For a while now, people have been asking my thoughts about Beyonce's lip-synced performance at the Presidential Inauguration, and for the most part, I've stayed quiet because I really didn't have much of an opinion at first. I was just really curious as to Why she chose to do it? She seems to me like a very smart, level-headed woman, so my guess is that there would have had to have been a good reason. We all know she can sing...so that's not issue. So the question remains "Why?" Now don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those women who "hate" on Beyonce like that....I think that she has an incredible voice....and while I'm not really a fan of a lot of her solo stuff like that, it would be foolish to look past her impressive staying power and influence. She's influenced a generation of clones in her own right, and she's due to sing on a national stage again at the Super Bowl on Feb 3rd.
It goes back to the old saying that "The one thing that people love more than building a hero up, is watching them fall to disgrace." This woman has been in the public eye for the better part of 15 years....think about it...15 YEARS....since she was a teenager herself, without so much as a tarnish on her image, and then she sings to a backing track of her own voice, and it's a big deal....Suddenly, she's the worst thing since Milli Vanilli.....You know what the difference was with them.....They were singing to a track that contained the voices of 2 old black men in their 50's....That's what the difference is. On the other hand, artists have been lip-syncing performances of their own voices for thousands of years....(ok, maybe not thousands, but you get the picture). Whitney Houston did it for the 1991 Super Bowl Performance of the Star-Spangled Banner. Hell, Yo-Yo Ma, and Itzhak Perlman did it with their instruments for the last inauguration 4 years ago. And "Why," might you ask?? The answer is really quite simple: "Cause it's Cold As Hell In January."
See all of those who were criticizing and had so much negative to say, were doing so from the comfort of their nice, warm, cozy homes....blogging and commenting from the comfort of their couch...much like I'm doing right now. It's real easy to criticize if you don't have to sing what is probably the most important performance of your life outside in the freezing cold, where you've been for the last several hours waiting for this moment. The human voice is an instrument, and just like any instrument, it can greatly be affected by cold weather....Then again, if her voice had cracked because of the weather, then that would have been the headline. I can see it now: "Beyonce Hits Sour Note During Presidential Inauguration." You know it's the truth...Damned if you do, Damned if you don't......Well that's my take....What's Yours??