Beyoncé's Not Alone: 5 Biggest Lip-Syncing Scandals

Ashlee Simpson, Scotty McCreery, Jennifer Hudson and more stars got help from prerecorded tracks during "live" performances

By Rebecca Macatee Jan 23, 2013 6:15 PMTags
Jay-Z, Beyonce Win McNamee/Getty Images

We're still trying to come to terms with the fact that Beyoncé (might have) lip-synced the national anthem Monday at President Barack Obama's inauguration.  

But it comforts us to know that Bey isn't the first artist we love to fake it. Here are five more stars who had a little prerecorded performance help.

Milli Vanilli: Well, girl, you know it's true: Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus weren't the real deal. They were on top of the world—even winning a Grammy—but blew their cover in 1989 when their track skipped during a "live" performance on MTV in 1989. From there, skeptics homed in closer on the duo and exposed more nonlive performances, including one at the 1990 Grammys. Eventually, we discovered that (sadly) Fab and Rob were not the voices on the Milli Vanilli tracks we knew and loved.

Ashlee Simpson: It's been almost nine years since Jessica's kid sis was caught playing a prerecorded track on Saturday Night Live, but we certainly haven't forgotten. When Ashlee attempted to perform "Autobiography," the vocals for "Pieces of Me" (which she'd already performed) began to play. Unsure what to do, the Texas native did some kind of hoedown and bounced around awkwardly before walking offstage, when SNL mercifully cut to commercial. She later blamed her band and then acid reflux disease before finally owning up to her epic lip-sync blunder.

Scotty McCreery: It can be hard to, you know, remember when you're supposed to look like you're actually singing. At 2011's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the American Idol winner's voice was heard crooning about "the trouble with girls" before he actually put the mic anywhere near his mouth. AI runner-up Lauren Alaina must've gotten a laugh out of this one.

Jennifer Hudson: At the 2009 Super Bowl, another American Idol alum failed to perform live. Jennifer gave a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem, but it was pretty obvious (and later confirmed) to be prerecorded.

Britney Spears: To be fair, lip-syncing is nothing new for Miss Brit. But her "comeback" performance at the 2007 MTV VMAs was particularly lackluster. The pop star unenthusiastically mouthed along to "Gimme More," eliciting extreme criticism from her haters. As we all know now, she later got the last laugh with her Circus tour, X Factor gig and unbelievable body. She is, after all, Britney, bitch.