The Grammy-winning diva will take the stage at the halftime show in New Orleans. Here’s a look at some of her past performances, including her controversial rendition of the national anthem.
Her concert over and her point made, Beyonce offered a nuanced and vaguely apologetic account of what happened at the U.S. Capitol last week: She did rely on a pre-recorded vocal track, but she also sang along with it.

“I am a perfectionist,” she explained. Afraid that she was unprepared for the inauguration performance — having missed a rehearsal with the Marine Band because she was preparing the Super Bowl — she went with the recording, she said.


She maintained that she will sing live at the Super Bowl, but not because of the inauguration backlash: “I always sing live.”

Except, obviously, for last week in Washington. But in that case, she said, “the event wasn’t about me” in the way her halftime show will be..

“I will absolutely be singing live,” she said. “This is what I was born for. This is what I was born to do.”

Beyonce’s powerful rendition of the anthem drew immediate raves when she sang at the Capitol, but controversy heated up the next morning when a Marine Band rep told reporters the singer had opted to use a recording. Later, the group backed away from the lip-sync story, noting that while they used a tape, they couldn’t tell whether she sang over it or not.

In subsequent days, several other singers weighed in to defend lip-syncing as a routine fallback, especially in outdoor settings — but Beyonce herself remained silent.

Why not speak out sooner? “I’m happy that I could tell my story on my terms,” she said.