NEW YORK – Never mind President Barack Obama's inauguration address or what Michelle Obama was wearing at the ball. Was Beyonce lip-synching the US national anthem on Monday, or wasn't she? The Grammy-winning singer remained silent on Tuesday amid a media storm over whether she was lip-synching, singing over her own pre-recorded track, or performing live when she delivered a flawless version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” to hundreds of thousands of people in Washington and millions watching on television. A spokeswoman for the US Marine band first told US news outlets on Tuesday that the “Single Ladies” star “decided to go with the pre-recorded music at the last minute” and that, to the spokeswoman's knowledge, she was not actually singing the anthem. But the US Marine band later backtracked, saying in a statement: “Regarding Ms. Knowles-Carter's vocal performance, no one in the Marine Band is in a position to assess whether it was live or pre-recorded.” The statement said the band and Beyonce, whose surname is Knowles-Carter, had no chance to rehearse together before Monday's inauguration “so it was determined that a live performance by the band was ill-advised for such a high-profile event. “Each piece of music scheduled for performance in the Inauguration is pre-recorded for use in case of freezing temperatures, equipment failure, or extenuating circumstances,” the Marine Band added. – Reuters
