directed by Simon Verhoeven, came out.

And Morvan was caught disconnected defender erstwhile Ryan Murphy featured Milli Vanilli prominently successful his 2024 bid connected the Menendez brothers, a determination introducing the radical to caller generations unfamiliar with the story. Motivated by the renewed interest, helium recorded a stripped down, acoustic mentation of the Diane Warren-penned deed “Blame It connected the Rain.”

As precocious arsenic November, Milli Vanilli came up successful the zeitgeist, sparked by a remark connected X by seasoned shaper Jermaine Dupri commenting connected AI “artists” charting connected Billboard.

Of people determination are inactive detractors, but successful an epoch successful which nationalist cancellations abound and apologies are scrutinized for immoderate whiff of inauthenticity, Milli Vanilli’s wrongdoings tin present look quaint.

Benjamin Matheson, adjunct prof astatine the University of Bern’s Institute connected Philosophy, studies corporate shame and writes connected personage apology. He offers the startling thought that definite fans mightiness beryllium much consenting to forgive a motivation wrong, adjacent an egregious 1 similar unlawful intercourse with a insignificant successful the illustration of manager Roman Polanski, arsenic opposed to creator deception due to the fact that it tin beryllium seen arsenic much authentic.

“I deliberation that perhaps,” Matheson writes implicit email, “Milli Vanilli suffered due to the fact that they were an aboriginal ‘created’ popular band, and the nationalist hadn’t been acclimatized to this benignant of music. Whereas present I deliberation radical are overmuch much comfy with autotuning, AI music, and truthful connected — though I’d emotion it if determination was a spot much propulsion backmost connected this benignant of thing.”

Morvan has plentifulness of thoughts connected the authorities of the euphony manufacture past and present. He welcomes the alteration successful perspective, and portion helium doesn’t unrecorded successful regret, looking back, helium would springiness his younger aforesaid a small advice.

“Keep moving connected your trade now. No substance what, and don’t ever commencement drugs. And don’t fto your buddy Rob commencement with that. With those two, things would person been different.”

The popular duo Milli Vanilli comprised of Rob Pilatus(left) and Fab Morvan are the taxable of the Paramount+ documentary Milli Vanilli, streaming connected Paramount+ opening October 24, 2023.

(Paul Cox/Paramount+/Paul Cox/Paramount+)

When the Los Angeles Tribune editorial unit selected “Girl You Know It’s True” arsenic its movie of the year, Morvan met Parisa Rose, his co-writer and enforcement shaper for the signaling of the memoir. Rose, a first-time writer and parent of two, archetypal met Morvan erstwhile she interviewed him for the quirky insubstantial — present successful its 4th revival. She is present main operating serviceman of the Tribune, which has expanded to see a publishing house.

Rose, who grew up successful Pasadena, helped Morvan reckon with parts of his inheritance helium had agelong buried. One of the astir compelling parts of the memoir is erstwhile helium breaks the 4th wall, narrating letters to individuals from his past.

“You request to accidental everything you person ne'er said earlier to them that you’ve ever wanted to say,” she says of the workout they conducted for the interludes. “You request to cognize that this is the past speech you volition ever person with them. And you request to ideate they are sitting crossed from you now.” Reached implicit the phone, Rose said she besides helped with research, uncovering details connected the seaside sanatorium successful France wherever Morvan spent overmuch of his aboriginal childhood.

A large portion of Morvan’s information for the memoir was to permission a bequest for his kids. His oldest lad is getting into euphony and precocious recovered an aged Milli Vanilli vinyl and plays it on with Daft Punk and Michael Jackson. Remaining “zen” astir the thought of winning, he’s enjoying the moment. And the large dreams ne'er die. He plans to circuit successful the adjacent twelvemonth and travel backmost to execute successful America. And who knows? Maybe 1 time helium tin play Coachella.

He’s peculiarly thrilled implicit his Grammy outfit, a collaboration with Spanish decorator Helen López, whom helium antecedently worked with connected a Milli Vanilli-inspired line. “When you’ll spot what I’m wearing … you’ll spot that I don’t play,” helium says with a twinkle successful his eye. “No substance what the result successful life, you person to conscionable be, beryllium successful the moment. Enjoy the moment. Whatever happens volition pb you to thing else. I person nary expectations.”