There's no question Beyoncé's rendition（译文，演奏） of the national anthem⁴ was a roaring success. The mystery: Was it live or lip-synced?

 

On Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Marine Band told news outlets that Beyoncé had lip-synced at President Barack Obama's inauguration. Master Sgt. Kristin duBois said the band was notified at the last minute that Beyoncé would use a prerecorded voice track.

 

But by late afternoon, the Marine Corps⁵ backed off that statement.

 

Marine Corps spokesman Capt. Gregory Wolf said that because there was no opportunity for Beyoncé to rehearse with the Marine Band, it was determined⁶ that a live performance by the band was ill-advised. Instead they used a prerecorded track for the band's portion of the song.

 

"Regarding Ms. Knowles-Carter's vocal⁷ performance," Wolf's statement continued, "no one in the Marine Band is in a position to assess whether it was live or pre-recorded."

 

A representative for Beyoncé did not respond to requests for comment.

 

DuBois declined to answer further questions. Earlier in the day, she told The New York Times that the rest of the inaugural⁸ performance was live and they did not know why a recorded track was used for the national anthem.

 

"It's not because Beyoncé can't sing. We all know Beyoncé can sing. We all know the Marine Band can play," she said.

 

Kelly Clarkson's representative said she sang live to perform "My Country, 'Tis of Thee."

 

All inaugural music is prerecorded in case weather conditions or other circumstances interrupt the program.

 

The use of a recording⁹ is typical in big events. In 2009, cellist¹⁰ Yo-Yo Ma was questioned about "hand-syncing" for Obama's first inauguration. Ma said instruments weren't functioning properly in 19-degree weather.

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