Ever since the rumor mill began a-churnin’ about Beyoncé’s rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the diva has refused to make comment. Because she’s Beyoncé and that’s how she rolls: in a chauffeur-driven haterproof limo.
But at a pre-Super Bowl press conference, Queen Bey addressed her royal subjects and loyal detractors over Lip-Synchgate 2013.
“I am a perfectionist … I did not have time to rehearse with the orchestra,” Mrs. Knowles-Carter said. “It was a live television show and a very important moment for me.”
Blue Ivy’s mother continued, “Due to the weather, due to the delay, due to no proper sound-check, I did not feel comfortable taking the risk … 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.”
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Bey also insisted that she loved the haters, because haters gon’ hate but Beyoncé is still gon’ be Beyoncé, i.e. better than you.
She then politely ordered asked the members of the press to stand so she could bring them to their knees with a flawless version of the national anthem.
For the land of the free and the home of the Bey.
Brian
She didn’t have time to rehearse with the orchestra? Yeah, right.
Maybe your problem, Beyonce, is that you’re a fake.
hamoboy
Beyonce does seem to have a very active contingent of haters spewing haterade everywhere. Everyone with common sense knows she can sing. I’d feel more sorry for her, but then I realize she’s worth $350 million, and then I decide that she can deal with them herself, like she just did in this clip.
QJ201
@hamoboy: you are tone deaf. Bitch has worked hard for years, like Madonna, to sound like she can sing, but her voice is still reedy, thin and off pitch.
hamoboy
@QJ201: Hahahaha! I wouldn’t put her on a pedestal with Whitney or Mariah, but she’d definitely get through to the finals on American Idol, that’s for sure. Thin? Yes, especially when she holds a note for long (there’s a reason most of her best songs are uptempo). Reedy? Hmmm. Possibly an affectation. I’ve heard songs (naughty girl) where she does fit this description exceedingly well, and I’ve heard songs (1+1) where she doesn’t. Off-pitch? There, that’s where the common sense leaves the room. The bitch can sing, anyone with ears can tell you. There’s a trove of videos on the internet, especially rehearsals and publicity visits, where she sings acoustically, and sings quite well.
Brian
It’s not her voice so much as her personality. Beyonce has a HORRIBLE personality. She oozes pretentiousness like a boil on a behind.
I think this perception crystallized when I learnt she had accepted payment from the Gaddafi family. This woman needs to take a hike.
watching1
Whatever about her personality, I’ve never been the biggest Beyoncé fan, though I like some of her stuff. I try to ignore the very-rich-diva attitude she and her husband often exude. At least they’re both talented enough. I never thought she was the best singer, but as was noted, she’s worked really hard to pull off being a singer when she, like Madonna, is more of an entertainer. She can be annoyingly reedy and pitchy, but she’s getting better. And the fact that she can sing and carry a tune live *well enough* and dance at the same time when she’s on tour is impressive enough to me.
But damn, it was clear to me that this was no real lip-syncing, and I think she pulled the earpiece out to make that melodramatic point. Singing along to your own track doesn’t mean you’re not singing live, it means you’re not confident enough to sing it alone. Fine, I have no problem with that at all. We still heard her voice live, even if she was getting some head help. Kudos, she still did a fantastic job, especially for someone who wasn’t born with the pipes it takes to do that song, in front of zillions of people.
2eo
All the good work she’s done taking money from islamic despots and pocketing it despite assurances she would donate it to women’s charities.
Yeah, fuck Beyonce and not in that way, what a vile bitch.
2eo
You do know using the word “hater” means absolutely nothing don’t you, it seems we have had an influx of braindead pop culture cretins lately, sadly.
CaptainFabulous
Oh for fuck’s sake I wish she’d just shut up already. And stop singing. I for one am sick and tired of hearing that awful grating warble she calls “singing”.
2eo
@CaptainFabulous: Don’t you realise. Because she’s made money from effective marketing and a thimbleful of talent that criticism of her is JEALOUSY ABSOLUTE JEALOUSY. Don’t you dare point out your personal dislike and the reasons for it on a public site with a comment section for an article about that person.
Well, according to dim people it is anyway.
JEALOUSY.
Charlie in Charge
She sang beautifully, hope you all took your hats off to listen.
CaptainFabulous
@Charlie in Charge: Yes, and I put them over my ears. Sounds better that way.
