Halfway through her rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" at President Barack Obama's inauguration on Monday, Beyonce dramatically did away with the earpiece that singers use to hear themselves and their bands in a live setting.
One viewer likened it to the gutsy move Luke Skywalker made in the dramatic chase scene in the original "Star Wars," tweeting: "Taking out the earpiece is Luke turning off the targeting system in the Death Star trench."
But now a rep for the United States Marine Band has confirmed to The Post that Beyonce was not even singing the song live.
She was lip-syncing.
The rep said that the multi-platinum singer decided to perform to a pre-recorded track at the last minute.
“All music is pre-recorded for the ceremony because there are so many eventualities and conditions that day,” Kristin DuBois told the paper. “We performed, live, the band. But we received last-minute word that Beyonce was going to use the pre-recorded vocal track. Those were the instructions we were given. We don’t know what the reason why.”
Sources also tell Fox News that Beyonce was a no-show at the inauguration performance rehearsal on the Capitol steps.
And there's more.
A report in The Washingtonian questions the band's performance as well, citing eyewitnesses at the inauguration who said the band was not playing either. The report also shows an Instagram picture of Beyonce with members of the Marine Corps Band in a recording studio on Sunday.
If the lip-syncing allegations are true, would that make Beyonce's dramatic earpiece drop mere staging, akin to funk legend James Brown's move of dramatically throwing off his cape in his performances?
Calls to reps for Beyonce and the Marine Corps Band were not immediately returned.
FOX411 did a poll on Monday asking viewers if Beyonce or Kelly Clarkson gave the best vocal performance at the inauguration. Clarkson sang "America," and so far has not been accused of using a pre-recorded track.
Fans seemed to be split on whether or not they cared that Beyonce didn't perform live.
"Even if she did WHO CARES??!? You know she can sing it," one user posted on Facebook.
"What's with all the excuses nowadays? If you're such a renowned singer, then shouldn't you do what you supposedly do best and SING?" another disagreed.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2013/01/22/beyonce-lip-synched-star-spangled-banner-reports-say/#ixzz2IjV9Ri1R
