weslgarlic Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Conflicting reports have emerged over whether Beyonce sang live at President Barack Obama's inauguration. A spokeswoman for the Marine Corps Band told The Times in a "last minute" decision, Beyonce opted to perform to a pre-recorded backing track. However, the Marine Corp told the BBC "no-one in the Marine Band is in a position to assess whether it was live or pre-recorded". But it confirmed that the band itself was not playing live. Millions of people tuned in to watch the president be sworn in for his second term in office. The ceremony was punctuated by performances from James Taylor, Kelly Clarkson, as well as Beyonce, who sang the national anthem. When the Times reported that the singer had mimed, the story quickly travelled around the world. The newspaper quoted a spokeswoman for the Marine Corps Band, Master Sergeant Kristin duBois, who said: "We pre-recorded all music as a matter of course and have done since time immemorial. "This is our 54th inauguration… There is no question of there not being any music, it's not because the performer cannot do it." However, the spokeswoman did not state outright that Beyonce mimed her part of the performance. In a statement, the Marine Corps gave the BBC a fuller picture of the events: "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 circumstances. "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." Towards the end of the song, Beyonce rid herself of an earpiece Some reports suggested the singer had pre-recorded her vocal in a studio at the Marine Barracks Annex on Sunday night. They were drawing inferences from a series of images posted on the star's website over the weekend - one of which showed her in the studio holding the sheet music for the Star Spangled Banner. If the claims turned out to be true, they would not be without precedent. In 2009, American cellist Yo Yo Ma mimed his performance at President Obama's first inauguration, saying the freezing temperatures and wind might have affected his instrument live. Reaction Celebrities and fans have been debating Beyonce's performance. Soul legend Aretha Franklin, who also performed at the 2009 ceremony, said the star did "a beautiful job", even if she was miming. "When I heard the news this evening that she was pre-recorded I really laughed," she told ABC News. "I thought it was funny because the weather down there was about 46 or 44 degrees and for most singers that is just not good singing weather. 'Beyonce lip synced because she is a perfectionist' says vocal coach Becky Gilhespie "But she did a beautiful job with the pre-record... Next time I'll probably do the same." On Twitter, TV presenter Piers Morgan said: "Beyonce still SANG it, everyone. It was HER voice." Brooklyn band Prince Rama commented: "I actually think Beyonce lip-syncing the national anthem is one of the best conceptual art pieces I've seen in a long time". While Los Angeles musician Michael Anthony defended the star, saying: "It doesn't even look like Beyonce was lip syncing at all." A blog post on the Washington Times website said: "Some Beyonce fans insist it looked real, especially when she ripped out her earpiece midway through the song". The BBC contacted Beyonce's representatives who said they would not be making a comment on the issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cryingbluerain Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Appropriate, a fake performance for a fake president. Naturally it was the BRITISH press who broke this story as the Liberal Lapdog media has their lips firmly affixed to Obama’s zipper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melcórë Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Appropriate, a fake performance for a fake president. Naturally it was the BRITISH press who broke this story as the Liberal Lapdog media has their lips firmly affixed to Obama’s zipper. Wut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidZoso Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Another Madonna and Britney Spears- overrated and who cares. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melcórë Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Another Madonna and Britney Spears- overrated and who cares. That sounds like an underestimation, to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Another Madonna and Britney Spears- overrated and who cares. I do agree with you on that, generally speaking. The only thing I will add is Aretha Franklin came out and said temps in the low 30's can make it difficult to sing well, especially for an event like that. However, Aretha sang in colder temps than that in 2009 - live - so I think she is just trying to show good form for Beyonce in the face of the criticism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dawg Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 The problem with the modern day pop star is just that They are manifestations of a digitized media. They have no individual talent. Beyonce went from singing in a blended group destiny child to singing alone. She needed help to make this happen. In the troupe Her voice was masked by the other members. But When she was anointed to go solo, she needed the magic of be studio gods to make her stand alone. The bottom line is most of the singers don't have the range we hear on the release or studio versions of a song. So when they sing live, they can't perform as expected. So what do they do? You got it. They record a rendition before they go live. Play it back and hope that nobody let's their secret out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planted Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 So let me get this straight.... Lance Armstrong is stripped of his medals, etc. But Beyonce is still....Beyonce? Lip-syncing is a form of 'performance enhancement', yes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dawg Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 So let me get this straight.... Lance Armstrong is stripped of his medals, etc. But Beyonce is still....Beyonce? Lip-syncing is a form of 'performance enhancement', yes? Good point And for her punishment she should have jay-z as a baby daddy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the chase Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 So let me get this straight.... Lance Armstrong is stripped of his medals, etc. But Beyonce is still....Beyonce? Lip-syncing is a form of 'performance enhancement', yes? That's an excellent point. Lance is getting crucified. These days, they all seem to be singing along to a pre-recorded version of themselves... The mic is a mile from their face and they're still clear as a bell. After all... All those tricky dance moves make it hard to concentrate on singing correctly and in key and what's more important? One thing's for sure ... all eyes are going to be on Queen Beyonce at the upcoming Superbowl Half time Show.. and I personally think most people are over reacting a little about Lance Armstrong. Kick em when they're up. Kick em when they're down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dawg Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 This is the telegraph's take on the bit. It echoes exactly what I posted earlier. Britney is a star of the Auto-Tune generation, whose career has been hugely dependent on technology that enables any vocal to be tweaked until it is perfectly in tune. Such is Auto-Tune’s prevalence in modern pop, audiences are being trained to expect perfection, and the only way many singers can confidently deliver that is to shift the technology from studio to stage. Britney’s next album release, ironically, is Live in Miami, which may be the first live album where the only actual live bit is the audience’s applause. