Beyonce Lip-Synced the National Anthem at Obama's Inauguration

The Grammy-winning singer stayed silent amid a media storm over whether she lip-synched her flawless version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" to hundreds of thousands of people in Washington and millions watching on television.

A spokeswoman for the US Marine band first told news outlets on Tuesday that Beyonce "decided to go with the pre-recorded music at the last minute" and that, to the spokeswoman's knowledge, she was not actually singing the anthem.

They also said the band and Beyonce had no chance to rehearse together before Monday's inauguration "so it was determined that a live performance by the band was ill-advised for such a high-profile event.

"Each piece of music scheduled for performance in the Inauguration is pre-recorded for use in case of freezing temperatures, equipment failure, or extenuating circumstances," the Marine Band added.

Her representatives did not return calls for comment yesterday. Kelly Clarkson and James Taylor, who also performed at the inauguration ceremony, both sang live, their publicists said.

Beyonce singing If I Were a Boy on Today Show