Photograph by John Moore/Getty Images. 
 
 Update: Earlier today, a spokesperson for the Marine Corps Band that played backup for Beyoncé during yesterday's inauguration confirmed widespread speculation that the pop singer had relied on a prerecorded version of the national anthem. By late this afternoon, however, a different band spokesperson had weighed in, offering a different version of the official story. The Associated Press explains: 
 
 
 
 Josh Voorhees Josh Voorhees is a Slate senior writer. He lives in Iowa City. 
 
 Master Sgt. Kristin duBois said the band was notified at the last minute that Beyonce would use a pre-recorded voice track. But by late afternoon, the Marine Corps backed off that statement. 
 
 Marine Corps spokesman Capt. Gregory Wolf said that because there was no opportunity for Beyonce to rehearse with the Marine Band, it was determined that a live performance by the band was ill advised. Instead they used a pre-recorded track for the band's portion of the song. "Regarding Ms. Knowles-Carter's vocal performance," Wolf's statement continued, "no one in the Marine Band is in a position to assess whether it was live or pre-recorded." 
 
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 To be clear, Wolf's statement doesn't specifically refute duBois'; he's not saying that Beyoncé did or did not lip-sync, only that it's not the band's place to comment on the matter. The most likely scenario still appears to be that Beyoncé did indeed rely on a recording (as plenty of other musicians have in similar situations) and 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. Beyoncé and her people have so far remained mum on the topic. Our long national nightmare continues ... 
 
 
 
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 Original story (published at 12:04 p.m.): Confirmed by the Times of London: Beyoncé's rendition of the the national anthem at yesterday's inauguration ceremony was indeed lip-synced: 
 
 A spokeswoman for the Marine Corp Band said it was standard procedure to record a backing track and Beyoncé decided shortly before her performance to rely on the studio version rather than risk singing it live on the Capitol. 
 
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 The Washingtonian was among those asking the question earlier today: 
 
 [T]o close observers, it seems evident that the performer was not singing live. 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. ... 
 
 A hint as to the actual origins of the version Beyoncé sang came from her own hand: On January 20, 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. 
 
 The pop singer isn't the first performing artist to rely on a recording during winter weather. At Obama's first inauguration, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and violinist Itzhak Perlman also played along to a previously recorded version of their work, no doubt because of the frigid temperatures. Still, the news that Beyoncé's performance wasn't the real deal is still a little bit of a letdown given the rave reviews that quickly poured in online and elsewhere after the performance. (In the measured words of TMZ: "IT WAS F**KING AWESOME.") Watch for yourself: ||||| For “The Ridiculist” segment of his show tonight, Anderson Cooper turned to the post-inauguration scandal that rocked the country today. Beyoncé lip-synched the national anthem! 
 
 “I respond with a big star-spangled so what?” Cooper said. “As far as I’m concerned, it is Beyoncé’s world and we are just living in it.” 
 
 Clarifying that it was her pre-recorded voice, she just wasn’t actually singing live, Cooper continued, “I’m releasing a statement right now saying I just don’t care. We got to look at Beyoncé’s beautiful face and hear Beyoncé’s beautiful voice singing the national anthem. There is only one thing we should say today and that is thank you, Beyoncé. Francis Scott Key himself would send her a fruit basket.” 
 
 After playing clips of some of the more infamous lip-synching scandals in music history from Milli Vanilli and Ashlee Simpson, Cooper had one final message for anyone questioning Beyoncé’s decision. “Talk to me after you’ve gotten on the stage in front of the president of the United States and hundreds of thousands to sing the national anthem in 40-degree weather.” 
 
 Watch video below, via CNN: 
 
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– Amid the "did she or didn't she" debate surrounding Beyonce's alleged lip-syncing of the national anthem on Inauguration Day, Anderson Cooper has weighed in on the side of "so what," reports Mediaite. "I’m releasing a statement right now saying I just don’t care," the CNN host said on the "Ridiculist" portion of his show. "We got to look at Beyonce's beautiful face and hear Beyonce's beautiful voice singing the national anthem." "There is only one thing we should say today and that is thank you, Beyonce," Cooper added. "Francis Scott Key himself would send her a fruit basket." Another defender was Piers Morgan, who tweeted that Beyonce "still sang the American national anthem better than anyone I've ever heard," E! Online reports. "Beyonce still SANG it, everyone. It was HER voice," he told critics. A spokesman for the US Marine Corps Band, which first raised the issue, now says that while the band's performance was pre-recorded, he's not sure about Beyonce's.