Aretha Franklin On Beyonce Lip-Synch Controversy: 'She Did A Beautiful Job With The Pre-Record'

Aretha Franklin Says Beyonce Did 'A Beautiful Job With The Pre-Record'
LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 25: Singer Aretha Franklin performs at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on July 25, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 25: Singer Aretha Franklin performs at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on July 25, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Aretha Franklin got a good laugh from Beyonce's inauguration performance controversy, saying that she thought the singer did a "beautiful job with the pre-record."

Beyonce took to the stage at President Barack Obama's second inauguration ceremony to sing the National Anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner." Quickly after she finished, the Beyhive buzzed with rumors that Queen Bey lip-synched her performance. Although some fans may have dismissed the gossip, Franklin affirmed it.

"When I heard the news this evening that she was pre-recorded I really laughed," Franklin told ABC News. "I thought it was funny because the weather down there was about 46 or 44 degrees and for most singers that is just not good singing weather. When I heard that I just really cracked up. I thought it was really funny, but she did a beautiful job with the pre-record ... next time I'll probably do the same."

Franklin, who had a tiff with Beyonce back in 2008, performed at Obama's first inauguration in 2009, singing "My Country 'Tis of Thee."

"In 2009, I wanted everything to be live and on the real side for the moment as it actually happened," the soul singer told ABC News. "Those were my feelings for my performance, but having come face to face with 28, 22 degrees I am not surprised she pre-recorded. She wanted her performance to be what she wanted to be and she realized it wasn't going to be the way she wanted it to be or she was going to be running a risk. That's probably why she pre-recorded exactly how she wanted it to be heard."

The United States Marine Band also confirmed Beyonce lip-synched. A representative for the band told the New York Post's Page Six that all inauguration music is pre-recorded because of "eventualities and conditions" and, at the last minute, the band was reportedly told Beyonce chose to use the pre-recorded vocal track.

One possible reason the "Love On Top" singer did not perform live was that she didn't have enough time to rehearse with the Marine Band because she has been busy prepping for the Super Bowl, according to BuzzFeed.

By late afternoon on Tuesday, however, the Marine Band backed off its Beyonce claims. "Regarding Ms. Knowles-Carter's vocal performance," Marine Corps spokesman Capt. Gregory Wolf told the Associate Press, "no one in the Marine Band is in a position to assess whether it was live or pre-recorded."

The 31-year-old singer seemed satisfied with her performance. She posted photos and a YouTube video from the ceremony to her Tumblr page.

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