Beyonce ‘lip-sync or live’ controversy resolved: Audio expert says she did both

The Beyonce “lip-sync controversy” continues to dominate the news. Did Beyonce sing the “Star-Spangled Banner” live at President Barack Obama’s inauguration? Or did she lip-sync the national anthem to a pre-recorded track?

Audio expert, Ian Shepherd has settled the “live or lip-sync” debate once and for all with his comments in articles published Jan 24 by MTV News and the Daily Mail. Shepherd, in addition to a source close to Beyonce quoted by Us Weekly on Jan 23, confirm Beyonce sang parts of the national anthem live. So apparently Beyonce did both.

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Beyonce Both Lip-Synced AND Sang Live

The interesting thing about the Beyonce lip-sync scandal, is that there is evidence that Beyonce lip-synced parts of the national anthem, as well as evidence that Beyonce sang parts of it live over a pre-recorded track. The reason the debate still rages on is because Beyonce did both.

Veteran recording engineer Ian Shepherd, who has more than 15 years of audio engineering experience, confirms that at least half of what was heard was live. After analyzing both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times videos of Beyonce’s performance, Shepherd offers the following proof:

When Beyoncé starts singing, her vocals are hard to hear because the microphone is set too low, an issue the sound person quickly corrects. If it were a recording, this issue would not be audible.

At 1:16 in the New York Times video, Shepherd noticed Beyonce’s slight head tilt toward the microphone as the sound gets more bassy, which he says is the result of an acoustic quirk called the "proximity effect."

At 1:52, Beyonce removes her earpiece, which some people say is proof that she was lip synching. However, Shepherd told MTV News that this is evidence Beyonce was trying to hear what her voice was doing in the "real" world as she kept the audio feed of the recording in the other.

At 2:17, Beyoncé smiles, and Shepherd says you can "hear" that in her voice.

At 00:36 in the Wall Street Journal video you can hear the wind blowing and making a popping sound on the microphone as Beyonce’s scarf flies around her neck.

Beyonce has not personally responded to the controversy. However, Exposay.com reports that close friends and associates of Beyonce who have first-hand knowledge of the situation from speaking with her, say Beyonce didn’t completely lip-sync the song. They also say Beyonce had valid reasons for her last minute decision to lip-sync portions of the “Star-Spangled Banner” and sing other parts live.

CNN quotes an anonymous inaugural official as saying that Beyonce lip-synced to her pre-recording of the national anthem.

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More Than One Version of Beyonce Singing National Anthem

As evident from Shepherd’s analysis above, there are several different video versions of Beyonce’s performance available.

Each video version of Beyonce singing the national anthem has a slightly different sound. In some versions, two voices singing at the same time can be clearly heard.

It’s standard procedure at events of this type for all the audio to be made available to broadcasters so that each one can do their own mix. There are usually varying degrees of differences in each broadcaster’s version with regard to their individual blend of presenters, music, and ambient noise from the crowd.

Your personal opinion as to whether or not Beyonce lip-synced the “Star-Spangled Banner or sang it live will depend largely on which version you heard.

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Beyonce’s Disappointment in the Lip Sync Controversy

Many celebrity singers, including as Aretha Franklin, Jennifer Lopez, LeAnn Rimes and Alicia Keys have spoken out in defense of Beyonce’s decision to lip-sync parts of the national anthem over a pre-recorded tape of the Marine Corps Band, while singing other parts live.

All agree that this is a common practice by entertainers when performing at inaugurations, major outdoor events, or other acoustically challenging venues.

Meanwhile a source close to Beyonce says she feels she did nothing wrong and is very disappointed that ''a technicality which everybody does took away from the beauty of the moment.''

As for the last word on the Beyonce “lip-sync or live” controversy, Beyonce did both.

But the bottom line is that either way, it was still Beyonce’s voice that you heard.

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Ruth Houston is a New York-based infidelity expert who is frequently called on by the media to comment on high profile infidelity and popular infidelity issues in the news. She is the founder of www.InfidelityAdvice.com, the author of Is He Cheating on You? - 829 Telltale Signs, and publishes the Infidelity News and Views blog. Ruth also writes the Celebrity Infidelity column (www.CelebrityInfidelity.com) and the National Infidelity column (www.NationalInfidelity.com) for Examiner.com. To interview infidelity expert Ruth Houston, or have Ruth speak at your next event, call 718 592-6029 or e-mail InfidelityExpert@gmail.com