Marine Band Backpedals on Beyonce Lip-Sync Statement

It looks like Beyonce herself is going to have to weigh in on this one. A representative for the US Marine Band set off a tizzy earlier today by telling news outlets that Beyonce lip-synced the national anthem at the inauguration. And now, a different band spokesperson is on the backpedal:

• "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," Capt. Gregory Wolf tells AP.

Wolf said the band itself used a pre-recorded track of music because it had no chance to rehearse with Beyonce. But whether the singer did the same isn't for the band to say, he added. So what gives? "The most likely scenario still appears to be that Beyonce did indeed rely on a recording," but that the band "is trying to offer a fellow (and very high-profile) musician some cover as a professional courtesy or for some other reason," writes Josh Voorhees at Slate. (More Beyonce stories.)