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Since we cover celebrities and gossip and fashion, let’s talk about the inaugural performances yesterday! Everybody is talking about Beyonce, who closed out the public inaugural events when she sang the National Anthem. Beyonce decided to go full-on show-stopper by wearing a long Christian Dior coat, a Pucci gown and absolutely gigantic Lorraine Schwartz earrings. And yes, those were real emeralds. 80 CARATS WORTH! She also wore a 50 carat ring. And a special orange manicure. Because… you know, the day was about Beyonce. It was HER day. Jay-Z was there too – he escorted his wife to the inauguration, and Jay wore head-to-toe Tom Ford. Here’s video of her performance:
I actually thought Kelly Clarkson’s performance of “My Country Tis of Thee” was just… cuter, you know? She’s so bubbly and she seemed so nervous, but her voice was strong. And I was wrong when I said several weeks ago that Kelly had probably gotten the invite because of Pres. Obama’s daughters – as it turns out, Kelly was invited because Sen. Chuck Schumer (chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, which overseas inaugurations) is a HUGE Kelly Clarkson fan. Truly.
I hate to say it, but I thought James Taylor was the weakest performance. Right?
And just because I liked him, here’s Richard Blanco a gay, Cuban-American poet who was the youngest poet ever selected to read an inaugural poem.
Screencaps from the videos.
Written by Kaiser
Posted in Barack Obama, Beyonce, Kelly Clarkson
- Mariah Carey lip synced on American Idol [CDAN]
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- Goodbye to The Office [Pajiba]
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- Who said it: Carrie Bradshaw or The Dalai Lama? [Buzzfeed]
wow she looks very old here. those lines around her nose&mouth area..
she’s only 31.
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I thought that too
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YUP! While the 2 pics are side by side (in the blog) ~ Look how much younger Michelle Obama looks! She’s gonna be 49 or 50…
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Beyonce is ruthlessly opportunistic and perpetually overexposed. She tries to outshine everyone in every event. Personally I think Kelly’s performance was more sincere and executed better.
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She looks tired
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She had to upstage the First Lady continue her tradition of reminding us that money dos not buy class. Say something nice- I liked how her fingernails matched her weave.
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Bey tires me out.
She’s a decent singer. And beautiful. Why isn’t that enough? Why must she over-embellish so much trying to convince us she is a legend in the making? Sorry but her voice is just not on par with Aretha, Tina Turner, Etta James, etc. All the fancy hair and jewels, not to mention the yodeling when she sings, does not put her in that group.
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Beyonce definitely has more range than Tina Turner. No question.
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“Sang” the National Anthem. No, she lip synched the song whereas Kelly sang live. Now I have even less respect for her. Kelly put her heart and soul into the song and this one just took the easy way out.
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I don’t mean range per se, you are right about that. But I meant having a really distinctive voice. She just . . . doesn’t. Not hating on her, neither do I! Just getting tired of her.
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It’s a depth of interpretation thing. Billie Holiday’s vocal range in terms of sheer octave acreage was non-existent, it was about an octave and a half. But I don’t think anyone would say that she was inexpressive or ineffective in getting the audience to know exactly *what* she was saying beyond the words of the piece.
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According to ABC WORLD NEWS, Beyonce and her emeralds, lip synced the entire song…
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Agree Sadie. Can’t stand Beyonce – anyone who has someone on their payroll to photograph/film them 24/7 has a screw loose. Seriously. And all the dress up (yes trying to outdo MO) to phone in a lip sync performance? She’s a freaking joke. Plastic.
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I honestly do believe the rumors that she’s older. Those lines are not of a 31 year old.
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Especially as African-American women generally age so well. To quote Aisha Tyler: “Black don’t crack!”
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She looks like her mother. No way she is 31. BTW we all know that she and her team love to lie.
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all i can say is she isnt aging well
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She is definitely 31. There’s a video of her and the girls from Destiny’s Child appearing on Star Search in 93 and she looked very young. 11 or 12 years old. She should get some botox or fillers and get rid of those lines.
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Ok, I DESPISE Beyonce…so much so that when she comes on TV in a commercial I change it as fast as I can and still feel dirty. That said, saying that she *should* get botox and fillers is supremely f’ed up. This is where we’re at now? A woman can’t just get older…she “should” inject herself with a bunch of stuff to make herself more acceptable?? If anything, people “should” learn to be human and age naturally, however that may be. Regardless, though, the idea that a woman *should* be doing that is sort of sick. And the messed up thing is that if she had fillers and botox and it was remotely noticeable people would be saying “Why can’t people just age gracefully? Why all the fillers and botox?”
We have GOT to stop shaming women like this: for looking old, for getting older, for getting fillers, for looking fake. Women can’t win. And sadly, almost all of this crap comes from other women.
Good God, I hate that woman. Why did you make me say anything remotely in her favor? GAH!!
I have some lines. I’m 35. I don’t think I “should” be f’ing with my face in any way at all.
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themummy took the words right out of my mouth.
God forbid a woman have lines on her face-she should be smooth and alien-like a la KK, because we all know how good that looks. Not everybody ages the same way and it’s insane to impose a standard that is not achievable for everyone without the use of injections.
