The New York Post confirms with an inside source, a rep from the United States Marine Band, that Beyonce's performance of "The Star Spangled Banner" at President Obama's inauguration yesterday was lip-synched. It was revealed that she decided to perform to a pre-recorded track at the last minute.
"All music is pre-recorded for the ceremony because there are so many eventualities and conditions that day," the rep for the band told Page Six. "We performed, live, the band. But we received last-minute word that Beyonce was going to use the pre-recorded vocal track. Those were the instructions we were given. We don't know what the reason why."
Perhaps Beyonce was worried there would be technical difficulties or she strained her voice from constant rehearsal for her upcoming Super Bowl Halftime Show, or maybe she did not want to accidentally mess up the lyrics as Christina Aguilera did in 2011.
Whatever the reason maybe, it has sparked debate around the web. TVLine has pointed out that it's not uncommon for singers to pre-record their vocals for live outdoor events.
The Washington Post asked its readers if they were surprised and even brought up Whitney Houston's 1991 rendition of the anthem, which was lip synched, and the fact that at President Obama's 2009 inauguration ceremony, frigid temperatures required violinist Yo-Yo Ma to "fake his performance, too." The Hollywood Reporter also mentioned Houston, and that in 2009, Jennifer Hudson lip synced the National Anthem at the Super Bowl, while Faith Hill faked singing a pre-recorded "America the Beautiful."
YouTube celebrity Tyler Oakley tweeted, "Beyonce allegedly lip-synced at the inauguration. I feel like this is my version of all that Lance Armstrong drama." Our feelings are the same Tyler, as we all standby waiting to hear from Beyonce herself.
