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Beyoncé Sets the Record Straight Regarding Her Inauguration Lip-Sync (and States Her Intentions for the Super Bowl)

Jan. 31, 2013 6:00pm Liz Klimas

Beyonce Formally Admits to National Anthem Lip Sync But Will Sing Super Bowl Live

Beyonce speaks onstage at the Pepsi Super Bowl XLVII Halftime Show Press Conference at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on January 31. (Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images)

NEW ORLEANS (TheBlaze/AP) — There was some back-and-forth after the presidential inauguration regarding whether Beyonce sang the National Anthem live or lip-synced it. An official confirmed the singer used a pre-recorded track but the star stayed silent — until now.

At a news conference Thursday before the Super Bowl, Beyonce admitted to lip-syncing the “Star Spangled Banner,” but assured everyone she would be signing live at this Sunday’s NFL championship game.

The singer said she’s a “perfectionist” and wanted her performance for President Barack Obama to be memorable. She called the day “emotional.”

“I practice until my feet bleed and I did not have time to rehearse with the orchestra,” she said. “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.”

Watch the singer speak at the press conference:

She opened her news conference in New Orleans with a live rendition of the national anthem that mirrored the one on Inauguration Day. She asked those at the conference to stand before she belted “The Star Spangled Banner,” and after, she said with a laugh: “Any questions?”

And despite her performance, there were. When pressed about whether any sound was coming from her voice when she sang for the president, she said she was singing along to the track and not mimicking. And when asked if she would be singing live at the Super Bowl, she said: “I will absolutely be singing live.

“This is what I was born to do.”

The superstar hadn’t spoken publicly since it was said that she lip-synched at the inauguration last week. Her critically praised performance came under scrutiny less than a day later when a representative from the U.S. Marine Band said she wasn’t singing live and the band’s accompanying performance was taped. Shortly after, the group backed off its initial statement and said no one could tell if she was singing live or not.

The halftime performance became a main focus of her press conference, even though she’d likely rather concentrate on questions about her set list for Sunday and her upcoming HBO documentary, “Life Is but a Dream,” which was shown for the media just before Beyonce spoke.

Beyonce has teased photos and video of herself preparing for the show, which will perhaps be the biggest audience of her career. Last year, Madonna’s halftime performance was the most-watched Super Bowl halftime performance ever, with an average of 114 million viewers. It garnered more viewers than the game itself, which was the most-watched U.S. TV event in history.

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Comments (17)

spirited
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 8:17pm
“It was a television show” -Beyonce
A television show ~~>a show ?

6^>Thank you for your honesty.

Narcissism runs in packs

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American-first
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 8:06pm
Gees, turn the sound off and play some Hank Willams.

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- mcmeador
  Posted on January 31, 2013 at 10:35pm
  lol
  
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spirited
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 7:58pm
The question was never, Can Beyonce sing the National Anthem?; how clever of her to sing it in her controlled enviornment…..

The fact remains however, the innauguration was not a ballgame nor a Beyonce video or her concert.
If she wasn’t outed, know one — but the non-playing band and whoever played her karaoke machine would know that she just performed.

8^>Aretha Franklin is the real-deal….queen. –lalalalala

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piper60
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 7:29pm
I could not care less.

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- New.World.Fastfood.Order
  Posted on January 31, 2013 at 8:11pm
  ^^ this.
  
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jackact
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 7:06pm
Since it was recently divulged that Whitney faked her ‘legendary’ Super Bowl performance in 1999 I guess we can’t be too hard on Beyonce?…
Yeah, right.
Its hard to dignify any response to this sordid affair but I really believe that ‘faking it’ is in fact the ‘new normal’.
Obama has been faking it for four years and we all know how he sets the bar for Beyonce.
I guess ‘faking it’ is not that easy to pull off.
Although it must have been extremely awkward for the US Marine Band who were forced to break tradition for the first time in our nations history and ‘fake it’ too.
Oh well, what the heck, everything’s ‘cool’.
Devoid of substance (AND TALENT) but ‘cool’ none-the-less.
That matters these days.
Listen to the lemmings defend the precious vocal chords of Beyonce.
“She was saving it for the Superbowl”, they squeak.
If affirmative action was afforded to celebrities (which I believe it is) then all this would seem understandable I guess?
But unfortunately for the majority of us, ‘faking it’ will be sticking around for at least another four years.

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RemoteCoderz
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 6:56pm
3 words: Two bit hack

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RightUnite
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 6:20pm
Ah good… Not that I need another reason to avoid the super bowl.

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Rayblue
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 6:19pm
Never seen any of her performances. Heard of a few.
Gadaffi comes to mind. Bet THAT wasn’t synced.
Bump and grind for one dictator or the other. What does it matter.

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rja444
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 6:15pm
You should be because it was phony just like you are.

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Amy
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 6:13pm
Who cares? I checked into theblaze for this? Celebrities have a place – to entertain. I’m tired of talk about a young lady who made a decision to ‘entertain’ at a level consistent with quality-so she chose to lipsync. If she is to play a different role than that, like accepting $100.bucks plus a seat at an opera – than I’m sure she would choose differently. What’s the big deal. She didn’t dirty your linen so get over it.

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barber2
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 6:12pm
Well, Obama uses a teleprompter….

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Eastinfection
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 6:12pm
“…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….”

Hmmmn?
“i did not feel comfortable TAKING A RISK…”

I believe that about sums up the influence POTUS has had on our Country in a nutshell.

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ABRAXUS
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 6:09pm
She should give the country a refund for faking it.

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jpschaeffer
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 6:09pm
TO quote Hill….What does it matter????????

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- jpschaeffer
  Posted on February 1, 2013 at 12:04am
  correction …What Difference does it make!!!!!!!!
  
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