Come on ladies, we’re better than this. Let’s stop setting ourselves back by acting like wrinkles aren’t a reality for most of us and a natural part of life.
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I too, made the comment in a post further down that she looked old but I say that about a lot of celebrities that actually look older; Blake Lively being one of them. I’m not just picking on Bey but I think people are over her because she just doesn’t seem genuine. She lip-synched the National Anthem at the Prez Inauguration for Christ sakes. Also it was her friend Gabriel Union who first put it out there that Bey is older than what she is telling us. Union said that she and Bey was around the same age; Union is close to 40.
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her make-up was too strong
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Those where my exact first thought. No way this woman is in her early 30s.
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She’s 31. Britney Spears looks old and Jennifer Hudson does too and they’re Beyonce’s age. Some women just age differently. There are many home videos of her that prove she’s 31.
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Pillow pregnancies really age a gal.
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…oh snap…
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LOLLL – maybe one of the nannies had the flu and she had to get up last night …
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I disagree, I think she looks beautiful as always, this type of criticism is why so many women inject crap into their faces and hate themselves and it’s so unnecessary. She doesn’t look photo shopped to perfection and the catty remarks come out. She’s beautiful and talented and aging is part of life.
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I agree with every word of this except the statement that Beyonce is attractive (her yucky inside has forever tainted the way I could ever view her on the outside). Yuck. But the rest of it is spot freakin’ on.
Our society is so messed up. It’s so bizarre that it isn’t ok for women to get older. I’m 35 and the few lines I have (which will grow and grow, I know) are fine by me. I earned them. They’re my face. That’s why I’ve become over the years…and that’s pretty awesome if you ask me.
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I don’t think it Beyonce looks old. She just dresses old, wears dated wigs, and overdoes it with dated, caked-on makeup and they all conspire against her to make look older than her years. when she doesn’t have a lot of makeup on in some instagram photos that laineygossip shared, she looks more her age.
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Blake lively has those same lines and she’s even younger…guess it’s true babies age you bad…
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I think some people misunderstood what other people are trying to say here,when people like Beyonce put themselves in GQ magazine and let themselves photoshoppe to high heaven to look so much younger,so much that they became sexiest woman alive,then you see them looking this old in public,it will stunned you too,in a bad a way.But it doesn’t mean that she would need botox or fillers now,i think that’s ridiculous.But she does look old here,for somebody whose got an entourage of people to make her look good.
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Blake Lively is also “24″ and looks like she lives rough and has had some more bad plastic surgery on her face
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You know who looks really old, that poet guy. I had to look this up. Went to Wikipedia and it says he is 44 but I think he looks 56, 58. We should really be addressing that because there is no way that looks like 44.
And I found his reading very boring. I thought I was going to fall asleep. Not only was his reading boring what he wrote was not that interesting.
The singing was fine. I did like the song Kelly sang very much.
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There are a lot of people who swear that Beyonce is 40, and caim to have proof. I never went as far as to look for it, I think there was a yearbook photo.
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I love gay, Cuban-American poets.
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Did you see the shot of Eric Cantor during the poet’s reading? He looked like he was thinking WTF???? It was fantastic!!
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I thought Beyonce looked fine. I thought she sounded fine. She’s obviously very, very talented, but I’m a bit bored with her. She ALWAYS plays it so safe. She’s a great singer, but she’s no Aretha, you know?
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+1
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I agree with you and the other people on the first post. Bey is starting to look old and her rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner was just meh.
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She sounded fine cause she lip-synced:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2266539/Beyonce-DIDNT-sing-National-Anthem-live-Inauguration-lip-synched-thing-ripped-earpiece.html
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I KNOW! I just saw the Marine Band guy put that out there… inneresting…
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*.
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She LIP SYNCED the anthem. And afterwards, there are pics showing JZ giving her cough drops as if she had just sang. We are also supposed to believe she gave birth too. Even the Hollywood Reporter has the story front page
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/earshot/beyonce-inauguration-lip-sync-national-414260
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What would cough drops do?
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Cough drops to cover her lip sync. Guess that’s the cover. She could have just sung a low-key version of the anthem and saved her voice if true. But she was well enough to be seen shopping in New Orleans today….
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Hm. I’m just trying to picture Leontyne Price or Kiri Te Kanawa sucking down drugs after every show, real or not. I was being a stinker.
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I agree that I thought she did a nice job. Not amazing or memorable but very nice.
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Yeah she sounded fine considering if the story of lip synching is true she sang it in the comfort of a recording studio.
Her jewels aren’t what make her tacky, lip synching the national anthem and making the band have to pretend to play at the Inauguration (of ALL events!!!) is what makes her tacky.
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I thought Kelly Clarkson performed was excellent.
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I remember watching a clip of her singing at the Superbowl (?) or a sports event and thought she was incredible. Bit surprised they didn’t pick her for the national anthem, but there you go.
I really wish Beyonce would stop bleaching bits of her hair blonde. It doesn’t look particularly good, IMO.
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I’m glad they had her sing My Country Tis of Thee. It isn’t a song that they bust out that often so we don’t get to hear as great a variety of singers sing it. Her rendition was beautiful.
