B-sides: Pre-recorded performances leave singers out of sync with audiences

In case you missed it, President Barack Obama was ceremonially sworn in for his second term of office on Monday. And in case you missed it, the event featured live performances by Kelly Clarkson, James Taylor and Beyonce.

But here’s the thing. Beyonce seems to have lip-synced her version of the national anthem. By Tuesday, the Internet was buzzing with it. Some people were angry with her, some defended her. Even more were just a bit confused. I definitely fall in with the latter category.

According to The New York Times and sources from its blog post about the incident, it’s completely normal to record a track of the song before the event as a backup. When it’s extremely cold, it can be extremely hard for musicians to keep their instruments in tune. And when the band isn’t in tune with the singer, bad things can happen.

But the weather wasn’t that bad on Monday, and all sources seem to indicate that Kelly Clarkson and James Taylor sang live. And both did extremely well. Taylor was especially great. But what can I say, I’m a James Taylor fan.

Not only did Beyonce appear to have elected to use a recorded version of the song, the Marine Corps Band was also directed not to play. The track included a pre-recorded instrumental version of the song as well. So, if you were watching the event, you were actually seeing Beyonce pretend to sing and an entire band pretend to play its instruments.

Now, fair warning, some sources have also said there is no way to be 100 percent sure that Beyonce was lip-syncing. But the majority of sources are certainly leaning toward lip-syncing, and Beyonce certainly hasn’t said she was singing live. So, I’m operating on my personal opinion and from researching into what the majority of sources are reporting.

I’m not going to overreact to this and say this was a grave musical offense. It wasn’t exactly the main event of the morning, what with the president being sworn in. And it makes sense to want the song to sound good. That being said, Beyonce has performed live in countless concerts, and she has a good musical reputation. Plus, Clarkson and Taylor’s solid performances seem to show that the weather wasn’t a major negative factor on the songs that day.

So why lip-sync? Sure, it’s the safe way to go. It prevents the possibility of embarrassment. But it also takes all sense of the moment away from the song. It strikes me as a little ironic that on the day the president is sworn in as the leader of the country, that same country’s national anthem is not sung live at the ceremony.

Now, the inauguration certainly isn’t the only major venue to see its share of lip-syncing. The Super Bowl has seen more than its fair share of lip-syncing. To be fair, football stadiums aren’t ideal musical venues. But it indicates an expectation of perfection in all big-ticket musical performances, and musicians no doubt feel that pre-recorded tracks are a good way to ensure that everyone leaves happy with the performance they’ve heard. Not only is that expectation unrealistic, it goes against the idea of music in general.

The beauty of a live musical performance is in its imperfection, in its humanity. It’s in the vocal harmonies that click just right, and in the note that is ever so slightly out of tune. It’s in the chord strummed just a little bit late, and it’s in the feeling of an audience and a musician sharing in three or four minutes of music that is occurring organically – not in the fifth take. The beauty of music is not determined by how polished it is or how perfectly in tune a recording can be. It’s in the human voice itself, in all of its flawed beauty.

Yes, if lip-syncing were never used again in a live performance, concerts would occasionally experience rough spots, and even a vocal letdown on some songs. Performances would be flawed. But music would be stronger, more inspiring, and more beautiful than ever before.

What is the best live music performance you’ve ever seen? Did it include mistakes? Email Bain at [email protected] to let him know. “B-Sides” runs every Thursday.