Beyoncé causes lip-synching stir

Was Beyoncé lip-synching the US national anthem on Barack Obama’s inauguration on Monday?

The 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 performed to hundreds of thousands in Washington and millions watching on television.

A spokeswoman for the US Marine band told reporters on Tuesday that Beyoncé “decided to go with the pre-recorded music at the last minute” and that she was not actually singing the anthem.

But the US Marine band later backtracked, saying in a statement: “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 Beyoncé had no chance to rehearse together “so it was determined that a live performance by the band was ill-advised for such a high-profile event”. Beyoncé’s representatives did not return calls for comment. Kelly Clarkson and James Taylor, who also performed at the inauguration, both sang live, said their publicists.

Beyoncé is due to take the spotlight again next month – this time at the February 3 Super Bowl half-time show.