Spike
As one of the accused haters . . . I was never a question of whether or not she could sing it or if it was her voice, the criticism was that it wasn’t live. Why else did he hold a microphone if not to ‘appear’ to be singing live?
If she felt that the weather or inability to show up on time for a rehearsal would compromise her ability to sing live, she should have passed on the invite. I would have much rather seen a 6th choir sing, LIVE, then some pop star who thought that by holding a microphone, she would pull off a lip sync at the Presidential Inauguration without anyone dare suggesting she didn’t sing live.
And of course she will be singing live on Sunday, as long as she is holding a microphone, why would anyone think any different?!!?
CaptainFabulous
@Spike: The thing is, if you’re really that good of a professional singer you don’t need a sound check or orchestra rehearsal, especially if all you’re doing is singing one 2 minute song. You pop in your earpiece and let ‘er rip, letting the professional sound guys do what they’re paid to do; that is, ensure you sound good. So not only was her performance a sham, but so was her excuse.
Her audacity to force those poor reporters to listen to her warbling thru a song that even an 8 year old can sing, just to prove she can indeed sing it reasonably as well as said 8 year old, is only further proof of how irrelevant she’s become, and rightfully so.
Charlie in Charge
@Spike: The guy at the mall dressed as Santa isn’t really Santa. All the parents know.
Fidelio
She can sing. So when you get asked to sing the national anthem at an the inauguration of one of the most important president’s of our time, you better find time to rehearse and pay respects where respect is due. Kelly Clarkson understood as much, braved the weather, came prepared, and emerged the true star.
hamoboy
@CaptainFabulous: Sorry but no. That’s not how it works. No matter how good your voice is, that doesn’t make up for the sorts of technical issues that a sound check irons out of the performance. You’ve never performed professionally before I’m guessing.
I’m faaaar from a Beyonce stan, but I see an element of resentment in people’s complaints about her that’s just plain unreasonable. Why? Is it because she’s a black artist that’s classy and immaculate? The only black women palatable in the media are supposed to be ghetto drama queens? Classiness is seen as arrogance? Because that’s what I am getting from a lot of these comments.
Bee Gaga
@QJ201: Bitch are U tone deaf is the question go youtube her singing with Celine Dion ‘Emotions” or her singing the national anthem back in 2004 at the Superbowl or any of her concert performances and tell me her voice is “thin and off-pitch” girl byeee, and trying to compare her to Madonna’s no singing ass, have SEVERAL seats bitch
CaptainFabulous
@hamoboy: Actually, that’s exactly how it works. I’ve been a semi-professional singer my entire life, and I can’t even count the number of times I’ve had to perform without the benefit of a sound check or orchestral rehearsal, and shock and awe, I still sounded great. Cause that’s part of being a professional singer, working with your surroundings and knowing how to sound amazing no matter where you are.
And my hate of her has nothing to do with the color of her skin. It’s that she gets way to much exposure for what’s essentially a middling amount of talent, and it’s all gone to her brainless head. You would never, EVER, see Lena Horne or Ella Fitzgerald act in such a manner as this half-wit does. Cause they were classy black ladies that could really sing, and had no problems belting it out live wherever they happened to be. Beyonce could stand to learn a thing or two from singers with real talent, like how to not act like a diva when you don’t have the talent to back it up.
hamoboy
@CaptainFabulous: How big was your performance? A room? An auditorium? A football stadium? Scale matters. Anyway, I’m happy that you have the confidence to sing without a sound check beforehand. I personally wouldn’t do that for anything bigger than a large room.
“You would never, EVER, see Lena Horne or Ella Fitzgerald act in such a manner as this half-wit does.”
But HOW DOES she act? Where is this arrogance everyone complains about? Because when she’s not on stage singing, she seems pretty blank, almost like most of her life was spent training her how to sing and dance, and she’s seen very little of other things in life. I don’t see how someone with such a quiet and in-offensive off-stage persona is seen as arrogant. That’s what leads me to consider a racial or gender angle, because aside from being black and female, she’s just an average pop star that works hard at her job. I’ve never seen her sound off like Kanye or John Mayer in interviews. I’ve never seen her sloppy and drunk like Britney and Ke$ha. What exactly does she do that drives so many people up the wall?
Her stans act like the sun shines out of her ass (it doesn’t) and her haters compare her to the Antichrist (she isn’t). What gives?
2eo
@hamoboy: That may be the funniest, most desperate and pointless post I have ever read.
The fact you considered the race card tells me everything I need to know about you and what you think.
hamoboy
@2eo: The fact that you think like that tells me all I need to know about you as well.
2eo
@hamoboy: Intelligent, reasoned, balanced and informed?
I can tell why you dislike me so.
hamoboy
@2eo: The reflexive way you attacked me for mentioning race without bothering to engage in any sort of dialogue, does not speak of an intelligent, balanced or reasonable person. You are one of three things, r@cist, misinformed, or just hopelessly dumb.
In any good debate, there shouldn’t be anything wrong with mentioning race, what can be wrong is the points brought up, or how it is applied. Seeing as how it apparently “tells me everything I need to know about you and what you think”, it’s obvious you think even bringing up race is wrong. And like I said, people who reflexively attack mentions of race are either: r@cist, misinformed, or just dumb and parroting sentiments of some Fox News personality.
2eo
Aww bless.
Bee Gaga
@hamoboy: I see what you mean, but I don’t think its the black or female angle, at least not from this crowd this is a gay blog lol I think it’s more so she’s so popular and she gets so much attention that people tend to dislike her for no reason, wenever someone gets that much play and seen as “America’s Sweetheart” the haters always come out in full swing, and the haters are people that don’t even like her yet want to talk about her “middling talent” or her lack of skills though if anyone has ever been to her concert they’d see her talent or did a simple youtube search..her talent is on full display, but as they say, “haters gon hate”
hamoboy
@Bee Gaga: Thank you for considering and disagreeing with my opinion without resorting to cheap attacks.
CaptainFabulous
@hamoboy: Scale doesn’t matter. Do you think everyone that gets up to sing the Star Spangled Banner before a ball game gets the benefit of a sound check or rehearsal? No, they don’t.
I’ve sung in stadiums, outdoor theaters, parks, banquet halls, indoor theaters, cabaret, supper, and dance clubs; all manners of shapes and sizes of venue. And 99% of the time, unless you’re doing some kind of major production, you just get up and sing. The only people that consistently get the privilege of sound checks, orchestra rehearsals, and the option of lip synching the Star Spangled Banner are talentless spoiled divas.
And while her attitude isn’t nearly as overt as some of the other people you’ve mentioned, it reeks in every thing she does, right down to her sham marriage, fake pregnancy, and unwillingness to sing live at a Presidential Inauguration because she didn’t get a sound check. Poor thing.
CaptainFabulous
@Bee Gaga: We must be going to two different YouTube sites. Cause every live performance of her’s I’ve seen is absolutely abysmal. I have no idea how, why, or where you see talent. All I see is a half-dressed woman clopping around on stage warbling like a sick cat. If that’s what passes for “talent” in the 21st century we’re really in trouble.
2eo
@CaptainFabulous: You know questioning Beyonce, who apparantly has followers as candidly rose spectacled as the Justin Bieber fans makes you a lynching, apartheid loving super-r@cist.
See how they totally owned me earlier with their circular reasoning and an appeal to ignorance, I was blown away. I also converted to the light despite not seeing any evidence whatsoever that she has talent that their impassioned plea turned me from a sceptic to a believer.
There has been no better singer in the history of the universe than Beyonce, she is the light in the darkness, the bringer of freedom, peace and liberty, she single handedly beat the alien invaders in the directors cut of Independence Day and solved the Da Vinci Code in one afternoon.
2eo
#cutforbeyonce
Please, please do.
CaptainFabulous
@2eo: I know, right? Mediocrity is the new talent. Has been for at least a good 30 years. Why bother with real talent when all you need is a pretty face (after surgery, skin lightening, and an expensive weave of course), a fat ass, and a lot of money behind you?
Honestly, I’m surprised Wendy Williams wasn’t hunted down with torches and pitchforks after she called Beyonce stupid and illiterate.
2eo
@CaptainFabulous: I led the collection of pitchfork wielding pop luddites, but because I am so r@cist I instead opened a series of internment camps.
It’s a shame the hundreds [thousands anyway] of genuinely talented writers, singers, musicians, producers and everyone else in all genres never get a shot while these mediocre pop PR monsters ruin an entire industry with bubblegum bullshit.
Bee Gaga
@CaptainFabulous: Well idk you can youtube her outsinging Celine Dion, her live performance of the way we were at the kennedy center, her star spangled banner performance at the superbowl in 2004, her singing at last at the inagural ball four years ago, youtube her song speechless, or her song i care, etc. Clearly you’re just a hater and know nothing of her music because it’s out there..if she’s so “mediocre” I’d loveeeee to know who you consider a “talent” in your book.