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@Amelia She has to do that because she has a lace-front weave, yes weave not real hair like she likes people to think she has. To make that weave look more natural they have to shave/buzz an inch into the hair line. So when it’s sewn in it looks natural, she bleaches/dyes the small hairs there to help mask it.
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@ Marty
It’s a lace front wig. It’s not sewed in, it’s glued on. She never said this was her real hair. Beyonce’s been saying she wears wigs for years. Majority of women in Hollywood wear wigs/weaves/extensions. Don’t know why people always want to act like Beyonce is the only one.
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wait, the whole head of hair is glued on? somebody educate me on how the weave thing works, please, b/c i am clueless. either sewn in or glued on, they both sound painful and like it wouldn’t stay on very well? for serious, how does she whip her hair all around during performances the way she does w/o it coming out?
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@Tabasco – this isn’t universal, but you’ll get the drift.
sewn in.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9DqropVdw4
lace front wigs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2c6W0UVagc
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@LAK, thanks! i’m now a weave expert!
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Kelly was the best, I so love her.
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I was underwhelmed. At least by the first half, it did pick up after that. I’m not one of those people who thinks that it’s possible or even desirable to be robotic in perfection, so I don’t want to give off that impression. I think that to begin it was just too low for her, not that she didn’t have the skill to sing it well. We all knew she was going to jump the octave, however, so everything up until then was glorified introduction.
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James Taylor was definitely the weakest, I was actually sort of surprised because the performance wasn’t even free concert good. Let alone this stage.
You know what…I’m going to give Beyonce credit. She knew who she was, she knew what she wanted, she fought for it and (based on the type of music she makes) she’s had an outstanding 15year career. She brought her A-game to her performance, don’t care if her nails were orange – she did the damn thing.
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I noticed the green earrings (emeralds. of course. silly me.) but nothing else, really. (I’m kind of fashion-impaired) I was mostly taken with her version of the song. That’s a tough gig, our national anthem, and easy to either play it too straight/basic or go far over the top. She got the balance just right – virtuosic but not overstated. I thought Clarkson was the most “meh” of the three – she was terribly excited and sweet, but … “meh.” As for JT’s version of “America the Beautiful,” he sang it simply and sincerely, but it was the guitar work that really made it stand out.
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Postscript. I just joined Team Clarkson. Beyonce lip-synching sits very much the wrong way with me. No wonder it sounded so terrific! {insert Snoopy-style ‘bleah’ here}
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I’m with you, it’s such a hard song to sing.
I can’t hate on her – she’s worked her ass off and for the most part has been classy and private (though less private recently, wonder why).
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I actually liked James Taylor the best out of the three singers.
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She didn’t bring her A game. She lip synced – basically, posed with a microphone. She didn’t bring any game. She was a fraud at the inauguration.
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Well, Beyonce and Jay-Z aren’t exactly known for subtlety. But it is her money, so if she wants those huge emeralds, that’s her business, I guess.
Did anyone else think her overall look was kind of off? I don’t know, she seemed sort of like a society matron — the hair and outfit were kind of aging to me, somehow. Not that I would expect her to dress like she does at her concerts, but there’s a way to dress appropriately and classically without crossing over into matronly territory. I can’t quite put my finger on what it was that seemed off — her weave, maybe? I actually thought Michelle Obama looked a lot cuter and younger.
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She looked more appropriate for an evening ball or event than a daytime, outdoor ceremony. I thought it was very diva-esque and took away from the main purpose of the occasion.
Her emeralds were stunning, though. Her look reminded me of a past Oscar or other award show look of Angelina’s, the black dress and emerald earrings.
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Yes, I agree with that assessment. I guess it was “daytime wear” by Hollywood standards, though
.
I think my main issue with stars singing the national anthem is that it always becomes more about the stars, whereas I think the focus should be on the meaning and significance of the song.
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I totally agree with you. She looked ridiculous.
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…yep…she’s totally channeling Angie… which is actually very sad and try-hard…
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I’m constantly put off by Beyonce and Jay Z’s ostentatious lifestyle. They are beyond tacky to me.
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+ 1000! Just because you make millions doesn’t mean you need to show the world when you spend millions. It shows major vanity AND insecurity on both their parts.
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So they shouldn’t enjoy the lifestyle they created and earned because of what other people might think? If I had their money, I wouldn’t apologize for it either.
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+1
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It’ not uncommon for people who come from a hard economic background to go over the top when hugely successful. You know the old adage, “you can’t buy taste”.
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Evidenced by every single rapper that ever was
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Beautiful earrings but beyond tacky considering that most of our country is still in recession. :-/
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she isn’t going to excuse herself to be rich!
yesterday when i saw her,i never thought “look how her earrings or her outfits look expensive!”
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That’s what was a put off for me. I don’t begrudge them, but we’re supposed to be being fiscally responsible, right? An ostentatious display wasn’t the right message, IMO.
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She’s a good singer, but she’s not an incredible, soulful singer. She’s still a bit too r&b. And certainly no Aretha, or Whitney. I did think she looked fine, the earrings were pretty.
