Beyonce Sings National Anthem Live at Super Bowl Press Conference
Beyoncé opened a Super Bowl press conference on Thursday afternoon in New Orleans with a rousing rendition of the national anthem – and this time it was definitely live. After a rapturous round of applause by the media in attendance, the singer took questions about her upcoming Super Bowl gig as well as her controversial lip-syncing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at President Obama’s second inauguration last week.
“I am a perfectionist. One thing about me, I practice until my feet bleed, and I did not have time to rehearse with the orchestra,” Beyoncé said. “It was a live television show and a very, very important, emotional show for me – one of my proudest moments. Due to the weather, due to the delay, due to no proper sound check, I did not feel comfortable taking a risk. It was about my president and the inauguration, and I did not want to take away from that. I decided to go with a pre-recorded track, which is very common in the music industry. And I am very proud of my performance.”
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Beyoncé added that she will be “absolutely singing live” at her Super Bowl performance this coming Sunday. “I am well rehearsed. I will absolutely be singing live. This is what I was born to do.”
She stayed mum on the details of her halftime show performance, particularly whether she would be joined by Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams for a Destiny’s Child reunion. “I can’t really give you any details, I’m sorry,” she said, though she did comment on the recent release of “Nuclear,” Destiny’s Child’s first song in eight years. “I was so excited to hear us together again. I just kind of dropped on the floor and felt like a little teenager again when I heard us harmonize. There’s nothing like the sisterhood we have.”
Asked whether she has any plans to tour in conjuction with her new album on the horizon, Beyoncé teased: “Soon. I may have an announcement after the [Super Bowl] performance and the fans should just stay tuned.”