Bee Gaga
@CaptainFabulous: So now you’re claiming Beyonce has had surgery, skin lightening? Really? You people are seriousss hatters for no other reason than her being famous. Mediocrity for 30 years? I’m glad you think the talent levels of Mariah Carey, and Whitney Houston, and Celine Dion, and Patti Labelle, etc. is just “mediocre” pleaseee tell me who you consider an “amazing” more than “mediocre” singer I think we’d all like to know.
CaptainFabulous
@Bee Gaga: Do you really want a list? Seriously, cause I can name at least a dozen singers who make Beyonce sound like a cat in heat.
And yup, BINGO, I’m a hater alright. A hater of people with no talent who get paid lots of money to create mediocrity and who have drones of stupid fans who actually do think they have talent when anyone with a pair of ears and at least 5 brain cells can tell they don’t.
Bee Gaga
@CaptainFabulous: Um you singing at a ball game <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< beyonce singing in front of MILLIONS at an inaguration..if you like to sound like s#!t without proper rehearsals than that's you, clearly she wants to make the biggest impression, are you really that stupid? I guess so, how is her marriage a sham…because she married a man after 6 years of dating? Fake pregnancy..though she was seen at a beach in a bikini with a clearly pregnant belly, ok total fake. You're clearly just a hater because you're a "singer" with no audience or fans and you see a successful gorgeous woman with everything you which you had…you mad boo? it's ok
CaptainFabulous
@Bee Gaga: The only one on that list with any genuine talent is Patti LaBelle; the others are at *best* borderline. Thank you for proving my point that mediocrity is king. You wouldn’t know a great vocalist if one was singing right into your face.
I don’t have to “claim” Beyonce has had surgery and skin lightening. Anyone with a browser can do a Google image search and see what she looked like before. Please, now you’re just embarrassing yourself with this mindless fanaticism.
CaptainFabulous
@Bee Gaga: I’ve never sounded like shit in my life, thankyouverymuch, despite rarely ever having a sound check or rehearsal. That’s part of being a professional. Are you really that stupid that you think sound checks and rehearsals are necessary for a talented singer to put on a top-notch performance? Newsflash, they’re not. A good singer sounds good no matter where they are, regardless of a sound check or rehearsal. Talentless singers are the ones that need sound checks, autotune, rehearsals, and backing tracks. Again, pull your head out of Beyonce’s ass and use your brain. There are millions of singers that have more talent in their pinky than Mariah, Whitney, Beyonce, and Gaga combined. The reality is most of us never get the opportunities they do. And that’s fine, life is what it is. But don’t blather on about she’s all that and delude yourself into thinking she’s some amazing talent when she’s not anything of the kind. She’s a performer that’s made a great career out of middling talent and overhauled looks. That’s it. Accept the truth.
And yeah, I would call marrying a gay man a sham. And there have been more than one occasion where her fake belly bump was exposed. And really, close off the entire maternity ward at the hospital when you give birth? Why would you need to do that unless there were shenanigans going on that you didn’t want anyone to see??? Once again, remove your head from her ass and THINK. Celebrities give birth all the time without having to blockade an entire maternity ward to protect their privacy (let’s not even mention the gall of pushing other pregnant women out). So why would you do that unless you had something to hide?
2eo
Do you ever get that guilty feeling that you get when you kick a special needs child?
That no matter how right you are the sheer guilt of being correct makes you feel terrible, because they just can’t understand they are incorrect.
Me neither.
classyinc
Beyoncé is the best. Haters back off, thanks. :p
Bee Gaga
@CaptainFabulous: No it’s called ageing and make-up you idiot not skin lightening, sorry to break it to you but not everyone wants to be white, kid. So now you’re saying MARIAH CAREY and WHITNEY HOUSTON, are “borderline talented vocalist”, ok this conversation is over because you’re CLEARLY A TROLL who wouldn’t know talent if it was staring you in the face you’re the type of gay who probably worships Britney Spears and Madonna and think they are amazinggg singers, clearly you have no idea of talent so I nor anyone else would listen to you about who’s a talented vocalist, bye girl fly girl, you’re dismissed.
