Posted on 01/23/2013 4:17:43 PM PST by drewh
There's no rational reason to care whether Beyonce was lip-syncing or really singing when she performed at the presidential inaugural Monday. But the disclosure was troubling nonetheless.
It's not that we were all cheated, exactly. No one paid to stand outside in the cold to watch the ceremonies (though presumably the well-connected and the sponsors had no trouble getting bleacher seats). It's that Beyonce looked overwhelmed with emotion as she belted out the national anthem, giving the impression that her performance reflected her excitement about Obama being re-elected, or better yet, just pride in American democracy. The fact that she was faking makes it feel cheap, somehow. Is she really happy about the election results? Does our paean to freedom and liberty really move her? It's like faking an orgasm—maybe on one level you're making someone feel more connected to you, but really, you're just reinforcing bad behavior and setting the stage for future deception.
Kelly Clarkson looked so thrilled to be there—and to sing!—that one could not help but be affected by her enthusiasm. She looked like every kid who can't believe he or she just made it to the high school baseball playoffs, or got the lead in the class musical. Even if Clarkson is not your style of singer, how could you not be charmed by her performance, if only because she looked so purely happy just to be asked? (Clarkson sang live, a representative told CBS.)
Beyonce, meanwhile, is used to performing with a capital P, with the fancy costumes and stagecraft. Watching her take her earpiece out of her ear—good catch, those of you who noticed it and sparked the question about her live-vs.-recorded singing—indicated like she wasn't even going to pretend to sing.
Everyone else does it live. The Supreme Court justices who swear in the president and vice president—live. The speech by the president himself— live. But is Beyonce's strategy the wave of the future? Will we take a cold, hard look at the cold day and hard pavement and decide to have prerecorded speeches delivered by avatars? If it's taped, we don't get the live moments, like President Obama stumbling ever so slightly over a word, or Rep. Paul Ryan chewing gum, or Justice Scalia in that odd, 15th century European explorer hat he wore. This is why we tune in. Beyonce was chosen because she has a beautiful voice. We'd all love to hear it live.
yawn
I never understand why people get in a twist when an artist lip-syncs. As long as it’s them, I could care less. Talk about less than a tempest in a teapot.
Beyonce sang beautifully-it’s a very difficult song to sing with an incredible range. She wanted it perfect and it was. Vocal chords can be affected by the cold, too. Who cares that she did this. She can sing.
Just in case there is anyone left who thinks that “they” won’t do anything to make “their” vision perfect - this bit of trivia ought to prove the point. Who cares? They do. You should think about that when other issues come up where it seems that “someone” was willing to go to great risk to create a visual that the media would like.
It is really fitting.
Obama uses a teleprompter and Beyonce was lip-syncing.
America has truly reached a new low.
Exactly, the truth of the matter is not the point. Just the staging to convey the message!
Fake singing for our fake president. Fitting.
There's no rational reason to care whether Beyonce was lip-syncing or really singing when she performed at the presidential inaugural Monday. But the disclosure was troubling nonetheless.There's no rational reason to care, but we care.
Well, color me surprised (sarcasm) at the irrational press.
This should taint her career the way betting for his own team to win cost Pete Rose his hall of fame award.
Obama was sworn in privately on 1/20 as required by the Constitution.
The whole thing Monday was a photo op designed not to clash with football broadcasts and to coincide with the Rev. MLK Jr. holiday.
FAKE FAKE FAKE
Fake ceremonies sung by fake performers for a fake president.
I was absolutely devastated to learn they Beyonce had lip synced the National Anthem. I was even more devastated when Emperor Bokassa Hussein Obama I was reelected.
I suspected that patriotic Americans didn’t bother watching this fakery!
I thought it was very fitting - fake just like Obama.
Bay once or bay twice, a recording sounds just as nice.
I didn’t watch one nanosecond of the coronation. Watched a lot of “NCIS” reruns and a few episodes of “Homeland.”
Simple reason to lip sync, she didn’t know the words.
“I thought it was very fitting - fake just like Obama.”
So true...
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