When most pop singers perform live, they’re often lip-synching. It ensures that they sound good. And to be fair, if there’s much dancing going on, it would be hard to sing well, especially to the standards people would expect. Normally they record a new, slightly different or less-perfect sounding version of the song, so it’s not exactly what you hear on the radio. Oftentimes singers sing along, but the sound from their microphones is just fed into the sound board and not played out for the audience. That ensures they really look like they’re singing, while the perfect sounding music is what’s played.
Howard Stern managed to get a recording of Beyonce’s board mix from when she performed “If I Were a Boy” on The Today Show on November 26th. The board mix is the sound from Beyonce’s mic – completely unedited. The audience and viewers couldn’t hear it. And to say it’s shockingly atrocious is an understatement. At first when you listen to a bit, you think, “Well, it’s not all that bad, there might be an explanation.” But then as it goes on and on, your jaw drops further to the ground and you start to curse modern technology for letting someone who sings this way put out so many albums.
Beyonce – If I Were a Boy – Today Show board feed
Here’s what the audience heard (song starts at 2:25)
When I first heard the board mix my thought was, “Well, maybe she was dancing or something.” But watching the video, it’s clear Beyonce is just walking around in a tight spandex bodysuit. That only takes so much out of you. To be fair, the acoustics at Rockefeller Center are probably atrocious. The way the buildings are laid out with long, narrow corridors cannot help things. And that explains why nearly everyone would want to lip synch to a track. But what we’re listening to is just Beyonce’s voice, straight from the mic to the board. The acoustics don’t explain the warbling, the lack of pitch, the … everything. It’s just shocking. I’m thinking PART of it must be that she didn’t think anyone would ever hear the recording and wasn’t trying. All that aside… it’s really mind-boggling.
Update: This was all a hoax by someone who altered the live recording of Beyonce that day.
Here’s Beyonce with Jay-Z in New York this weekend. Images thanks to INF.
This brings out the Lol’s 🙂
Oh please. It’s obvious from the recording that she’s just goofing off. It’s funny to hear because it’s akin to watching someone in their room when they think nobody’s looking. But those high notes – even though they were misplaced, they sounded absolutely incredible, and her voice does sound the same (quality-wise) live and on the studio cut.
I heard this yesterday. It’s unbelievably awful. At first I thought well, she doesn’t have her head phones on and can’t hear anything, but now… it’s just strange.
O.M.G.
The only word I can come up with is…
Bwahahahahahaha!
The music she’s syncing to must be really loud. She probably can’t hear herself at all, so it’s not surprising she’s really off key in the board feed.
Do you think you would sound good if you couldn’t hear yourself at all? As for the warbling, she’s not trying to control her voice at all. She’s just trying to look like she’s singing, while assuming no one will ever hear what’s going into the mic.
This story is just silly.
Come on this has got to be a joke! It’s too bad to be real.
she sounds horrible there is no denying that.
a singer should be able to sing in the shower or in the mic. period. The only talent B has ever had is her parents marketing.
I’d just like to point out that back in the day, before his nose was turned into a sliver of silly putty, Michael Jackson sang live in concert and danced his butt off. Also, Christina Aguilera sings live and dances, flies around the stage on cables, etc. and sounds fantastic. So there’s no excuse for lip syncing. It’s a cop out. It’s a crutch for performers who don’t have the chops to back up their recordings.
Also, how great is it that this comes to light the same week that “ugly” Susan Boyle becomes an internet sensation?
Could it be that people have finally had enough of style and image vs. actual talent?
Hahahahahah oh dear, the LOLz are all over the place.
Poor Yonce – and I LOVE that people are making excuses for her hahahaha. It’s her job, the ONLY thing she needs to do well is sing and she can’t even do that. Classic.
If only that were true, MSat (substance over style).
I’ve always found her voice to be piercing and shrill so I’m not surprised that she has pitch problems. In this day of American Idol, to be called a good singer usually means that you are loud, can hold notes for a really long time and overuse melisma to cover up any defects. Beyonce does all of the above, although I’ve never heard her hold a note for a long time but I have no doubt she could. I wouldn’t want to hear it though.
Day-um. This woman would be a laughingstock on American Idol auditions. That’s sad.
Ling-
She was NOT goofing off. That was her SINGING! I really hope u dont work in the music business cuz if u do & think THAT sounds incredible then we’re all in trouble.