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What do you mean by too r&b
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She looked fine if not a bit too conservatively dressed.
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I find her rehearsed 100% of the time, so contrived and very, very overrated. Let’s be real, tons of other female singers sell much better than her. Pretty much everyone: Rihanna, Britney, Gaga, Katy, Kesha. She’s not as talented or successful as they want us to believe, so the Queen/living legend act needs to stop. Look at the faces she makes when singing. She’s ridiculous. And emeralds?
She needs to be more humble, she’s not making history here and black singers in the past have done all the heavy work for her. And I feel like she sees herself as THE modern day diva when everyone outsells her. That comment about being so powerful was so tacky and out of touch with reality. Not to mention a lie. Jay Z is powerful, Beyonce without him is not.
I used to be a fan. Dangerously in love was my jam and Destiny’s Child was everything to me. But she’s lost me over the years with diva antics like hijaking the Oscars when Jennifer was nominated for their movie and stealing the nominees’ chance of performing at the Oscars and it became Beyonce’s variety hour.
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Please tell me you’re not seriously arguing that Rihanna is better than Beyoncé. Because the talent level between the two is nowhere close to being equal. Rihanna is a try hard low talent record label product, and Beyoncé is…Beyoncé. Love her or hate her, you cannot argue that she’s untalented
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Who’s everyone? Beyonce’s last album didn’t generate any big hits and still sold as good as theirs did with big hits. Gaga is the only one who sold better than her last year. Rihanna, Britney and Kesha are not big sellers. When did she steal anyone’s chance of performing at the Oscars? She was the main character in the movie so of course she was going to sing. She sang lead in all the songs in the film.
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I think she’s talking about the year she sang almost all of the Best Song Oscar nominees. I don’t care for awards shows so I’m solely interesting in the next-day fashion coverage, but I remember both of my sisters were in the house that year and seeing more of the ceremony than usual that year and she was up there a lot.
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Now if you were arguing that Mariah Carey was a better singer I wouldn’t say much but er.. Rihanna, Ke$ha, Britney, Gaga? Really??? They will never reach her level, because as much as Beyonce is arrogant and else, no doubt she wins hands down over them chicks combined, this singing and performing wise!
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If you think that Beyonce is only powerful because of Jay-Z, you’re crazy. She’s one of the very few people making money in the music business and they need her around.
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You know, I have to agree that she would not be where she is today without Jay-Z. She probably would have gotten there eventually, but having him by her side definitely helped speed up the process. She had Jay back her up when she reintroduced herself as a solo artist.
I don’t deny their love, but being Jay-Z’s lady was the best business decision she ever made.
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Hmmmm…I would have to agree that he did help her with her initial transition as a solo artist BUT she could have made it on her own. I remember it vividly because I was in high school and ALL the girls like DC and were incredibly excited for her solo album. Plus, if you remember, this was when Jay & B were always playing coy about their relationship & barely mentioned it.Beyonce was incredibly rich & well known & a smart businesswoman so I think she’d have been fine on her own.
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Beyonce is cheese personified, but she’s shrewd and talented as well as the bread winner in her family. Jay-Z is a big deal in his own right, but his relevance is somewhat questionable today. I mean, it’s not 1997 anymore.
Andif anyone is Jay-Z’s creation, it’s Rihanna.
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Look ma’am. Gonna have to pump your breaks right there: Beyonce is not powerful BECAUSE of Jay-Z. She was powerful before him, and she’s powerful with him, but not because of him.
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She is powerful she has a lot of millions
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stunning or tacky?
tacky.
New money (don’t buy class).
I’m so over Beyonce, since all the sketchiness about her personal life. She has enough money to really stay out of peoples sight, and only release records and go on tour without making covers or interviews or whatever. If you want to keep your peronal life personal do so, don’t show fake images up in our faces.
Crazy days and nights often drops hints, or even talks about how she has a serious entorage following her, often the papped pics of her, are not taken by actual paparazzis, but by her team… so silly, so over it, give us someone real!
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I thought she was excellent and looked appropriately dressed. You had to look for the emeralds which is the way really rich people wear big jewellery.
I also thought she blew me away when she sang, she pulled out the earpeice and went without about halfway through.
AND I’m not a Beyonce fan!
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I guess I am the only person here that thought for the first time ever, she looked beautiful. Most of the time I find her style overdone and yesterday, she looked appropriate. I loved the singing until I heard that it was lip-synced. Then I felt very disappointed. First fake bump, now fake singing. If there was anytime she should have sung live, it was monday.
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The song was pre-recorded and she lip synced it I thought. Not a fan so I could be wrong. Not a fan of Kelly’s either but I believe she was singing right then and there and was great.
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It really sounded like pre recorded. There were live recordings from her which sounded awful, like she has lost parts of her range and strength of her voice. I used to like her but the way she and her husband present themselves now is very off putting. Two stinking rich idiots who completely lost touch with reality.
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I thought it sounded pre-recorded as well! The sync was off in the beginning.
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I must have been listening to a different performance because I thought beyonce (and Kelly clarkson) sounded amazing.