Bee Gaga
@CaptainFabulous: Well please name those singers that’s why I asked, duhh. So you’re hating on Beyonce because she’s more successful than you, don’t hate her hate the public…It’s not her fault millions upon millions of people love her and that in a mere 8 years she’s one 16 grammys and is heralded by her contemporaries, sorry gurl, you mad?
Bee Gaga
@CaptainFabulous: Ohhhh you’re one of those conspiracy cuckoos, yea no, this is over. Millions? More talent than Mariah and Whitney? Gurl now I know you’re a troll you’re like one of those people on American Idol who claim they’ve sung all over the country and are amazing and they sound like shit, cuz seriously you think MARIAH and WHITNEY are talentless, bitch who has talent then, I’d love to know these “amazing” singers you like, who..Britney Spears, Madonna, Cher, Olivia Newton-John, gurll byeee you outdated and clearly cuckoo for coco-puffs. Furthermore, its a NATIONAL stage of course they’re going to want to put off a top notch performance that’s like trying to send Meryll Streep off on stage after no rehearsals, soundchecks, or anything to perform on a Nationally broadcasted stage where all she knows is the script, have no idea of the setup, the lights, the other actors or anything, you think she’d do that, NO. If you wanna be mediocre that’s on you but as Beyonce said “I’m a perfectionist”, might want to google that word, furthermore if she was performing at Joe’s Crab Shack like you then of course she wouldn’t need a sound check.
CaptainFabulous
@Bee Gaga: In no particular order:
Barbra Streisand
Liza Minnelli
Judy Garland
Ella Fitzgerald
Dionne Warwick
Lena Horne
Linda Eder
Audra McDonald
Betty Buckley
Rosemary Clooney
Joss Stone
Doris Day
Dusty Springfield
And that’s just ladies. You want men too?
Jack Jones
Andy Williams
Sam Harris
Tony Bennett
Hugh Jackman
Cheyenne Jackson
Darren Criss
Mel Torme
Robert Goulet
Gordon MacRae
Tom Jones
Notice that nearly all of them were popular more than 30 years ago, and the ones that aren’t are either Broadways stars or have had only modest success as pop singers. There was a time when genuinely talented singers were given their due. That time is long gone, and now we embrace, idolize, and revere mediocrity, such as Madonna, Mariah, Whitney, Gaga, and yes, Saint Beyonce.
And now I’m done with this ridiculous conversation. It’s clear nothing I say is going to open your eyes and I’m really sick and tired of saying the same things over and over again. There really is no accounting for taste.
CaptainFabulous
@Bee Gaga: Riiight, so because she’s such a perfectionist she decided to FAKE SING during the Presidential inauguration, right down to using a dead mike. Yeah, that makes a whole lotta sense. NOT.
And I guess you’ve never heard of improv. Or cold readings. Or any of the other things that performers do. Fun fact: did you know that Jackie Gleason absolutely REFUSED to rehearse prior to doing any of the Honeymooners shows that were LIVE. Yeah, that’s right, an ENTIRE SHOW on LIVE TV, without any rehearsal. That’s just the way he rolled. Cause he had talent.
But tell me more about how fake singing shows off your perfectionism and talent. I’m all ears. So instead of showing us how great a singer she is, how wonderful and talented she is, and how it was such an amazing honor to perform on that occasion, she faked it. Yup, now that’s talent AND professionalism. Fake singing is the new mediocrity which is the new talent. Absolute stupidity.
CaptainFabulous
@CaptainFabulous: Oh, and one more thing before I’m done with you. You have now twice tried to denigrate my talent, professionalism, and music career. And so far I’ve simply ignored it cause personal attacks are the hallmark of a failed and desperate argument.
But I’ll leave you with one parting bit of information. Of the two of us, myself and Beyonce, only one has performed solo at Carnegie Hall to a standing ovation. And I’ll give you a hint: it wasn’t Beyonce.
hamoboy
@2eo: Bitch you need to have several seats. Nobody here explicitly called you r@cist, but if the manolo fits gurl, then werq it!
CaptainFabulous
@Bee Gaga: Oh, and in case there was any doubt as to the plastic surgery and skin lightening I’ll just leave this here:
http://pricelessent.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/kelly-rowland-at-17.jpg
Skin doesn’t naturally get lighter with age, at least until you’re in your 60s or older. They are virtually unrecognizable, aren’t they? And nearly all the same color. Imagine that.
