Beyonce the ‘perfectionist’ may be her harshest critic. Today she gave a clear and concise reason as to why she lip-synched her inaugural performance of the Star Spangled Banner.
Though many singers, even legends, have also pre-record tracks that spectators enjoy to hear them only to sing, there is still a sense of inauthenticity behind the act from the perspective of a listener. It’s a battle between an organic moment of commemoration and talent vs pure showmanship.
The diva addressed the controversy at a presser hosted by the NFL explaining why she pre-recorded the anthem. She said there was not enough time to rehearse to the degree that expects of herself professionally and she also stated that the moment was more about President Obama.
“I practice until my feet bleed and I did not have time to rehearse with the orchestra,” she said, adding that she was also emotional that day. “Due to no proper sound check, I did not feel comfortable taking a risk. It was about the president and the inauguration, and I wanted to make him and my country proud, so I decided to sing along with my pre-recorded track, which is very common in the music industry. And I’m very proud of my performance.”
A point well-made by the articulate star. She then sang the Star Bangled Banner a capella. It was nearly identical to the previous version, as shown in the comparison video edited by NYPost.com. The major difference between the two events was in terms of symbolism. The inauguration represents the country and the president’s allegiance to the people. The other demonstrated that Beyonce can sing, really.
Not only is the famed mom a singer, she also dances just as feverently as her back-up dancers do; changes clothes backstage and within seconds jumps right back in spotlight for her next number. On the level that Beyonce has been maintained for the past 15 years, she is respected by other music icons and loved by millions of fans.
After PageSix confirmed the R&B star lip-sychned her inaugural performance, people took to twitter and other social means discussing the subject of what would become a media frenzy. Beyonce’s reunion with her former group, Destiny’s Child, fell under skepticism shortly after. The group, scheduled to take the stage for the traditionally popularSuper Bowl Halftime show, faced some criticism that questioned if their realtime ballads would be faked or not.
Whether other artists lip-synch, the details of the event were newsworthy and perhaps the measure of her fame is what made it into a frenzy. The success of numerous reality television series suggests that viewers love a well-staged show. But Beyonce is no Milli Vanilli.
From the looks of it, people enjoyed the inauguration. And Beyonce says she sang along with the recording. In spite of what made this topic the buzz of conversation, Beyonce gave insight to the situation from a singer’s perspective. How this will effect sentiments of other artists for doing the same thing remains to be seen.
With AP