Beyonce actually looked really nervous to me
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Is she preggers a gain? She looks great minus the lines around her mouth…
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Normally I am NOT a fan of Beyonce and her famewhore/pillowbabying ways, but I can’t fault anybody for bringing on the jewelry pr0n. BRING IT!!!
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I think Beyonce looked absolutely gorgeous. I don’t fault her expensive outfit because if I was invited to the inauguration and got to sit on the stage with the Obamas I would have gone crazy and bought a crazy expensive outfit too. Jay’s suit was exceptional as well. Tom Ford really knows how to make a man look his best. Kelly was adorable, love her. Love that Sen Schumer is a big Clarkson fan lol. And the National Anthem was great. Bey didnt over-sing it Christina style but did a respectful version which was appropriate for the event. Also Richard Blanco’s poem was just lovely.
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You can buy an expensive outfit but fur and emeralds? Both wearing fur? Way way way too much. There is expensive and then there is just flaunting wealth. I thought her singing was fine, but I found her massive display of wealth displaced, tacky, and arrogant. And I don’t think she was purposely trying to upstage anyone; I just don’t think she is actually aware than other people exist for any reason other than to adore her.
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Oh crap, I didn’t realize she was wearing a fur coat! Yea, that’s not cool. I didn’t mind her jewelry because I barely noticed it. I just saw flashes of green here and there
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It’s too bad she doesn’t take her cue from Michelle Obama on this one –
The First Lady does not wear fur.
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Beyonce dressed like the superstar she is! Her outfit was elegant and appropriate for the occasion — perfect tailoring, no flesh showing.
The emeralds were stunning, they reminded me of Angelina’s Oscar earrings.
Agree she sung the national anthem well. A lot of pop singers simply don’t have the vocal range to sing it, so they camouflage that fact by adding lots of embellishments. Beyonce sang it with feeling and grace.
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The dress was more appropriate for an inaugural ball, not an inauguration ceremony. This is not her day. This was a day for President Barack Obama. I was disappointed because it comes across as Beyonce trying to outshine the bride on her wedding day.
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Beyonce killed it! Listening live was different, Kelly sounded great and was really wonderful but Beyonce in the end was amazing. Everyone around me was legit in awe when she sang she really did a great job! And I wish they had given James Taylor more to sing, like sang another verse or something. He’s so great they should have done more with him! The poet. Took. Forever. Even though I liked what he had to say, it was way too long.
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do you still feel the same way now that it’s official…she DIDN’T sing live, but Kelly Clarkson did.
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While I thought she looked pretty enough, the tightness and fit of the dress showed just how ridiculous that body her face in wearing on the GQ cover is.
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Honestly, I looked at the green jewelry and assumed it was something from her own fashion line. As in costume jewelry. LOL!
I never would have assumed they were genuine emeralds. At all.
The only thing that I have a question about, is why does Beyonce part her hair so far over? She has the same size comb over as Donald Trump. And that is not a positive look.
I assumed she wore the long dress… because it was cold! She took her coat off to sing. So she needed some kind of protection from that cold air.
But I still think the jewelry looked like tacky costume stuff from Claire’s.
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Did anyone read Lainey’s post about Beyonce yesterday? The brown nosing is just too much.
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omg, i’ve been noticing that too. lainey is so far up B’s arse it’s ridiculous.
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and i can’t believe lainey compared B to freaking Aretha and an inauguration to the Oscars. wtf?
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…ummmmm…yea…that about sums it up…
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She’s not 31, she’s pushing 40, or so the Internet says. Born in 1974.
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Yeah because if the Internet says so, it must be true……
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bonjour…?
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Lol. Exactly!
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nah. I’m 40, I remember when destiny’s child got their first hit and Beyonce couldn’t have been more than 15 or 16 at the time.
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It’s impossible for Beyonce to have been born in 1974 when there’s a video of her appearance on Star Search when she was 12 in 93.
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Yeah, I’ve seen that Star Search clip, and unless they were feeding puberty-suppressing drugs to Beyonce, she’s about 12 years old in it.
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She looks great for approaching 40!
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They were both really good but I just love Kelly Clarkson’s voice. I think she should have sang the national anthem.
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Well… it’s not like Beyonce would know anything about how the average American is struggling right now, would she?
Kelly Clarkson’s performance was the best. She seems humble and down to earth, which is easier to relate to and more likable than Beyonce’s diva act.
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I think Beyonce is a great singer, but I wasn’t feeling her performance at all. In general, she doesn’t excite me.
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IAN Even American but the anthem sends chills down my spine when sung right. See: Houston, Whitney http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wupsPg5H6aE
Beyonce’s leaves me cold, and the lyrics as enunciated sound like a jumbled mess.
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Whitney’s version was beautiful but it was pre-recorded & that makes a HUGE difference.
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So was beyonce’s. And Whitney sang a live version of the NA at a concert, basically the same as the superbowl.
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Beyonce’s performance was typical Beyonce, flawless but kind of lacked emotion for me. I was very impressed with Kelly, her performance was from the heart and she just seemed so happy to be there. She’s seems like a very sweet girl
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What’s with Beyonce’s comb-over? Is she going bald under all those weaves?
