It took Beyonce mere minutes to put an end to weeks of criticism surrounding her lip-synched performance at the Presidential Inauguration.
Appearing at a news conference in New Orleans to discuss her hotly anticipated halftime performance at Super Bowl XLVII, Beyonce addressed the elephant in the room by belting out a live rendition of the National Anthem in front of dozens of journalists. "Any questions?" she asked when she finished the tune, according to People.
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In between dodging questions about a Destiny's Child reunion at the big show, Beyonce explained to reporters why she chose not to sing live on Jan. 21. "I am a perfectionist," she said. "One thing about me, I practice until my feet bleed. I did not have time to rehearse with the orchestra. It was a live television show. It was a very important emotional show for me, one of my proudest moments."
At the time, Beyonce was hailed for her beautiful performance, but the tides quickly turned when a report in The New York Post reported two days later that she lip-synched the song to a pre-recorded track, despite the fact that she was seen on national television dramatically taking her earpiece out of her ear. "Due to the weather, due to the delay, due to no proper sound check," she said. "I did not feel comfortable taking a risk. It was about the President, the Inauguration. I wanted to make him and my country proud, so I decided to sing along to my pre-recorded track, which is very common in the music industry."
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Despite the recent backlash, Beyonce said she is "very proud" of the performance. And in case anyone was wondering about the use of pre-recorded tracks on Sunday, she put those fears to rest. "I will absolutely be singing live," she said. "This is what I was born to do."
Watch Beyonce's performance of the National Anthem at Thursday's news conference:
What do you think of Beyonce's response to the critics? Are you excited to see her perform on Sunday?
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