Say it ain't so, Beyonce.
While hardly a scandal on the level of, say, Lance Armstrong, reports are now surfacing that Beyonce's flawless performance of "The Star Spangled Banner" at President Obama's inauguration was perhaps a bit too flawless.
Though she even took out her earpiece as she catapulted toward the national anthem's bombastic climax, various outlets are saying that she used a backing track. Even US Today is asking: "Did she lip-sync the national anthem?" The Washingtonian, meanwhile, emblazoned its headline with "Confirmed: Beyoncé Lip-Synced “The Star-Spangled Banner."
Their latest update quotes a spokesperson for the Marine Corps Band: "'We don't know why Beyoncé decided to use prerecorded music. All music [for inaugural ceremonies] is prerecorded as a matter of course, and that's something we've done for years and years. The Marine Band did perform live throughout the ceremony but we received last-minute word that Beyoncé wanted to use the recording.' The spokesperson also added that everyone knows Beyoncé is a gifted singer, and her decision has no bearing on her musical ability."
Now this wouldn't be the first time a singer has faked it at a major event, or even the first time for Beyonce. MTV reported rumours that she was miming her vocals at the 2009 Oscars. Academy Awards organizers refused to deny that had occurred, instead telling MTV New: "As is the case with any live event of this scale and scope, there are always elements of the show that are pre-recorded. But I will not go into detail about which elements were on this show."
It's a legitimate issue considering Beyonce is set to helm the upcoming Super Bowl halftime show with an assist from her Destiny's Child compatriots, but this is hardly a Milli Vanilli moment, or even an Ashley Simpson embarrassment.
We all know that B can really sing. It just would have been nice for such a historic moment if we could have seen her do it for real, too.
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