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Beyonce is an attractive woman but I thought her glitz and dress was inappropriate for this event. She needs to learn how to lay back and let others have the limelight for a day. Her outfit should have been more conservative so as to not upstage the first family.
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I’m so glad you brought this up! I couldn’t believe Beyonce. Fur (which I assume was real), full-on gown and those giant emeralds. REALLY? Honey, this was not a concert, not a red carpet and considering the challenges of the country, that kind of conspicous wealth show-off was totally tasteless. Once again, B showing us she has NO clue as reality. She was event-inappropriate AND larger-context inappropriate.
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I actually thought it was rude to Obama, considering that a major part of his campaign and what he’s (and we are) dealing with is economic problems. Even J Hudson and Alicia Keys who were part of the *evening* portions were more restrained than Beyonce. I honestly thought it showed a bit of lack of intelligence. Like, loosen your weave dear cuz it’s squeezing your brains. Get.A.Clue.
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If the songs were switched, there’s no way Beyonce could have just done what Kelly Clarkson did. But Kelly could have totally nailed the National Anthem (and has).
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Isn’t it common etiquette for guests to take fashion cues from the hostess? In this case, I think that would be the First Lady, who looked understated and elegant. Beyonce should have saved the ostentatious jewelry for the ball. She’s like that woman at every wedding who tries to outshine the bride.
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Beyonce is wearing the same Lorraine Schwartz emeralds Angelina Jolie wore to the Oscars in 09, right?
http://www.celebitchy.com/37919/oscars_fashion_beautiful_dresses_with_some_bad_hair/
Also, I don’t get how Beyonce enunciates clearly when she sings but sounds awful when she speaks.
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I thought Beyonce looked gorgeous and I loved those green earrings. I just tried to ignore the odd blond in her hair, which you could only see from the top and back when the camera showed that, but from the front position she looked great. I also noticed she looks exactly like her mom. I can’t believe people think she is lying about her age. I mean hasn’t she been in the business since she was a child? It would be hard for a 16 year old to masquerade as an 11 year old.
On first listening to her sing the National Anthem I wasn’t that impressed, but on listening to it a second time I thought it was executed well. I mean she didn’t butcher the song and that is very easy to do. Having said that I would love for them to get a powerful singer up there to just take it away. I cried while she was singing though so it worked for me.
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I didn’t know James Taylor sang! All the news has been about Beyonce and Kelly Clarkson. Beyonce was all glam and powerful and triumphant, and Clarkson gave a poppy, youthful rendition. But James Taylor was wonderful: he brought tears to my eyes with his voice and guitar. I wouldn’t say he was the weakest. He seemed so truly overjoyed to be there, to sing about America, and he gave the song his distinctive pacing and vocal touches. Beautiful!!
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Beyonce has no class. For a woman that has millions she really does not have any sense of style.
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That’s because for her, as long as it has the most expensive price tag in the room, it looks the best!!
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Must Richard Blanco be described as “gay and Cuban?” Yes, it’s great that he broke the barrier for the LGBT community by presenting his poem. And without a doubt, as a Latina, I was proud to see him up there as well. But his ethnicity and his sexuality shouldn’t be his sole characteristics. He’s a POET. A talented human being at best. His sexual orientation and ethnicity shouldn’t take away from his words. Annnnnnd, that’s my rant for the day.
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I didn’t know he was gay or Cuban when he read his poem yesterday. I just thought it was all around great. Hate to say it, but better than Maya Angelou last time.
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Cuban it’s not his ethnicity it’s his nationality and I don’t see anything wrong with that. The fact that he was mention to be gay, now on that I do agree with you.
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It is important because there could be some young and impressionable Cuban gays who are probably being bullied and need someone to look up to to feel a little hope and better about themselves…
I know this from my own experience.
it matters.
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My comment has to do with what tabasco mentioned above – “I actually thought it was rude to Obama, considering that a major part of his campaign and what he’s (and we are) dealing with is economic problems.” Spot on! I think it’s great that celebrities endorse political candidates (helps bring attention to them and hopefully get young people out to vote). HOWEVER, I will never understand Beyonce’s support of Obama. I admire Obama and wanted him to win his second term, no doubt about that, but does Beyonece have ANY clue what he stands for??? She tries to come across as so knowledgeable and educated, but she is completely ignorant and lacking in any kind of political opinion. Did she even graduate from high school? Just listening to her talk in interviews drives me crazy because she is so inarticulate and DUMB, yet you know she thinks she’s the sh*t. She says she supports Obama – why? What did she like about his campaign? Can she name even ONE policy or bill he has passed? I seriously doubt uneducated uninformed Beyonce can. I truly believe she (and Jay-Z to an extent) latched onto the Obama’s because of the publicity and attention it brings her.
End of rant.
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Exactly littlestar; it’s all about famewhoring; if called upon to explicate and defend Obama’s policies, bouncy and camel would be clueless – being non-partisan celebutards do nothing for politicians but make them look smaller than many of them already are.
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Beyonce needs a new stylist. Her part in her hair made it look like a bad comb over. And her foundation looked like my moms old pancake make up. And she may want to go for a younger clothing style. She’s dressed like the Queen Mum. Other than that, her lip sync-ing was perfect.
