Beyoncé Lip-Sync Controversy: Singer Posts Photos of Rehearsal Session for National Anthem Performance

Grammy winner shows off pics of her in a studio as she preps for her performance, which was reportedly prerecorded

By Alexis L. Loinaz Jan 23, 2013 12:57 PMTags
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President Barack Obama's historic inauguration drummed up its fair share of controversy after it was revealed that Beyoncé lip-synced her celebrated performance of the national anthem.

Although the Grammy winner has yet to publicly comment on the brouhaha, she's certainly not shying away from making a statement about it—at least visually: Bey has now posted photos of what appears to be the recording session for her performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner."

The black-and-white pics, with the singer added to her Tumblr page, show the songbird hard at work rehearsing the track.

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We see the 31-year-old studying the music sheet and then belting out the tune with her headphones on.

At one point, she even grabs a saxophone and appears to be jamming with the band. Later, she sits at a console to listen to a playback of the track.

On Tuesday, the director of the U.S. Marine Corps Band, Col. Michael J. Colburn, confirmed that the singer used a prerecorded rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner," but justified it by explaining that all music is prerecorded in the event of bad weather.

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He also added that because Beyoncé was busy gearing up for her Super Bowl halftime performance, she didn't have ample time to rehearse with the band, and so organizers opted to play the prerecorded track while the band "created a visual simulation of playing."

Event honchos, however, now appear to be backtracking on that: Shortly after the revelation, a media rep for the Marine Corps Band clarified that the band itself didn't play live, but he couldn't say the same for Beyoncé.

"Regarding Ms. Knowles-Carter's vocal performance, no one in the Marine Band is in a position to assess whether it was live or prerecorded."

Intrigue and speculation? Sounds a lot like politics, indeed!