Grammy Award Stripped From Milli Vanilli

The music industry’s Grammy Award for best new artist was stripped today from Milli Vanilli, the pop duo that admitted last week it did not sing a note on the “Girl You Know It’s True” album.

“This action comes as a result of admissions and revelations by Milli Vanilli’s producer, record label and the two performers Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan that the label credit on their album . . . was incorrect,” the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences said in a statement.

The Grammy was rescinded by a vote of the academy’s National Board of Trustees. It wasn’t known if the award will be given to another artist.

“The disposition of the Grammy for the 1989 best new artist is currently being reviewed by the academy, and an announcement regarding the decision of the academy’s Board of Trustees on this issue will be made in the near future,” the statement said.

Pilatus and Morvan told The Times over the weekend that they wanted to give up the Grammy and return it to the artists who actually sang on their hit album. They had planned to forfeit the Grammy during a Tuesday news conference.

The lip-sync controversy erupted last week when Milli Vanilli’s German producer, Frank Farian, disclosed that others actually sang on the record credited to Pilatus and Morvan. The photogenic, dreadlocked duo also lip-synced their way through live performances, including one at the Grammy Awards show, Farian said.