Beyonce Lip-Synced At Obama's Inauguration

Beyonce's widely praised rendition of the national anthem at President Barack Obama's inauguration has turned out to be a convincing lip-syncing performance.

The pop star wowed hundreds of thousands of spectators in Washington as well as the millions more who tuned in around the globe.

But she opted to use a pre-recorded version of The Star-Spangled Banner, the US Marine Corps Band told Sky News.

All music for the ceremony is pre-recorded ahead of time as a fallback, said Kristen Dubois, a spokeswoman for the band, which traditionally performs at presidential inaugurations.

She said they received word at the last minute that Beyonce wanted to use the pre-recorded version.

Ms Dubois added she was not sure why the singer made the decision.

She said it is believed to be the first time the national anthem has not been sung live at an inauguration, although the rest of the ceremony was live.

Ms Dubois pointed out that Yo-Yo Ma had also used the pre-recorded fallback in 2009, but that was because it was too cold for a cello to work.

Kelly Clarkson and James Taylor also performed at Monday's ceremony.