As artists follow their passion and work to make ends meet, they are often interrupted by trolls who criticize or mock their work. The ideal response in such situations is to stay calm, just as this New York City busker did when she encountered a man who accused her of lip-syncing. Taylor Iman (@misstayloriman) shared a TikTok clip from the street when the man intruded on her performance. The clip garnered public attention, with many supporters expressing concern for street buskers.
Titled “New Yorker accuses me of lip-syncing,” the clip shows Taylor standing on the sideway of a New York street, with a backdrop of skyscrapers, a food cart, cars parked, and people walking around. In her hands is the microphone, which is attached to a Pelican case. On the side, there is the speaker and amplifier set-up. She is seen performing a rendition of Whitney Houston’s classic hit “I Will Always Love You” in a magical voice.
Suddenly, a man in a long brown coat walks past her and points to her microphone. At first, she doesn’t hear what he is saying. So, she moves slightly away from the speaker. “Turn that off,” the man grumbles, accusing her of lip-syncing to Whitney’s voice in the song. Undeterred, Taylor turns off the music and continues singing without background music. But the stranger keeps on disrupting her performance by pointing to her microphone. He then shouts at her, “Do it a cappella.”
According to the International School of Music, the term “a cappella” means “singing without instrumental accompaniment.” A cappella music uses only the human voice to produce the sounds of a song. So clearly, Taylor was already doing a cappella. But the man didn’t seem to understand that. “Ahh! He doesn’t know what a cappella means,” she wrote in the video overlay.
Soon after, the obnoxious man starts picking at her shoulders. She screams, “You are messing up my song!” But the man remains nosy and keeps shouting in her ears. He even grunts that he would offer her one dollar. He keeps pointing at her in a manner that seems almost harassing. At this point, Taylor starts ignoring him. “People in front of me are cracking up,” she wrote. Despite everything, Taylor remains focused and brings her performance to a finish. “How would you have handled this situation?” she wrote in the video caption.
All the people who commented on the video lauded the singer with “respect” and praised the way she handled the challenging situation. “You handled it well- his pointing his finger in your face and touching the mic or you- not cool. Beautiful singer,” said @lifedanceson. @infoqxxab commented, “People hate seeing others shine. Amazing voice and professionalism.” @carlostheleo left an inspiring note that read, “Haters going to always hate. Beautiful voice keep chasing your dreams and passion. You got a gift!”
Others said the man appeared as if he didn’t truly know Whitney’s voice and what a cappella means, because even after Taylor sang it, he didn’t move away, but kept yelling. @01Explorer asserted, “Asking for something and then not knowing that you’re getting the thing you asked for is crazy.” Several appreciated her craft of singing. “American Idol should accept her,” said @jaybreezee5.
Taylor even posted the video on Instagram, where it caught the attention of Danielle Leslie (@danielleleslie), the CEO of Culture Add Labs, who commented, “I am loving these videos! You have such a GIFT and handled that interaction with GRACE and assertiveness,” with lots of clapping emojis. Others praised her for staying focused amid this harrowing situation.
Buskers being harassed is not something new. In a Reddit thread at r/Busking, experienced street musicians suggest that buskers should carry things like pepper spray or dial 911 in case such circumstances arise. Plus, they should never keep the cash-filled tip jars out into the open for too long as there are homeless people, prowlers, and muggers all around on the streets.
You can follow Taylor Iman on TikTok and Instagram for more street performance videos.
