Oh say can you sing?
Beyoncé blows away the haters with a cappella National Anthem: The Super Bowl buzz is back
After that whole lip-syncing-the-National-Anthem-at-the-Presidential-Inauguration thing, Houston's own Beyoncé was bound to address the faux pas at a press conference on Thursday, where she spoke in advance of her Sunday Super Bowl halftime performance.
And address it she did, reports TMZ, admitting, "I am a perfectionist . . . I did not have time to rehearse with the orchestra [at the Inauguration]. It was a live television show and a very important moment for me."
Beyoncé 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."
To dispel any lingering doubts, Bey asked the audience to stand before bursting into a beautiful, powerful, a cappella rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" that drew applause from the press corps (and tears from a certain hard-hearted CultureMap staffer).
"Thank you guys so much," she ended. "Any questions?"
Of course she can sing the National Anthem without a backing track. This is Beyoncé we're talking about. Watch her performance below: