Her first public performance since the triple slaying of her mother, brother and nephew last October, Jennifer Hudson's stunning version of the anthem before Sunday night's Super Bowl, stirred us all.

But, Ricky Minor, the show's producer and music director for 'American Idol', revealed after the game was over that Hudson lip-synched the anthem to a previously recorded track, at his request. Minor, who has produced a number of Super Bowl pre-game performances, including Whitney Houston's iconic 1991 rendition of the anthem, considered one of the all-time greats, explains he insisted both Hudson and Faith Hill, who performed 'America the Beautiful' before Hudson's dramatic version of 'The Star Spangled Banner', lipsynched to pre-recorded tracks, NFL required submitted a week before the big game.

'That's the right way to do it. There's too many variables to go live. I would never recommend any artist go live, because the slightest glitch would devastate the performance,' Minor says.

While, many artists try to reach the standard set by Whitney Houston on the huge Super Bowl stage, Minor called Hudson 's soaring take, more personal than patriotic. 'She's from the church. So, we wanted to give it a gospel feel, use a little organ, rhythm and really give it a feel that matched Jennifer. We wanted her to emote the lyrics and connect with the song,' according to Minor.

Talking to Associated Press after the performance, Minor says Hudson anxiously asked how she had done. 'I told her, 'Touchdown!'', as her two cell phones lit up 'like slot machines', including a text from Jamie Foxx, her 'Dreamgirls' co-star that said: 'Amazing! It brought tears to my eyes!'

What we don't know is whether Hudson sang along with the backing track, as her breathing patterns, including a couple of audible sighs, indicate she may have been singing along. But, it's tough to prove.