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I swear to GOD, this is the very first time I didn’t see her wig hair being blown by a fan!
Maybe she was up all night with the baby and was super tired (looking). I saw her mothers face and she is aging. The outfit she was wearing was blah, looked like evening wear and boring. I liked her singing though.
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Beyonce could have turned it down a notch… or 50. No need yo upstage the first lady, this isn’t Bey’s day. I like her music and I don’t really dislike her, but then she comes out with these insufferable quotes and it isn’t hard to understand why Goopy and her get along so well. It’s tacky the way she dressed for the event. It’s tacky that she has to over do EVERYTHING. Even if it isn’t about her.
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Kelly Clarkson was incredible and seemed thrilled to be there. Beyonce sang well, but I was distracted by her red carpet look. And those emeralds are so huge that they really did look costume. In fact, at first I wondered why she had big green bows on her ears…maybe it’s time to get my eyes checked!
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I had issues with Beyonce’s look. First off, it’s before noon and it;s not formal attire event, showing up in a full on gown was just tacky. The earrrings may be emeralds, but they looked like something from the Kardashian Kollection at Sears. And the wig….yikes. Aretha made a fashion statement with her church hat, but overall she looked appropriate for the occasion. Beyonce was dressed for the Golden Globes, not the inaguration. Kelly on the otehr hand looked really cute. The both had lovely performances though.
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Apparently Beyonce mimed!
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She lip synched. It has been confirmed
NY post has it today
http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/confirmed_beyonce_did_lip_synch_jfpmmlw5kWNr9NSl4VOLSL
her taking off her earpiece dramatically was a farce/total show, once again shows how full of it she is.
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re Beyonce – Wow, I’ve really begun to actively “dislike* her, whereas before I just found her rather boringly competent. And it was in bad taste to wear a full on evening gown and a bazillion dollars worth of jewels in that circumstance. Trying to *steal* the show that way is tacky, like trying to upstage the bride at a wedding.
Should’ve saved it for the ball, Bey.
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Kelly was awesome. She wasn’t afraid to go au natural in front of the whole country and belt out her song to the best of her ability.
Bey decided she wasn’t going to take any chances, so she sung to a prerecorded tape. No guts, no glory.
Kelly wins hands down.
If Bey is asked why, I bet she says she had a problem with her throat, coming down with a cold, something like that to justify not singing live.
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+1
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I hope a reporter asks her why she did the dramatic ear piece pulling if she wasn’t even singing.
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Beyonce always dresses herself like she is in representation as a star singer, even Jay Z don’t do that. She, like many singers and even actors out there, doesn’t know what SOBRIETY means….Europeans are more prone to it when it comes to dressing according the occasion…maybe it’s a cultural thing.
Anyway, an event like this requires sobriety more than glam.
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I actually preferred Beyonce’s performance to Kelly’s.
Chuck Schumer is a Kelly Clarkson fan? That’s hilarious.
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Kelly was cute as a button
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She lipsynced for her life!!!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2266539/Beyonce-DIDNT-sing-National-Anthem-live-Inauguration-lip-synched-thing-ripped-earpiece.html
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That’s so disappointing, she had me fooled!
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Ripping the ear piece out was a good acting job. She wasn’t really singing, the orchestra wasn’t really playing, so why the dramatic gesture of ripping out her ear piece?
I guess she thought she would actually come off as fearless and talented by ripping the ear piece out thereby giving people the impression that something went wrong and she was going to have to wing it without her ear piece.
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Thats what turned me off more than the lipsyncing. That dramatic fake gesture. Whitney Houston lipsynced at the Superbowl. So did Michael Jackson. Many heralded performances have been lipsynced. But the fakeness of that gesture, ugh.
I love Beyonce the singer, bu she has gone from annoyingly refusing to acknowledge her marriage for forever it seemed like to diarrhea of the mouth about the greatness of her life Her pretentious documentary about herself was the topper.
I still love her as a performer on stage, though.
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My man was teasing me for being a hater on Beyonce. I don’t want to be a hater so I told myself I was going to try hard to be a fan of hers. I’m still trying to come up with something nice to say about her…
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Fake performance… shocking! Her entire image is built upon FAKE.
Kelly was fantastic though
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everything about the democratic party is “equality” how equal are we when someone is wearing emeralds while others are starving? beyonce and obama admin is a hypocrisy
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If you’re not going to sing then don’t upstage with an evening gown and the Crown Jewels!!!! Your not a performer anymore, you’re a clothes model flushing money down the toilet. Seriously feel totally jipped because I was actually impressed by her for a minute. Kelly freaking Clarkson deserves a medal, true guts and talent. And James Taylor also *really* played the guitar and *really* sung! I thought his song was humble and sweet. Just rewatched the video and about died seeing the FLOTUS watching Beyonce’s “performance” (dagger eyes)
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I agree with you G. I defended Beyonce earlier in the thread but then I learned she had faked her singing and now I have a different opinion. I mean I am not offended by her outfit if she really was singing because that is her thing same as Aretha Franklin coming in a giant hat, but if you are going to fake it then don’t pretend to be some glam goddess. Learning she wasn’t really singing doesn’t surprise me because I was actually surprised at how good her voice was and now I know why. It wasn’t. It was fake. I think she is just an entertainer with an okay voice like 99% of them. Do people really believe she is singing live during her concerts also? What gets me is her pulling out her ear piece during the song like she didn’t need it anymore. So that goes to show she was tring to perpetuate the fraud. It is one thing to lip sinc but quite another to pretend you don’t need your ear piece anymore and then go on to pretend to sing some more. Why all the dramatics?