Bee Gaga
@CaptainFabulous: That’s called bad lighting and camera sweetheart, I got pictures of my black ass when I’m as black as my shirt and others (due to lighting) were I’m fairly brown skinned, so that proves nothing not to mention her hair is honey blonde now which makes her look even lighter than she is, furthermore if you’ve seen her without make-up you’d see she’s even darker then.
Bee Gaga
@CaptainFabulous: Ok first off I never said Beyonce was the best singer in the world, secondly..Barbra yes amazing, Judy yes amazing, Audra yes amazinggg, Liza ok vocalist, Dionne Warwick? Gurl are you serious, Lena cute voice not strong enough for me but sure, Ella yes amazing, Dusty Springfield she’s ok, Joss yes she’s good, the other girls idk. Now men, Tony Bennet..eh he’s ok, Hugh Jackman? Gurl are you serious again, Darren Criss the girl from Glee gurl you out yo mind, Cheyenne is ok, Tom Jones..no, the other men idk either, clearly you are broadway queen so that’s your niche you like the girls and men with the weak lil voices, the ones from like the 50s who would steal black people music and take out all the passion and make it more technical instead of soulful which sure if that’s what you want I guess, but every single person you named Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston would sing COUNTLESS circles around, you think that little boy from Glee sings better than Whitney? Girl you must be a fucking troll, cuz where they doin that at. Ask any music critic any vocalist expert you can look it up sweetie, ain’t nobody fucking with Whitney and Mariah not to mention Mariah actually writes and composes her own shit so those people are more mediocre than she’d ever been, sweetheart
Bee Gaga
@CaptainFabulous: You know I will say this I do apologize honestly idk you you’re probably a great singer I’m sure, I do honestly apologize about trying to denegrate your career/livelihood, honestly. But with that ok Jay-Z performed at Carnegie Hall, doesn’t make him more talented than Beyonce or anyone else that hasn’t. Furthermore she has 16 Grammy’s, performed at the Kennedy Center, Countless times at the Grammys, Won more grammys in a single night than any other female artist in history and then years later she topped her own record, etc. This bitch has accolades (spell check) for days sweetheart so what you saying. And yea that’s how much of a perfectionist she is because you know they actually prefer people to do that at those kind of huge events considering everything that is going on just like with Whitney and her monumentous star spangled banner performance they insisted that she used the pre-recorded track due to everything that was going on. Not to mention the fact that the orchestra didn’t even play live and yet you expect Beyonce to, girl bye.
2eo
@CaptainFabulous: Now when you said taste what you actually meant was literally asking for segregation again wasn’t it. Why don’t you join the club that Beyonce is single handedly responsible for the moon landing, the successful parts of the War on Terror and had a forgotten but awesome role in the D-Day landings.
deetto
I am a classically trained pianist and whereas I don’t care for Beyonce as a musician or person or even her music, I can’t help but feel that she is being done an injustice. One of the first and most important lessons I was taught as part of my training was the value of practice and rehearsing. It is disrespectful and unheard of as a musician to go on stage ill-prepared or under-rehearsed. If she felt she had not rehearsed enough to deliver her best performance, it was well within her right to use the backup track which is meant exactly for such instances when a performer, for some reason or other, will not be able to do so to their fullest abilities and as far as their musicianship will allow them. Have we forgotten that Yoyoma did the same thing at the last inauguration? To the comments here that seem to suggest that performing under-rehearsed is a sign of good musicianship, I beg to differ. A good musician knows the value of practising and rehearsing. A few week ago I accompanied a great soprano singing Antonin Dvorak’s “Als die alte mutter” and there was no way I would have agreed to perform in a concert hall filled to capacity without having rehearsed the piece myself and then with the singer!
CaptainFabulous
@deetto: I understand where you’re coming from, but honestly it’s not the same thing. We’re not talking about some complex piece of classical music, we’re talking about pop music — and in this specific instance, The Star Spangled Banner, which pretty much every American over the age of 6 knows how to sing.
But let me ask you this. If a situation arose and you hadn’t the chance to rehearse your piece with the soprano beforehand, would you have simply backed out leaving her without accompaniment? Used a pre-recorded track of the piece and then mimed playing the piano on-stage? Or would you have relied upon both yours and her years of training and professionalism and make it work?
