Beyoncé Lip-Synched The National Anthem

It has been confirmed that she used a pre-recorded track at the inauguration ceremony.

Image by Pool photo by Pat Benic/UPI/MCT

Beyoncé’s performance of “The Star Spangled Banner” at President Obama’s second inauguration was fabulous, but it was actually pre-fabricated. The New York Post has confirmed that she did, in fact, use a pre-recorded track at the ceremony.

“All music is pre-recorded for the ceremony because there are so many eventualities and conditions that day,” Kristin DuBois, a rep for [The United States Marine Band] tells Page Six. “We performed, live, the band. But we received last-minute word that Beyoncé was going to use the pre-recorded vocal track. Those were the instructions we were given. We don’t know what the reason why.”

Judging by a photo posted to the singer’s Instagram, she apparently recorded the track used at the inauguration with the Marine Band at a studio the night before the event.

Via: instagram.com

Colonel Michael J. Colburn, the band director, told BuzzFeed yesterday that Beyoncé did not rehearse with the band until the night before the ceremony. “We had Kelly [Clarkson] in over the weekend to rehearse and record,” he said. “Beyoncé, she’s getting ready for the Super Bowl, so we didn’t have a chance to do anything with her until last night so it’s a very, very tight window of opportunity.”

It is actually common for musicians to pre-record their performance as a precaution before inaugural events, and it’s more to do with making sure that things go off without a hitch than for covering up someone’s flaws as a performer. In 2009, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and violinist Itzhak Perlman had to use a pre-recorded track due to bitter cold weather and strong winds.

It is unclear why Beyoncé used a recording while Kelly Clarkson and James Taylor, who also sang at the inauguration, did not.