Surprisingly, the biggest controversy stemming from PRESIDENT OBAMA'S inauguration Monday has nothing to do with his birth certificate.  It's whether or not BEYONCÉ lip-synced the national anthem.

--Beyoncé's performance was pretty stellar, and got rave reviews on the World Wide Web of Uninformed Opinions.  But is that because she didn't actually sing it?

--It's standard procedure with a performance like this for musicians to record a BACKING TRACK that they can sing and play along to.

--And yesterday, a spokeswoman for the Marine Corps Band . . . which backed up the performance . . . said that Beyoncé made the decision to rely ENTIRELY on that track.

--She said, quote, "We all know Beyoncé can sing.  We all know the Marine Corps Band can play.  We do not know why she decided to go with the pre-recorded music at the last minute."

--She added that the band played live for the other performers, like KELLY CLARKSON, but was specifically told to FAKE IT for Beyoncé.

--However . . . a Marine Corps spokesman later watered down that claim.  But he didn't specifically deny it.  He admitted that the band used a prerecorded track, because there wasn't time to properly rehearse.

--But he added, quote, "Regarding Ms. Knowles-Carter's vocal performance, no one in the Marine Band is in a position to assess whether it was live or pre-recorded."

--In other words, he's not saying Beyoncé DIDN'T fake it . . . he's saying he DOESN'T KNOW . . . and neither does the woman who made the initial claim.

--People are also trying to make hay out of the fact that Beyoncé posted a picture of herself on Instagram, in which she's in a recording studio, holding sheet music for the national anthem.

--But that proves NOTHING, since we already know that she did record a backing track.  (--Here's the photo anyway.)  (Instagram)

(--In case you haven't seen it 5,000 times by now, here's video of Beyonce's "Star Spangled Banner".)

(--Meanwhile . . . here's a list of other ladies who've lip-synced high-profile gigs.  Beyoncé's on this one, too.)

(--One last note on the inauguration:  Barack and Michelle Obama threw a huge, star-studded party at the White House Monday night.  You can read more about it here.)

(--Beyoncé and Jay-Z were NOT there.  They flew to New Orleans after the inauguration . . . presumably so Beyoncé can start rehearsing for the Super Bowl halftime show.)