There’s no question Beyoncé’s rendition of the national anthem was a roaring success. The mystery: Was it live or lip-synched? On Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the US Marine Band told news outlets that Beyoncé had lip-synched at President Barack Obama’s inauguration. Master Sergeant Kristin duBois said the band was notified at the last minute that Beyoncé would use a pre-recorded voice track. But by late afternoon, the Marine Corps backed off that statement.

Marine Corps spokesman Captain Gregory Wolf said that because there was no opportunity for Beyoncé 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.