Did she not sing live at the Oscars all those times? Remember around 2005 when she sand 5 songs, or some number like that? She can obviously do it.
There was nowhere near this kind of backlash over the instrument-synching at the inaugration.
MSat,
Regarding your comment about Christina Aguilera, several years ago I took my daughter and some friends to see Christina in concert. I am a fan of hers and believe she is one of the few who is truly gifted. Nevertheless, at this particular concert in a large suburban Chicago basketball arena, Christina miscounted her steps and accidentally fell off the edge of the stage. It took quite a few seconds for her to compose herself and get back up onto the stage with assistance. Problem is, the entire time she was off the stage her voice track continued to play and it became obvious to all that she was not performing, shall we say, “live”. It was quite a disappointment since I also assumed she was one of the few who didn’t depend on technology to get her through a performance.
Sasha Not So Fierce.
LOL! At Xtina falling off the stage. That sucks. I did see her live during her “Back to Basics” tour and if she was lip syncing, she did a damn good job making it look real.
Even if she was having a bad day, goofing off or whatever, she should not have sounded like that. That’s was just ugly.
I think its time to put up all the gimmicks and give those with a real voice, no tracks, time to sing. I’d take Boyle over her any day.
Okay, WTF is she wearing? It would be ugly any time of day, but this is a MORNING SHOW.
That’s like Photoshop for audio. That is almost a parody of Beyonce. People can’t believe everything that they see and hear, especially online. And Beyonce can definitely sing and dance, even if she is over exposed. Think about it: record companies are strapped for cash and extrememly competitive. Who would ever sign her singing that horribly.
ouch. that’s horrible. and the track that was played for the audience wasn’t great either. We’re doing something wrong, ladies. I can sing better than this. If I had larger boobs, I might just rule the world.
I love Howard Stern’s laughing in the background.
I cannot believe the disgusting blind devotion that Beyonce inspires. Its kinda creepy. Not to mention stupid.
Oh man, that is HIGHLARIOUS! I never understood the attraction to this woman’s music anyway. She’s really bad and I hope she’s embarrassed. Just another sham the music industry has pushed onto the consumer.
But I do love her shoes in the bottom photo
While that was pretty much ridiculously bad, I think it was mostly because she just couldn’t hear herself sing.
@!: I totally agree. The Beyonce sycophants creep me out, too.
Beyonce reminds me off J-Lo. Remember when it was like J-Lo overkill in the media? Every time you turn around there was something about the girl. Beyonce is like that now. When you see or hear about them all the time, the admiration turns too “she needs to sit down some where”.
Mariah Carey can’t dance, but she NEVER sounds like this! BOOOO Beyonce!!!!
I think her voice has been voluntarily modified for the purpose. that’s an impossible awful way of singing.
America – have you run out of trousers? Give Christian Aid a call, they’ll sort you out.
Those high notes made my cat jump off the couch and run upstairs in terror.
@Codzilla – Hilarious! My cats did the SAME thing!! Probably why she wears dead animals instead of having them as pets…
Okay i have to admit it sounds bad but not THAT bad as if a normal person where to sing it. I think that they alter her voice i went to see her in concer twice once for destinys child and the second time for her bday tour and she sang Dangerously In Love Amazingggg! and it was live you could tell. I think this is fake ive heard her live and this is not her voice! they so alter her vocals
Ah hahahahahahhahahahahahahahhahahaha!
That is all that needs to be said
That’s not so bad, have you heard the Britney Spears recordings from her concerts that are on youtube?!? Britney is 1000 times worse!
I don’t get all the hype for Beyonce? She will sell her image for a dollar. Have you seen her on the nintendo ds commercial now? Greedy, talentless and ugly style.
karen: Record companies were not strapped for cash back when they signed her.
And it would cost more money to get rid of her than to keep her, now that the tide of public opinion is slowly starting to move against that over-worked mechanized sound. Kayne West is totally pushing auto-tone into oblivion, along with many other popular singers.
I am no Beyonce fan and don’t own any of her music. But I can tell you without a doubt that this has been doctored. My sister and I both do VO work and you can hear the effects added to her voice and when she hits that really off the charts high note, they turned up the frequency of that part of the recording. This is without a doubt fake. Howard Stern absolutely knows it too. There is no way you could have worked in RADIO that long and not recognize this. What an attention whoring douche bag.
“I don’t get all the hype for Beyonce?”
Her Dad is probably buying every gig she gets. She’s been perorming at the Oscars for the past two years and now she’s not even trying.
ahhhhhhhhhhh my ears!!!!!!!!!!
@ Karen: my first thought was parody, too.
That is so ridiculous, I don’t believe that’s her. And I am NOT a fan, at all. Trust me.
She’s clearly not singing in tune to the music, or maybe she’s harmonizing, (singing different parts) but the notes she hit, particularly the high notes sound fine. JMO.
Still don’t like her but I think she’s talented and she’s worked hard for her success.
I’m not a Beyonce fan but I’m still not sure about this video. As far as singing mechanics go if I’m going to lip synch I’m not going to hit high notes when they’re not needed.
Jesus! It sounds like a (failed) idol audition
This was found to be a fake….
her lips do not match the words as they come out…
Beyonce laughed it off.
***YOU GUYS***
I know this would be so fun if it was real, but it’s not.
Read Ron’s post and then listen to it again.
It’s F-a-k-e.
This is her in her backyard when she was a kid
(pink shorts, green top – closeup of her face at 2:13)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4QIdMjqmTo&feature=related
Surprise! She really can sing.
Howard Stern is filthy. I want to scrub my skin off in the shower everytime I just hear his vile voice. If you can’t hear yourself you will sing as if you are tone-deaf. Thats why the deaf talk the way they do. She can’t hear herself sing. No brainer. Now is she supposed to bow down and kiss the almighty (ew) butt of Stern (ew) to prove herself? I hope the woman has more dignity.
She’s no Susan Boyle…
LOL – Enrique Iglesias @ the end of the audio!
Beyonce is not one of my favorite singers but I will say that every singer has had bad days and there is no one with a consistently perfect voice, even Susan Boyle.
Really, I wish I could say something good about Beyonce. First, she’s smug as hell. She often gives remarks like: “I feel I can call myself a diva now”. Diva my pale, white ass, lady. Learn some modesty. You’re not that important.
Second, there’s nothing slightly interesting or original about her. She’s a cheap carbon copy of superior artists that came before her, like Tina Turner and others. No matter how much Jay-Z and her audition mom try, Beyonce will never be an icon in the future. She’s just one more chick in a tight spandex outfit.
Third, it’s difficult to know why, nowadays, being a good singer is equal to being “loud”. Singers are such screamers now. Damn Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey for coming up with this shit.
“I cannot believe the disgusting blind devotion that Beyonce inspires. Its kinda creepy. Not to mention stupid. ”
I agree with that!
she is paid millions of dollars…A heart surgeon will never be paid half of what she has.She is paid to be a Singer but yet she cannot SING…Hello! is anything wrong in this picture? our society has become sooo dumb? She is simply an average
girl next door.
Susan Boyle should be where she is….
people are always gonna be haters, if is not her voice its always something else beyonce is very talented.U are not going to be perfect everytime u sing no one is. I Personally think its stupid and kind of creepy that people keep looking for any lil thing about the girl to make it bigger than what it is ,especially now when there is a movie coming out with her.
It is fake for God’s sake. Bad editing. On top of that, Howard Stern’s stupidity and sense of entitlement and that co host woman of his are such a turn off. Oh boy, how stupid can YOU be Howard Stern? Your laughter scratches my ears. And that woman, whom I bet is a talentless moany bitchy bitter chick, should accidentally choke herself with her toothbrush cause she is too dumb.
Why would one even entertain with a comment? It was stated it was a fake. I guess nothing better to do!!!!!!!!!!!!
As a former road musician/singer I can say without fear of contradiction that the greatest singers I’ve worked with could not guarantee satisfactory performances if the monitors were not up to the task. And, in noisy halls where the singers felt they had to push because they couldn’t be sure they were cutting the room out front (with the main speakers) they almost always sang sharp or flat, missing pitches and bungling otherwise easy inflections.
In short one cannot assess Beyonce’s talent on the strength of one live TV performance. If her wireless personal monitor (visible in her right ear) was improperly adjusted and she wasn’t planning on actually singing live anyway, then she may have been performing for those folks who “hear with their eyes”.