What I don't like is how some people are hypocritical in giving a set of standards for one artist, but letting things slide with another. The same people who I saw rip apart Madonna last year for her Superbowl performance are feeding into all the excuses given for Beyonce's performance. Similarly, the same idiots who dogged Madonna last year fondly remembered and praised Whitney Houston's 1991 performance, without knowing that she too lip-synced!

Edited January 23, 201312 yr by Gray Bunny

Similarly, When you sing the National anthem, that is what one has to do... those lowest notes in the song ("say", and "Gleaming", and "Stripes") need to be sung as low as you can muster, so you won't be out of your range when it comes to the high notes. The biggest thing for me, is this is a black woman singing for the first black president. She needed to bring her AUTHENTIC self for the performance, even if it wasn't perfect, it needed to be GENUINE... and that was the upshot of Aretha's point. And it was sunny and 46 degrees.. it ain't all that cold. If it was 25... then maybe. Let's keep in mind when Aretha makes comments about not being able to sing well in cold weather, this is a woman who makes the venue shut the air conditioning off when it's 90 degrees outside.

No offense, but you are just reaching to find something so appaling about what Beyonce did. It is not that deep. She lip synched. Okay is the world going to end? I doubt Obama cares whether or not it was a live performance and I just think it is overblown and a redundant argument.

Similarly, When you sing the National anthem, that is what one has to do... those lowest notes in the song ("say", and "Gleaming", and "Stripes") need to be sung as low as you can muster, so you won't be out of your range when it comes to the high notes. The biggest thing for me, is this is a black woman singing for the first black president. She needed to bring her AUTHENTIC self for the performance, even if it wasn't perfect, it needed to be GENUINE... and that was the upshot of Aretha's point. And it was sunny and 46 degrees.. it ain't all that cold. If it was 25... then maybe. Let's keep in mind when Aretha makes comments about not being able to sing well in cold weather, this is a woman who makes the venue shut the air conditioning off when it's 90 degrees outside.

I agree with you in that I would be upset if I paid money to see a singer who lip-synced.

As far as this whole thing goes, even though I have DC's music I'm not a fan of Beyonce's, but I think this is totally overblown. She may have changed some people's opinions about her but this isn't as big of deal as it's being made out to me.

I'm just not sure why race matters here. Would it change anything if she weren't all the things she claims to be besides black, and he weren't biracial? I don't see how Barack Obama's racial background or hers makes a difference. Maybe I'm missing something.

I agree with you in that I would be upset if I paid money to see a singer who lip-synced.

As far as this whole thing goes, even though I have DC's music I'm not a fan of Beyonce's, but I think this is totally overblown. She may have changed some people's opinions about her but this isn't as big of deal as it's being made out to me.

I'm just not sure why race matters here. Would it change anything if she weren't all the things she claims to be besides black, and he weren't biracial? I don't see how Barack Obama's racial background or hers makes a difference. Maybe I'm missing something.

Race has nothing to do with it. It's lip synching that is the problem. Lip synching can only be seen as evidence that at that moment in time the person was not able to or not good enough to sing. In that case get a different singer. Beyonce may be the big star, but part of the job is you have to rise to the occasion. Diana Ross sang in a rainstorm in Central Park. This weather excuse is just that: an excuse.

Every singer is different, some are willing to sing in the cold and others don't. Singing in the rain is a lot different, since doesn't really effect your vocal chords much. The hard facts are that singing in cold weather isn't good for your voice, it adds extra strain that can cause problems later. It's a choice and recording your own vocals in advance is perfectly fine if you think conditions don't permit you to sustain certain notes. At the end of the day, it's not a big deal.

No offense, but you are just reaching to find something so appaling about what Beyonce did. It is not that deep. She lip synched. Okay is the world going to end? I doubt Obama cares whether or not it was a live performance and I just think it is overblown and a redundant argument.

I think you're not appreciating the historical significance. That's what I'm talking about. Like if I were having the President and the First Lady over for dessert, I would CERTIANLY not bake a cake from a betty crocker mix.

I understand the huge significance of singing the National Anthem at a Presidential Inauguration. We put such pressure on singers singing the Anthem at any high profile event. Singers are scared shitless about [!@#$%^&*] it up and being clowned by the nation. Maybe if we were more forgiving of artists and let them be the vulnerable human beings that they are under extreme weather conditions, they'd let themselves off the hook for not being perfect, they'd just let it rip and let us be touched by the passion of their performances, and they wouldn't feel the need to lipsync.

