Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Lip-Sync Performances Have NBC Viewers Fuming Yet Again

Despite lip-syncing being a standard practice for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade broadcast on NBC, viewers are still pretty pissed about it. A cavalcade of musical artists appeared on the NBCUniversal-owned channel’s broadcast — such as The Temptations, War, Coco Jones, Dasha and Ariana Madix. Most lip synced songs because of the logistics of pulling off a live performance during a tight window of time while traveling on a parade float.

Regardless, many NBC viewers were so angry about the presentation — as they are every single year. Lots of people just didn’t understand why live vocals weren’t standard for everyone, as is expected on many other live TV broadcasts. Read some of the reactions trending on X below:

• “Remember when Ashlee Simpson basically had her career torpedoed because of a lip sync SNAFU yet we willingly accept every performer to do it for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.” (credit)
• “Favorite tradition is to watch all the pop stars lip sync on a float sponsored by either a food company or a tv show.” (credit)
• “It is the year TWO THOUSAND TWENTY FOUR! Why are we still making everyone lip sync at the parade?” (credit)
• “Watching the Macy’s parade. It’s like all the dancers and bands learned a piece of music, practiced a performance and now they’re surmounting the crappy weather with their effort. Then a celeb rolls out and lip syncs. They should cut all phonies and highlight more talent!” (credit)
• “The blatant lip synching in the Macy’s thanksgiving day parade will always be my favorite. They don’t even try.” (credit)

One more X post that we wanted to highlight, from user @tgain83, reads: “yes, everyone is lip syncing at the Macy’s Parade you did not ‘catch’ anyone, no need to call anyone out. It’s a mobile event that’s not conducive to live television. We don’t have to do this every year.”

How to Watch Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade for Free

The 2024 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is airing on NBC two times on Thursday. The live broadcast is now on until noon ET. NBC will then air the National Dog Show from noon to 2 p.m. ET, before shifting over to an encore showing of the parade broadcast from 2-5 p.m. ET. NBC broadcasts are free to anyone with a digital antenna.

For those without a way to receive the NBC broadcast free and over the air, the network is available from most cable/satellite providers. Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming service, is also simulcasting coverage.