Ricky Minor, music director to American Idol and producer of last night’s Super Bowl music performances, told the Associated Press (via MTV) that he asked Faith Hill and Jennifer Hudson to perform to the previously recorded audio they submitted to the NFL for approval.
“That’s the right way to do it,” Minor said. “There’s too many variables to go live. I would never recommend any artist go live, because the slightest glitch would devastate the performance.”
Both Faith Hill’s version of “America the Beautiful” and Jennifer Hudson’s stirring performance of the national anthem were not sung live, but were indeed recorded by the artists themselves. Hudson’s appearance marked the first time she has performed in public since the murder of her mother, brother, and nephew last year. Jamie Foxx reportedy sent her a text immediately after the song that said “Amazing. It brought tears to my eyes.”
Hudson’s recent tragedies should rightfully spare her from any criticism for this non-live performance (not to mention, it was very moving), but there seems to be a trend of all artists taking less risk with high-profile performances. Most notably of late would be the pre-taped inaugural performance by Yo-Yo Ma, Izhak Perlman, Gabriella Montero and Anthony McGill.
Watch Jennifer Hudson’s performance embedded below: