January 24, 2013 12:28

Mime-gate latest: Beyoncé's backing band don't know if she lip synched or not

Marine Band say singer was too busy to rehearse before Inauguration Day ceremony

Photo Gallery: Beyonce
Photo: Pa Photos

In the latest development in Beyoncé mime-gate, the Marine Corps Band which accompanied the singer at her performance at President Obama's inauguration ceremony on Monday (January 21) have now issued a statement saying they simply don't know if she was miming or not.

A spokeswoman for the Marine Corps Band, which accompanied the singer as she sang the US national anthem on the steps of the Capitol building before the Obamas and an estimated 800,000 people, previously told The Times that Beyoncé decided shortly before her performance to use a pre-recorded track, rather than risk singing live.

However, according to Entertainment Weekly, a new statement from the Marine Corps Band now says that while the band did not perform live, they can't say whether Beyonce was singing live or not.

"The Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) requested that the Marine Band accompany Beyoncé Knowles-Carter in the performance of the Star-Spangled Banner at the 2013 Inaugural Ceremony. However, there was no opportunity for Ms. Knowles-Carter to rehearse with the Marine Band before the Inauguration so it was determined that a live performance by the band was ill-advised for such a high-profile event," the statement reads.

It continues: "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. Regarding Ms. Knowles-Carter’s vocal performance, no one in the Marine Band is in a position to assess whether it was live or pre-recorded."

Yesterday, a leading sound production website claimed that Beyonce did sing live. In a detailed blog post, ProductionAdvice.co.uk stated that she is clearly singing live at the inauguration, even if a backing track is also audible. The sound experts on the site state that there are three signs Beyoncé is singing live, including that "when she starts singing, her voice is hard to hear – the microphone gain is too low. The sound-man quickly corrects this – but if we were listening to a recording this wouldn’t happen".

So What If Beyonce Lip-Synched The National Anthem?

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