If it was so important an event for Beyonce to perform at and felt she required a sound check and rehearsal then that should have been made a priority. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t say how important an event it was, so you simply had to do it despite faking it, but then in the next breath excuse it by saying you simply couldn’t prioritize rehearsing it so you could sing it live. She wants her cake and eat it too, and sorry, but she’ll get no cake from me, cause the whole thing is bullshit. She had many choices that day. And of all of them she chose the one that is simply unacceptable. And instead of simply apologizing for her poor judgement she felt the need to hold a press conference to milk even more attention out of it — a clear hallmark of a performer who is starting to see the writing on the wall that their days are numbered.
Bee Gaga
@CaptainFabulous: First off u clearly dont know what youre talking about she didnt just decide to hold a press conference that was her press conference for the super bowl so get your facts straight. Secondly how is that “unacceptable” u are pressed for absolutely no reason damn u acting like Beyoncé slept with u nd never called calmm down. Not to mention u dont know what dhe did or didnt do they could have said we have absolutely no time to rehearse this..which is clearly true because even the live orchestra admittes they were’nt really playing either in addittion tobyoyoma at the last inaguration but u forget about all of that and only wanna demonize beyonce cuz u either a hater or jealous or just trying to be contrary because everyone else likes her or all three. And you’re a singer so ifvyour telling me you sing at the grammys one year havent rehearsed with anyone because they couldnt make any rehearsals and yall get on stage in front of millions you start to singwhile they start to play a different arrangement that they thought would sound better nd you’re stuck there singing in the wrong key at the same time because u wanted to rely on ur “professionalism” and “talent” you’ll be up there looking both talentless and unprofessional not to mention you dont know what was going on with her that day there are sometimes when a singer just cant sing she may have had laryngitis a sore throat mayb have lost her voice etc
Papi Balenciaga
@2eo: Ohh Gawd not that dreadful “race card” bullsh!t again??? Didn’t I curse you out on a previous post about that? Why don’t you go somewhere and go to sleep… I pretty sure King Bee is sleeping like a log these days… god Bless America.
CaptainFabulous
Well well well, I’ve been told that Beyonce’s caterwauling was so awful she actually knocked half the stadium off the power grid. Now that’s TALENT. Not the kind anyone wants to have, but TALENT nonetheless.
hamoboy
I just found these videos on youtube that would have come in handy when people were dissing her about her voice. It shows her singing with just a guitar and her backup singers, no mics, nothing. Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq8tK1rGpog&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eBoAlHnttY and also http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Tib3l7vJX4 . She doesn’t need to lip sync to sound good, and she has a decent singing voice that doesn’t need a mic to be heard over her backups, but maybe someone should have thrown that tambourine away in the second video, unless it was one of the sick kids that was playing it :/
CaptainFabulous
@hamoboy: The thing is I would expect the new “King of Pop” to be better than “decent”. Having watched both videos, sure she has a passable voice with very little technique. She slides all over the place, seemingly unable to precisely hit notes, and still have a horribly thin and warbly quality to her voice.
In other words, mediocre. But I would expect someone who is the King, and makes millions of dollars as a singer to be better than that. She’s all smoke and mirrors, precisely cut and polished, trimmed and tweaked right down the very last hair on her weave, all to ensure that her mediocre singing and dancing abilities seem larger than life and continue to fool people all over the world into paying money to hear her warble.
Compare
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GejH1Gj7J4M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBH8o8XXnVM
hamoboy
@CaptainFabulous: Very little technique? Oh, right, I forgot you’re the commenter that labelled Mariah and Whitney “mediocre”. If you don’t like the run-heavy style of pop-R&B singing those two divas popularized, that’s fine, but it is a valid technique, and appreciated by millions of people. If you like retro styling and throwback artists, that’s perfectly fine, but that doesn’t mean everyone else in the industry is “mediocre”, they’re just into producing different types of music.
I noticed you’re comparing Beyonce being recorded by camera phones to Joss Stone being recorded professionally and using mics. There are quite literally millions of videos of Beyonce singing on youtube, some of them in an acoustic setting, or in rehearsals where she doesn’t dance or flip her weave. All I wanted to demonstrate is that she has a singing voice, it’s powerful enough to be heard in a large room over three backup singers, and she has a great connection with her audience, something that Joss Stone could maybe work on, her audience interaction in that second clip was awkward (and I do love Ms Stone’s music, but I have eyes).
CaptainFabulous
@hamoboy: And I’ll I wanted to point out is that you’re wrong. Oh, so Beyawnce sounds like shit cause she’s being recorded on a camera phone? LOL, don’t blame the camera, blame the source.
