Did Beyonce Lip Sync 'The Star Spangled Banner?'

Did Beyonce lip sync her flawless performance of “The Star Spangled Banner” at Monday’s presidential inauguration?

It’s starting to seem that way… despite dramatically ripping out her earpiece halfway through the performance, a move which shocked and impressed.

It’s less impressive if the “Dreamgirls” singer didn’t even need the earpiece to hear herself because herself wasn’t singing.

Master Sgt. Kristin DuBois is the spokesperson for the President’s Own United States Marine Band, and she says the gesture was just an act.

DuBois says that having pre-recorded tracks is in no way unusual—“All music is pre-recorded for the ceremony because there are so many eventualities and conditions that day,” DuBois said—but her band was “surprised” to find out, last minute, that they would not be performing live and that they were told to pretend to play their instruments.

“We all know she has the pipes,” DuBois said. “It wasn’t because she can’t sing it or because the band can’t play it, because we can… we performed live, as we have for every inauguration since 1801.”

“We performed, live, the band. But we received last-minute word that Beyonce was going to use the pre-recorded vocal track," DuBois clarified. Those were the instructions we were given. We don’t know what the reason why."

Many onlookers are insisting that the band did not perform live either, however. Eyewitnesses close to the performance noted them miming their instruments while Beyonce was clearly not singing aloud.

Some are crying foul to these reports. A commenter for Jezebel pointed out a video of Beyonce where "The camera man was using his own mic, and he/she were so close that he could hear the mic feed over the speakers, AND Beyoncé's actual voice. That echo is the feedback, which is why she took her ear piece out. Yes there's a backup track, but she is singing full out. Don't believe the Beytheists."

Do you think Beyonce faked her performance? If she did—does it matter?