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| Beyonce kicks off the NFL football Super Bowl XLVII press conference at the New Orleans Convention Center by singing the National Anthem, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013. in New Orleans. The singer says she did lip sync when she performed the national anthem on Inauguration Day. She said she's a "perfectionist" and wanted her performance for President Barack Obama to be a memorable one. She called the day "emotional." |
NEW ORLEANS
(AP) -- 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 sing to a prerecorded track because she didn't
have time to practice. Calling herself a self-proclaimed
"perfectionist," she said 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
pre-recorded 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 what has become known as "Beyonce-gate."
Her
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 Beyonce was lip-syncing - merely mouthing the words to a
pre-recorded track - 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.
With
the controversy growing each day, and everyone from politicians to
other entertainers weighing in, the inauguration performance threatened
to overshadow her planned Super Bowl halftime show. So the 31-year-old,
wearing a tight, cream mini-dress, addressed the issue as soon as she
took to the podium Thursday afternoon.
She
asked everyone to stand, and, with an image of the American flag behind
her, performed a live rendition of the national anthem that mirrored the
one on Inauguration Day. After, she said with a laugh: "Any questions?"
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 (though it's unclear how audible her voice was). 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."
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."
Beyonce also got a chance to talk
more in detail about the reason why she was in New Orleans - to perform
at the halftime show. Calling it one of her career aspirations, she said
when she arrived at the Superdome, she was so moved by the experience
she took her shoes of and ran on the field, taking in the history at the
famed venue.
"It really makes me emotional," she said. "When I am no longer here, it's what they're gonna show."
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.
But she would not give
anything more away about the performance. While a Destiny's Child
reunion was shot down by Michelle Williams, who is starring in a
production of "Fela!", the third Destiny's Child member, Kelly Rowland,
is in town. Beyonce laughed off questions of whether Rowland or
Beyonce's husband, Jay-Z, would join her on stage.
"I can't give you any details, sorry," she said.
She
also would not reveal her set list, though acknowledged she was having a
hard time trying to "condense a career into 12 minutes."
Before
the news conference, Beyonce's "Life is But A Dream" was shown to the
media. The documentary about the star's life features her talking
in-depth about intimate details of her life, including suffering a
miscarriage; it will air on HBO on Feb. 16.
In it, she also reveals more of her 1-year-old daughter Blue Ivy, whom she called her inspiration.
"I
feel like my daughter changed me and changed my life and has given me
so much purpose," she said. She added that she was counting down until 9
p.m. Sunday, when her performance would be over - and she could be
reunited with Blue Ivy.
