Beyonce buzz: Was she lip-syncing?

Beyoncé has been widely praised for her beautiful rendition of the national anthem at Monday's presidential inauguration.

But even after seeing her triumphantly pull her earpiece out as she belted out the words, buzz is now bubbling up that the superstar wasn't singing it live.

TheTimes of London is reporting that a spokeswoman for the Marine Corp Band says it is standard procedure to record a backing track and that Beyoncé decided soon before stepping to the microphone to use it.

Washingtonian.com is posing the question, too: "Did Beyoncé Lip-Sync the Star-Spangled Banner?"
Washingtonian's Sophie Gilbert writes, "To press seated just below the podium, in front of the 'President's Own' Marine Corps Band, it was evident that the band wasn't actually playing during the song — even though band director Colonel Michael J. Colburn was conducting energetically and the band members mimicked blowing into their instruments."

And offering more possible evidence, Gilbert notes that "the day before the ceremony, Beyoncé posted pictures to her Instagram account that appeared to show her in a recording studio. In one, she holds a copy of the sheet music to The Star Spangled Banner in front of a microphone attached to a recording device, and in another she sits in front of recording equipment while members of the Marine Corps Band stand clutching sheet music behind her."

Indeed, Beyoncé did share those photos on her website. She has not commented.
In 2009, Beyoncé took some heat for lip-syncing at the Oscars.