Beyoncé has come under fire from all angles following the revelation that she may have used a backing track to at least 'boost' her vocal during her rendition of the American national anthem this week, but the question is that has this recent piece of information hurt the reputation of the singer for good?
For years Beyoncé has long been a sweetheart of America, having had a career seemingly untarnished by spite, accusation and malice. In a world oh-so-keen to sling mud at the famous (the irony of writing this in this article is not lost on me), she has remained unsoiled for over a decade.
Lately though, she's been treading more of a fine line. While she'd gotten herself massive endorsements before, $50m deal with Pepsi was still extraordinary news. The unsubtly of the soft drink's name being branded to her has made a couple of people choke too, as has the extraordinary levels of luxury she and her husband have lavished on to her infant in a time of austerity.
After her decision not to sing the Star Spangled Banner fully live at Barack Obama's inaugeration, the knives have truly come out though, throwing her upcoming performance at the Super Bowl under fresh new scrutiny.
While many, many singers have lip-synched over the years, but it's a combination of factors that have made this such a hot potato.
Lip-synching your own songs at a performance at a sporting event while pulling of a massivly complex piece of choreography is one thing, but there's just something about lip-synching with your nation's national anthem that just feels a little bit worse. In such an overtly patriotic nation as the United States, this is a much more serious offence.
This is a nation where the national anthem is sung before every sporting event across the nation and is a source of great pride when the duty's asked of you. Where children recite a pledge of allegiance everyday in school and the mere idea of not thinking you're in the best country on the planet is met with harsh looks and inquisition.
That Beyoncé, an artist that so many worship across the land, decided to not only fake the national anthem but do so at the inauguration of a President that she's more than just a supporter of may just have been a massive blunder on her part.
The reason given for the trickery as well smacked a little bit too. Yes, singers are affected by the cold, but Kelly Clarkson was still very much able to step up to the microphone and belt out her song without help. We all know that Beyoncé is an amazing singer, we're sure even at only 85% she would have blown it away.
While it's not going to sabotage a career that's made her one of the biggest recording artists in the world or make her next album sales disappointing, it will definitely bring her Super Bowl performance under new scrutiny, a gaze that may not leave her for some time.
If she was planning to lip-synch at the Super Bowl, she's going to need to put on one hell of a show to justify it to a group of critics just lusting after another reason to take her down a peg.
Before this furore, she was easily the pop queen of the western world, despite not releasing any new music over the last couple of years with a halo for a crown. It may take a couple of years for her to ever reach those same purity levels again. If ever.
Tagged in Barack Obama Beyonce Super Bowl