Yesterday, there was a flurry of excitement as something purporting to be an off-key version of Beyonce singing, taken from an NBC soundboard, did a turn around the internet.
It turns out the piece, first aired on Howard Stern, was hoax by a bloke called Matthew Zeghibe:
“I was just trying to make a point. I wanted to show people how easy it is to manipulate someone’s voice. If I can do it with a clip I pulled off of TV, imagine what they are doing on records and during live performances. The entire industry has been so manipulated, because there’s such an emphasis on perfection, so when something like this happens, it causes such a stir.”
It's possible that, perhaps, someone distorted Zeghibe's voice, which might explain why his point doesn't quite seem to carry itself the full distance: "it causes quite a stir" - yes, and?
Perhaps it doesn't quite work because Beyonce is quite good at singing and making someone who's musical sound bad doesn't quite have the same impact as showing someone who sings poorly being made to sound good.