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, who wowed hundreds of thousands of spectators in Washington and millions more tuned in around the globe, opted to use a pre-recorded version of The Star-Spangled Banner, the US Marine Corps Band confirmed to Sky News.

All music for the ceremony is pre-recorded ahead of time as a fallback, according to 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.

It is believed to be the first time the national anthem has not been sung live at an inauguration, she said adding that 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.