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopmusic/9821284/Miming-will-be-the-death-of-live-music-performance.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledzepfvr Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 A big deal over nothing IMO. I really don't care whether she lip synched or not. It's an important event and wanted to give her best. Still her singing. Not the first or last time it will happen at an inaugural event. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 ^^^ You beat me to it, ledzepfvr...but yes, I agree, this is much ado about nothing. It's been done at Inaugurations and Super Bowls for years now...hell, even the great Yo Yo Ma cello-synced his performance at the 2008 Inauguration because of the freezing cold. This is a mere drop in the bucket...no big deal and certainly nothing to get outraged about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudslider Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 This is 21 century pop.....gotta love it (cough). Whats worse is what this community organizer has done to this country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planted Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 ^^^ You beat me to it, ledzepfvr...but yes, I agree, this is much ado about nothing. It's been done at Inaugurations and Super Bowls for years now...hell, even the great Yo Yo Ma cello-synced his performance at the 2008 Inauguration because of the freezing cold. This is a mere drop in the bucket...no big deal and certainly nothing to get outraged about. Oh, c'mon..this is on the heels of Lance Armstrong spilling his guts to the nation that he enhanced his performance. This IS news, like it or not. You either let everyone or no one enhance their performance. Am I wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock Historian Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Let's not forget ......Lance Armstrong LIED under oath in 2005, and to the public and anyone who asked him about this for 7 years. (maybe longer) Yet, he gets on TV with Oprah of all people and confesses. He also fired a member of his team for not doing it (drug enhancement) along with him. Personally, I could care less about either situation, but I don't think that a single fake performance (that's been done before by many performers) from an already lame duck singer, can be measured against the pain and disappointment Lance has led his followers and believers to withstand. "Livestrong" bracelets and the man himself were a world-wide phenomenon for years...now it's looked at as a hoax. That's a shame. He was a role-model. That was a real let-down. I think the only one who truly cares about Beyonce, is Beyonce.. and Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles J. White Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 I think Beyonce would be a good time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock Historian Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 I think Beyonce would be a good time Ditto. Her booty is the best thing going for her "singing" career.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dallas Knebs Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 If you can't do it live, don't do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weslgarlic Posted January 24, 2013 Author Share Posted January 24, 2013 In the UK we had music chart programme called Top Of The Pops , Where the acts would regularly mime to records ,a lot of acts acted up , but when it went wrong it went wrong here’s a classic All About Eve - Martha's Harbour - Infamous TOTP Appearance! HQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weslgarlic Posted January 24, 2013 Author Share Posted January 24, 2013 In the UK we had music chart programme called Top Of The Pops , Where the acts would regularly mime to records ,a lot of acts acted up , but when it went wrong it went wrong here’s a classic All About Eve - Martha's Harbour - Infamous TOTP Appearance! HQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Let's not forget ......Lance Armstrong LIED under oath in 2005, and to the public and anyone who asked him about this for 7 years. (maybe longer) Yet, he gets on TV with Oprah of all people and confesses. He also fired a member of his team for not doing it (drug enhancement) along with him. And sued a number of people who spoke out against him, for defamation of character to the tune of millions of dollars - ruined people's lives while covering up his lies. He is a real POS for that! The crime is never as bad as the cover-up that follows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 This is the telegraph's take on the bit. It echoes exactly what I posted earlier. Britney is a star of the Auto-Tune generation, whose career has been hugely dependent on technology that enables any vocal to be tweaked until it is perfectly in tune. Such is Auto-Tune's prevalence in modern pop, audiences are being trained to expect perfection, and the only way many singers can confidently deliver that is to shift the technology from studio to stage. Britney's next album release, ironically, is Live in Miami, which may be the first live album where the only actual live bit is the audience's applause. http://www.telegraph...erformance.html Not even close....the KISS Alive I and II albums were both studio albums with audience applause put in between the songs, among other 'live' discs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the chase Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Oh, c'mon..this is on the heels of Lance Armstrong spilling his guts to the nation that he enhanced his performance. This IS news, like it or not. You either let everyone or no one enhance their performance. Am I wrong? Not at all.. I agree that Armstrong acted like a complete putz for lying about it and being so self riteous. It also sucks that his charity and some of the good he's done is going to suffer for his stupidity. But on that note ... If I shelled out hundreds of dollars to take my kids to see Beyonce or Madonna or anyone LIP SYNC... I'd be pretty po'd. But then again ... if a Drummer is known for playing super fast solos and we later find out he/she was a coke head ... did they cheat...? If that's the case.. then a lot of my Drumming idols were probably cheaters too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reswati Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Not even close....the KISS Alive I and II albums were both studio albums with audience applause put in between the songs, among other 'live' discs. This isn't completely true, they were heavily overdubbed live performances (false notes edited out, audience noise overdubbed over audience noise etc) Here's a documentary I just recently found about how the "Alive" album was made. http://youtu.be/eq5t0VnYi9w Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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