Queen B: Silencing Cirtics at The Super Bowl
Since it came out that Beyoncé lip-synched “The Star-Spangled Banner” at President Obama’s 2nd Inauguration last month, the press has been all over the story hounding her for an explanation. Let’s be real here, Barack Obama is the hippest pop culture president in history and Beyoncé is an international caliber pop star, having her lip-sync the national anthem while 20 million people tuned in to watch this historically momentous event was simply a strategic move on the part of her team and a smart one at that.
Any idiot could forget the lyrics to the American national anthem; in fact people do it all the time. Lip-synching was a precautionary measure taken to prevent an even bigger shit storm than the one that came of people finding out she sang to a backing track.
Everyone knows Beyoncé can sing; she’s a world-class entertainer. It’s not a matter of her ability it’s a matter of avoiding an absolute PR nightmare and keeping the focus on what was really important in that moment, ushering in the first black President of the United States second term in office.
When you really boil it down to the basics, Beyoncé was chosen because she is a respected black performer, a success story, a strong female figure in the pop culture community, and because she’s good for ratings. Beyoncé is not allowed to forget the words to the American national anthem, and although the public found out that she didn’t sing live, it was far less of a hit to her reputation than it would have been if she were to ever dare slip up on the words.
Today’s media is ruthless. The lightening fast pace of information dissemination on the Internet and our society’s absolute obsession with uncovering the faults and flaws of every star we place under the microscope, makes us feel like we are entitled to judge them and their behavior. We get off on watching these people crash and burn and sometimes we even get away with it, especially when the star is a real train-wreck. But, in moments like this one when that star is Beyoncé––one half of the duo that are literally running the hip-hop, R&B, and pop games––we should try and remember that the ball is always in her court.
This is a fierce, powerhouse woman we’re talking about here, she doesn’t need to apologize for not singing live or justify her decision to do so, it never would have been good enough anyways. What she did do was call a press conference, kindly ask the whole room to stand, belted out an a cappella version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and then asked the room if it had “any questions?” That’s class.
Beyoncé made one swift move and shifted the control right back into her hands going into the Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday. Most people expected that after all the negative press she would be singing live during her performance, and she totally delivered.
She sang, she danced, and she entertained the crowed like a seasoned pop star should. Sunday’s halftime show far surpassed watching Madonna’s 53-year-old frame painfully Jeté across the stage in aerobics gear last year and at the end of the day the public doesn’t like or hate her any more than they already did. I mean Beyoncé is about to embark on a world tour called “The Mrs. Carter Show.” I don’t know, who do you think has the upper hand on this one?