Turns out, Jennifer Hudson lip-synched the national anthem before Sunday night’s Super Bowl.

The reason?

“This was such an important performance, because it’s the first time everyone has seen Jennifer,” the show’s producer, Ricky Minor, said of Hudson, who marked her first public performance on Sunday since her mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew were fatally shot in October. “But she’s in such a great place, with such great spirits, and time can heal her wounds. She’s on fire right now and totally grounded.”

Before her performance, Minor insisted that Hudson sing to the prerecorded track.

“That’s the right way to do it,” said Minor, who also produced Whitney Houston’s powerful 1991 rendition of the anthem. “There’s too many variables to go live. I would never recommend any artist go live, because the slightest glitch would devastate the performance.”

After the performance, Minor said Hudson asked him, “How did I do?”

“I told her, ‘Touchdown!’” he said.

He said her two cell phones also lit up “like slot machines” after her performance. She even got a text message from her Dreamgirls costar Jamie Foxx.

“His text said ‘Amazing. It brought tears to my eyes,’” Minor said. “She’s just getting so much love.”

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Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes and their 2-year-old daughter Suri enjoyed a relaxing family beach vacation over the weekend in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

After spotting the three on the beach (located in a military base), a small small crowd gathered around them.

Cruise was in a festive mood, taking photos with several locals. Holmes, in a one-piece swimsuit, also appeared more laid back, ditching high heels for flip flops once she stepped onto the sand.

Suri was also spotted collecting sea shells buried in the sand with some local children.

The family fun continued Sunday when the three took a helicopter ride in Rio de Janeiro.

The Cruise clan — who arrived at the Copacabana Palace Hotel in Rio de Janeiro — are in South America to promote the actor’s new film Valkyrie, which premieres in Brazil on Tuesday.

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This is one birthday Justin Timberlake won’t soon forget.

Jessica Biel, 26, threw her singer beau a Super Bowl-themed surprise birthday party in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel’s ultra-exclusive penthouse on Sunday afternoon, PEOPLE has learned.

“Justin was totally blown away when he walked in. He had no idea,” says a source.

On hand were close to 100 friends and family of the couple, including both of their parents, Biel’s brothers, Timberlake’s cousins and his best friend Trace Ayala, who joined the happy pair to toast Timberlake turning 28.

The penthouse was transformed with flat-screen televisions brought in especially for the festivities, and the party feasted on gourmet buffalo wings, pizza, mini sliders and red velvet cupcakes.

Biel planned the party down to every last detail, and visited the hotel to make sure everything would be just perfect, says the source.

And she was the perfect hostess. Wearing a little black cotton dress and flats, Biel worked the room while taking breaks to sit with Timberlake.

“They held hands and relaxed,” says a guest. “They seemed very happy together.”

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*Sorry for the delay in posting this morning.  I woke up to a broken router…so frustrating!  I’m now sitting at a coffee shop in Beaverton, trying to post.  Posts will be coming now!

Michael Phelps has apologized for photos that surfaced in Britain’s News of the World Sunday that show him apparently smoking a marijuana pipe.

“I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment,” Phelps said in a statement released to the Associated Press, and posted on his Facebook page, Sunday. “I’m 23 years old and despite the successes I’ve had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again.”

The photos were snapped in November — three months after he set records by winning eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics — at a University of South Carolina house party.

Marijuana is banned under World Anti-Doping Agency rules. Athletes caught using drugs could face a two-year ban from the Olympics. Also at stake: his endorsement deals, which ABC estimated could be worth $100 million over the course of his lifetime.

The U.S. Olympic Committee released a statement saying it was “disappointed in the behavior recently exhibited by Michael Phelps.”

“Michael has acknowledged that he made a mistake and apologized for his actions,” the statement continued. “We are confident that, going forward, Michael will consistently set the type of example we all expect from a great Olympic champion.”

This isn’t the first time Phelps has faced controversy. In 2004 — the same year he won six gold and two bronze medals in Athens — he was sentenced to 18 months probation for drunk driving.

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