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"Michelle Williams has weighed in on allegations that her Destiny&amp;#039;s Child bandmate Beyonc\u00C3\u00A9 lip-synched &amp;#039;The Star-Spangled Banner&amp;#039; at US President Barack Obama&amp;#039;s inauguration. Beyonc\u00C3\u00A9 initially earned rave reviews for her performance at the Washington DC ceremony on Monday (January 21), but reaction soured amid allegations that her vocals were prerecorded.  The Marine Band later confirmed they did in fact play to a prerecorded track, although the group&amp;#039;s spokesperson could not confirm whether Beyonc\u00C3\u00A9 had done the same. Destiny&amp;#039;s Child star Williams came to Beyonc\u00C3\u00A9&amp;#039;s defence in an interview with ET Online, by comparing the inauguration performance to Whitney Houston&amp;#039;s 1991 version of &amp;#039;The Star-Spangled Banner&amp;#039; at Super Bowl XXV.  &amp;quot;I will say this, it&amp;#039;s not the first or the last time that someone has had to lip synch\u00E2\u20AC\u00A6 my greatest singer of all time, Whitney Houston, it came to light that her anthem was in fact lip-synched,&amp;quot; Williams said.  She added of lip synching: &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s their personal preference. With big crowds and echoes, you know when it&amp;#039;s a big historical moment, you don&amp;#039;t want any room for any mistakes so I can understand why it was done.&amp;quot; Beyonc\u00C3\u00A9 has also been defended by Alicia Keys, who insisted that the &amp;#039;Singles Ladies&amp;#039; star &amp;quot;absolutely can sing&amp;quot;. Watch Beyonc\u00C3\u00A9&amp;#039;s performance of &amp;#039;The Star-Spangled Banner&amp;#039; below:      "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/music/news/a453556/michelle-williams-on-beyonc-lip-synch-i-can-understand-it/>