No Milli or Vanilli, Just a Fab Evening

It’s tough to think of a fallen pop idol facing a more challenging road to return than Fabrice Morvan, one-half of the disgraced duo Milli Vanilli. Morvan and partner Rob Pilatus secured their pop infamy when they were found to be lip-syncing during their concerts--and to have sung not a note on their hit 1989 album “Girl You Know It’s True.”

Yet less than a decade after giving back his Grammy for best new artist, Morvan has come back to the stage. His determined optimism and natural charm were enough to win a fair hearing on Friday at the Viper Room, where he offered 35 minutes of evidence that he actually can sing--and in a warm, serviceable tenor that’s largely well suited to his relentlessly upbeat, soul-inflected dance tunes and ballads.

His bushy curls flying, Morvan danced ebulliently at the mike, in a style distinctly recalling the old days. But his singing was augmented only by guitarist and backing vocalist Ken Empie. Morvan, who wisely avoided Milli Vanilli material in favor of his own songs, even showed a spark of songwriting imagination with an offbeat, catchy reggae-pop song about believing in aliens. And the bubble-gum funk anthem “Love Revolution” echoed the sort of ‘70s soul that is so nostalgically hip right now.

It’s amusing to imagine Morvan striking a chord with pop audiences again, his disarming sincerity easily winning the kind of affection he got from Friday’s crowd. It’s hard to say whether he’ll hit the limelight again, but one thing’s certain: This time around, Fabrice Morvan is no fraud.