Rihanna is making headlines for her Super Bowl halftime show performance as well as for more than putting on a great mini-concert. After a ton of speculation from viewers (and some disappointment in the absence of guest appearances), the singer announced she is expecting her second child less than a year after she and boyfriend A$AP Rocky welcomed their first child.
Rihanna's 13-minute performance was criticized by many who reacted angrily to the singer's performance. Some of her critics resisted when the singer's staff admitted she was expecting, but others were unsatisfied with the singer's halftime performance.
The Super Bowl halftime concert has a long history, and events have only become more elaborate as the years go by. Performers are expected to put on a concert of their greatest hits, and viewers desire spectacle. Rihanna's halftime concert was no exception, and featured a complicated stage setup, backup dancers, and a 12-song setlist. Was lip syncing part of why her program felt off to some viewers?
Did Rihanna lip sync her halftime show appearance?
In the past, though, performers have mimed their halftime performances in public. During the 2014 Super Bowl, Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist Flea came under fire when viewers realized his bass guitar was not connected to an amplifier, making it clear he could not hear him over the roar of the crowd. A couple days after the show, Flea wrote a post on the band's website, confirming that he did not play live.
While performing on potentially unstable platforms, there are a lot of reasons why Super Bowl performers would prefer to pre-record parts of their performances. All of this is done before the eyes of millions of people who expect everything to appear effortless. Singing live over their own vocal track can give singers a sense of security in the event of unexpected errors (which will be viewed on Twitter hundreds of times after the fact).
Even the finest live vocals won't sound too perfect, and a live recording will still have breathing, voice cracks, and the sound of clothes ruffling left in. Many streamed performances will have sound engineers that will automatically tune and remove any unwanted sounds from even a live performance. If Rihanna does say so herself, we can't help but wonder if she would slap something on your throat.