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Did Gwen Stefani lip-sync at NBC New Year's Eve 2021? Internet slams editing, says it was 'painfully obvious'

Stefani appeared on the NBC's New Year's eve fest to debut a brand new song of hers titled 'Let Me Reintroduce Myself', but it looked like she may have rubbed viewers the wrong way

Before Blake Shelton stole the thunder for being drunk and screaming 'Interview me!' during his video chat with NBC New Year's eve 2021 host Carson Daly, fiancee Gwen Stefani tackled a minor controversy of her own with what viewers labeled was 'painfully obvious' lip-syncing.

Much like her soon to be hubby and long-term beau, Stefani appeared on the network's new year's eve fest to debut a brand new song of hers titled 'Let Me Reintroduce Myself', but it looked like she still was still fighting an age-old dilemma that has plagued musicians for years and years. Fans were just not ready to believe the singer was actually singing. 

Clad in cutesy all-denim, her blonde hair held up high in a pony and with her signature red lips, Stefani carried off the look and visual appeal totally well. But when it came to the vocals, what a lot of viewers pointed out was her lip was not matching the audio. A lot of Twitter users asked if the recording was lagging and several defended Stefani saying she wasn't lip-syncing but merely singing along to an audio of her song as is the case with most live performances. However, the sound was way too off from what Stefani was vocalizing and that seemed to irk several viewers who had high hopes from their favorite. 

"Was @gwenstefani singing about @Groupon during the New Year Special on NBC? Also, editing sucked; words didn’t match her lip sync," tweeted a user, while another sparked a debate asking "Is @gwenstefani lip sinking or is my tv severely lagging?" Others pointed out: "Sorry folks, I'm not a sound expert or performance expert, it just looks like her mouth did not move to the sound. From my, limited, experience that means a pre recording was playing the words and her lips weren't matching. But I'm wrong i guess? Would this happen at live concert." A fan simply said: "All of these #NBCNYE performances are dubbed not lip synched. Stop shitting on #gwenstefani"

The general consensus however was in favor of the singer lip-syncing. "Wtf is with the horrible Gwen Stefani lip sync and Sting alien song? NBC finishing out 2020 craptastically," wrote a user.

Another complained: "What is up with the video editors on the production team this year, guys? I thought the lip syncing in Gwen Stefani's performance was painfully obvious, but I let it go. But when you messed up Sting too, you've got me all riled up!." Others asked "Retweet if New Years TV is more than awful right now. Gwen Stefani lip singing on @nbc , Megan Thee Stallion in a skin color body suit on @ABCNetwork." And a fan lamented "Finally turned on live television for this countdown and the first thing I saw was Gwen Stefani awkwardly lip syncing some new song of hers."

Keeping it balanced and hitting the middle ground was perhaps an ardent fan of Stefani, who tweeted: "Thats really good lip singing by @gwenstefani let me reintroduce myself good song wish she would have sang for real though."