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Ugh, she is awful. There was a woman, an ex girlfriend of Nas (cannot remember her name), claiming to have had an ongoing thing with Jay-Z. She wrote a memoir a few years back which I am embarrassed to say that I read. Now, when I see Beyonce, all I can think about is the bad breathe she was accused of having in the book! Totally believe it.
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The bad breath is rumored to come from all of the anti-depressant and anxiety meds she takes.
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Beyonce should have left the jewelry at home and brought her live singing voice.
Kelly absolutely killed it live while the pretty princess pre-recorded herself.
Money apparently can’t buy common sense or respectful behaviors.
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How come her ear lobes aren’t hanging to her shoulders!? Those earrings have got to be heavy!
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Good grief… The lip-synch doesn’t exactly arrange the situation does it?
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I think it’s extremely tacky. I think the entire extravagance of the whole inauguration is absolutely tacky. How much was spent on this showcase/pageant? How many children didn’t have anything to eat over the entire weekend while all of these politician and celebrities are gorging themselves on tons of food while they’re covered in karats upon karats of precious stones and gems? While children are suffering and starving, money should not be spent on “parties” for those who are already gluttons. It’s just a horrible injustice and it makes me sick… and if it doesn’t make you sick… I feel really sorry for you.
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I’ll be sure to tell my almost 2-year old that I’m sorry that she can’t have a birthday cake because people are starving somewhere in the world.
And what was with those Golden Globes last week? How dare they stage such an event when people are starving!
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Ok she’s rediculously beautiful & gifted w an incredible voice but isn’t she & her hubby the 1%?
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i wonder if her inability to perform had anything to do with the recent rumor that he is having an affair with goop
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Tacky. Kelly should have just sang both.
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what happened to Oprah? did anyone see Oprah? where is Oprah?
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Oprah was freezing her face off doing a show in my town of Edmonton, Alberta last night!
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Hey Beyonce, Ashley Simpson called, she wants her Worst Lip Synching of All Time title back.
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I don’t think it’s tacky. Why? Because people tend to “wear their finest” when they go to special events (be it a black tie occasion, an important dinner, etc) in their daily lives. It might be your nicest dress or slacks and jacket, your best jewelry, your new shoes and purse, etc. For Beyonce and Jay Z, it’s going to be crazy expensive jewelry and designer clothes. As long as it’s not obscene (and I genuinely don’t see obscene here– I didn’t even notice the jewelry or contemplate their worth before this post), then I don’t really see what the big deal is. Why are we pretending they’re at our level? They’re filthy rich mega superstars who fly around in private planes, for crying out loud. This is the president’s inaugural event, it doesn’t really get much bigger/special/black tie than that.
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I thought she looked nice. Of course she is going to get dressed up, and I never noticed her jewelry and manicure until it was pointed out.
I thought Kelly sounded terrible. The song started way too low for her.
The soloist from the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir outshone them all!
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Beyonce is the DEFINITION of tacky.
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Beyonce = Tacky
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Aw, I love Kelly. She seems like just a regular girl with an incredible gift, and I’m glad they had her sing.
Can’t believe she did that whole upper register thing live, and Beyonce’s was recorded. It was a pretty decent version, not too many vocal gymnastics that she tends to do, but come on, it’s an inauguration, sing live!
Personally, I would not have chosen to wear gobs of emeralds to an event like that. I’d have gone for something more understated.
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They are now reporting that she sang live, but the marine band was recorded. And, again, if she sounded like that by lip-synching, then Kelly and James should have done the same because they both were not good.
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i get lip-syncing at large outdoor events and a load of dancing or whatever, but i think lip-syncing at a superbowl is a very different thing than doing it as the person singing the damn national anthem at a presidential inauguration, particularly when you have staked a rather personal claim to said president, and the earpiece-yank was too too ridiculous. it’s one thing to lip-sync for, say, an energetic halftime show at the superbowl (we know that’s coming) for the sake of entertainment and representing YOUR own brand, but it’s another to tell the damn MARINES band to fake-play and fake-sing to the point of ripping out your earpiece while not performing for your own brand but to honor something very different, and to do so while standing feet from the freaking president, first lady and vice president! i keep thinking that if i were beyonce and showed up to that event, dressed like that, and acted like that, my grandmother would kill me!
she’d take me aside and be like, young lady, where is your proper coatdress and i know you did not just act the diva-fool with joe biden standing right behind you! grandma knows what’s up.
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She lip-synced the anthem. Shameful and disrespectful.
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awe, at the very end, Joe Biden was so cute with that big ole smile!! lol
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Seriously if I could sing and was asked to sing right in front of potus and flotus I would never lip synch /how rude
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