Beyonce's musical performance at
President Obama's second inauguration on Monday has caused a stir in the
press, with speculation that she lip-synced "The Star Spangled Banner."
A source very familiar with the situation told the media
that Beyonce performed the National Anthem live, but she pre-recorded a
track of the song to sing over. The source said this is a standard
performing practice. And the musical accompaniment by the Marine Band? A
recording.
There
has been no comment by Beyonce's publicist.
If it is true that Beyonce did lip-sync at Monday's
inauguration, she wouldn't be the first artist to perform that way at a
major national event.
For example:
- In 1991, Whitney Houston lip-synced her iconic interpretation of "The Star Spangled
Banner" at the Super Bowl.
- Oscar-winner and former "American
Idol" contestant Jennifer Hudson lip-synced with the anthem at the Super Bowl in 2009.
-
Faith Hill also performed to a backing track for "America The
Beautiful" at the same event in 2009.
- At President Obama's
first inauguration in 2009, Yo-Yo Ma's performance came into question
over "hand syncing." The acclaimed cellist had said the instruments
weren't working properly in the very cold weather.
There were even reports that speculated
Madonna was lip-syncing during her appearance at the 2012 Super
Bowl half-time show. "The only thing Madonna proved during the Super
Bowl 46 show is her irrelevance; the halftime show was so obviously lip
synced that it was painful," according to SBNation's JP Starkey.
As for Beyonce, a statement
released by the Marine Band to CBS News on Tuesday said that "there was
no opportunity for Ms. Knowles-Carter to rehearse with the Marine Band
before the Inauguration so it was determined that a live performance by
the band was ill-advised for such a high-profile event.
Each piece of
music scheduled for performance in the Inauguration is pre-recorded for
use in case of freezing temperatures, equipment failure, or extenuating
circomestances. Regarding Ms. Knowles-Carter's vocal performance, no one
in the Marine Band is in a position to assess whether it was live or
pre-recorded."
CBS News confirmed that James Taylor,
who also performed "America The Beautiful" at President Obama's second
inauguration, did not perform to pre-recorded music and that everything
was live, according to the artist's representative.
A
representative for singer Kelly Clarkson, who had sang "My Country This
Of Thee" at also at the inauguration Monday, told The Associated Press,
that her performance was live.
Is it OK to lip sync in any setting? Does this include the SuperBowl or the President's Inauguration?
If the performers are lip syncing why even bother to have them there? Are they getting paid or doing it out of the kindness of their hearts?
What do you think?
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