And yes, Joss would probably be much more popular if she were a light-skinned black woman with a fat ass, thick thighs, and a long silky weave who clops around like a horse on-stage and calls it “dance”. Would probably be even more popular if all the songs she wrote were just the same catchphrase over and over again. Y’know, like “halo halo halo halo halo halo halo halo halo halo halo halo halo halo halo halo halo halo halo” or “oh the single ladies, oh the single ladies oh the single ladies, oh the single ladies oh the single ladies, oh the single ladies oh the single ladies, oh the single ladies oh the single ladies, oh the single ladies oh the single ladies, oh the single ladies oh the single ladies, oh the single ladies oh the single ladies, oh the single ladies oh the single ladies, oh the single ladies”. Cause that’s sure some quality song writing there. Not that I should actually blame Beyawnce, cause I doubt she can even read music let alone write it. But it does further the claim that she is at best mediocre pop.
Yeah, we have eyes too. Funny remember that little movie called Dreamgirls? Y’know, that one where Beyawnce was the “star”? Where her voice and performance were soooooo great they just had to give the Oscar to JHud? Hmhmmm. I bet that musta burned just a bit.
Just because you can sing loudly doesn’t mean you can sing well. Just loudly.
And yeah, that’s right, Mariah isn’t much better. Their what you call “run-heavy style of pop R&B” is code for “has miserable pitch and horribly singing inaccuracy so they slide around until they get to the note that’s in key, and call it a ‘singing style'”. Um, no.
No matter how you try to present it Beyawnce is nothing but a 2nd rate singer and dancer who just got really really lucky and is getting by on her polished persona and not much else. It’ll be interesting to see where she is in 10 years when her looks are gone, and what little voice she has is shot to hell because a.) she didn’t have much of one to begin with and b.) her lack of training is going to burn the hell out of it.
But go on, tell me again how Beyawnce is SO talented and worth every penny she makes. I need another good laugh today.
And the second video was the UK Hall of Fame awards show. What exactly were you expecting the audience to do, jump up and down screaming like stupid Americans? No, they’re going to sit and smile, nod their heads, and tap their feet, exactly what they did.
hamoboy
@CaptainFabulous: Wow, you sound so pressed. Nowhere have I ever said Beyonce is “the king” or whatever. You’re responding to things I’ve never said. I like Beyonce’s songs because they’re fun and catchy, when I want deep meaning I go elsewhere. I’ve never thought of Beyonce as a great actress, so at no point was I ever “burned” that she didn’t win. Also, the Lead Actor/Actress category is almost always so much more competitive than the Supporting Actor/Actress category, so it seemed reasonable that Jennifer Hudson won that. The whole point of the movie was that Effie’s voice was better than Deena’s, so obviously everything about it would make Jennifer Hudson’s character look better (vocally and in the narrative sense) than Beyonce’s character. It makes their nomination categories look like gerrymandering to improve J-Hud’s chances. Effie was the star of the show, she should have been nominated for Lead Actress (NB, I still don’t think Bey would have won supporting either).
I like how you complain that singing loud is not singing better, then you hold up Jennifer Hudson as better than Beyonce… Right…
Mariah has perfect pitch, so I know you’re talking nonsense now, she’s a very accurate singer, and also, no, being white will always be more commercially viable than being black, no matter how fair-skinned you are. I don’t know what world you’re living in, but I live in a world where Adele recently sold 20 million copies while Jill Scott and several other black R&B singers with similar songs struggle to sell 250K.
CaptainFabulous
@hamoboy: This is absolutely pointless. No matter what I say, or what I show you, is going to break the delusion from which you suffer. It’s like trying to have a logical, rational, intelligent discussions with a Bible thumper. No matter what you say, no matter how much proof you show them, no matter how many illogical fallacies you expose, and no matter how many holes you shotgun thru their statements they will never, ever believe any differently and continually throw up straw man arguments and play word twister.
Congratulations. You’re an idiot who simply cannot distinguish between reality and fantasy. Welcome to Beyonceland, where everything she does turns to gold, even when she squats to shit.
Believe whatever fucking fantasy makes you happy. Cause clearly you’re not living in the same world of reality as the rest of us, and I see no point in trying to convince you otherwise.
hamoboy
@CaptainFabulous: Dude whatever, you obviously know nothing about music, your opinion about what is good and bad are fueld by pretensions of taste rather than any actual technical knowledge. Go listen to your old vinyl rdcordings and leave the rest of the 21st century alone.