I was surprised that Beyonce didn't have a scarf wrapped around her neck as cold as it was. That's like Voice 101. Perhaps that was a clue.

If great Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman can pre-record their performance for the last inauguration, I am not busting on Beyonce who I don't think much of as a singer.

Off topic, I heard Yo-Yo Ma played once live in the National Cathedral, other than Pavarotti, I swear I had never heard anything so beautiful and close to God in my life.

Edited January 24, 201312 yr by Ann_SS

I understand the huge significance of singing the National Anthem at a Presidential Inauguration. We put such pressure on singers singing the Anthem at any high profile event. Singers are scared shitless about [!@#$%^&*] it up and being clowned by the nation. Maybe if we were more forgiving of artists and let them be the vulnerable human beings that they are under extreme weather conditions, they'd let themselves off the hook for not being perfect, they'd just let it rip and let us be touched by the passion of their performances, and they wouldn't feel the need to lipsync.

I was surprised that Beyonce didn't have a scarf wrapped around her neck as cold as it was. That's like Voice 101. Perhaps that was a clue.

Yeah.. though it was 46 degrees and sunny... it was exactly that here today, and I was out without a coat washing my windows, it ain't that bad. If it was 25 degrees, well then maybe I'd be more forgiving. It's nice to see someone appreciate the significance of the event. I've never seen anyone lip synch a royal command performance.

Aretha weighs in. LOL at her passive aggressive defensive of Beyonce.

http://gma.yahoo.com/aretha-laughed-beyonce-lip-sync-controversy-034034595.html

Yet another reason why I love the Queen - she takes no prisoners when it comes to owning her gift and calling out those who are lacking.

Race has nothing to do with it. It's lip synching that is the problem. Lip synching can only be seen as evidence that at that moment in time the person was not able to or not good enough to sing. In that case get a different singer. Beyonce may be the big star, but part of the job is you have to rise to the occasion. Diana Ross sang in a rainstorm in Central Park. This weather excuse is just that: an excuse.

A rainstorm is nowhere near as difficult to perform in as cold temperature. When I was in high school band, whenever it'd start raining at a football game, we'd pull out these butt-ugly ponchos that the school had been using since the 70s, put them over our uniforms, and kept playing. If it was too cold? We wouldn't even go to the game (though we'd get in for free if we chose to go on our own *woop woop*). That's Music 101, vocal and instrumental.

And besides, she wasn't able to sing in that moment, and there's no such thing as "get a different singer" at the last minute. They're supposed to have a little cache of singers waiting in the wings? She couldn't sing in the moment, they used a recording of her singing the night before. It was appropriate.

Yet another reason why I love the Queen - she takes no prisoners when it comes to owning her gift and calling out those who are lacking.

How did she call her out? She basically agreed that the weather wasn't good for singing and even said that she'd probably do a pre-recording herself if she was asked to do another inauguration.

Yeah.. though it was 46 degrees and sunny... it was exactly that here today, and I was out without a coat washing my windows, it ain't that bad. If it was 25 degrees, well then maybe I'd be more forgiving. It's nice to see someone appreciate the significance of the event. I've never seen anyone lip synch a royal command performance.

Well, I live here and my ass didn't go because it was too cold. Also remember, Beyonce is a Texan.

What do you guys think: If a singer's voice is not up to par for such a huge event, do you think they should scramble for an emergency replacement or go the lip-syncing route? I know if I was Beyonce, I'd be pretty upset if I had to back out of such an important gig. (I'm reminded of when Pavarotti fell ill and Aretha sang Nessun Dorma in his place at the Grammys.)

Well, I live here and my ass didn't go because it was too cold.

I came up a few hours from home to see it live and stuck it out even as I was developing a cold of my own! NO EXCUSES!

Seriously, though, I'm surprised if it was 46 by then, even though the sun was out by the time the whole thing got started. Then

again, after walking towards the Capitol in sea of people, then standing to wait for the ceremony to begin for a few hours to the

point of not feeling your toes, you tend to lose your sense of temperature after awhile .

I think alot of the issue also comes from Kelly Clarkson singing at the same event live... with loose limbed aplomb and sounding fabulous. Yes, cold weather is not the best thing for a singer, but it ain't such a big deal that you can't work around it easy enough if your'e good enough. Here's a fabulous example of acapella national anthem at Nixon's 1973 inaugural sung by jazz singer Ethel Ennis. Say what you will about tricky Dick... he has ecclectic taste in music, and Ethel sings with such ease and beauty, with no music to help her. At 34:25

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJzNdTebw-w