NEW ORLEANS – Beyonce answered critics of her Inauguration Day performance the best way she could — with another sterling performance of the national anthem.
The difference? On Thursday, it was live. She admitted during her Super Bowl news conference that when she performed for President Barack Obama and the nation, she decided to mouth the words to a prerecorded track because she didn’t have time to practice. Calling herself a “perfectionist,” she said she wanted the day to go off without a hitch.
“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 prerecorded track, which is very common in the music industry. And I’m very proud of my performance.”
It was the superstar’s first public comments on the scandal.
Beyonce’s rendition of the anthem was critically praised but was scrutinized less than a day later when a representative from the U.S. Marine band said she was lip-syncing and the band’s accompanying performance was taped.
With the controversy growing each day, and everyone from politicians to entertainers weighing in, the inauguration performance threatened to overshadow Beyonce’s planned Super Bowl halftime show. So the 31-year-old addressed the issue as soon as she took to the podium Thursday afternoon.
She asked everyone to stand, and, standing in front of an image of the American flag, performed a live rendition of the National Anthem that mirrored the one on Inauguration Day. Afterward, she asked, “Any questions?”
Despite her performance, there were.
When pressed about whether any sound was coming from her voice when she sang for the president, Beyonce said she was singing along to the track and not mimicking. And when asked if she will be singing live at the Super Bowl, she said: “I will absolutely be singing live. This is what I was born to do.”
She added later: “I always sing live. . . . The inauguration was, unfortunately, a time where I could not rehearse with the orchestra — actually, because I was rehearsing for the Super Bowl. So that was always the plan.”
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