Five Moments in Lip-Sync History

Beyonce inauguration brouhaha brings to mind these more awkward moments when performance and lyrics didn't match up.

The controvery over whether Beyonce lip-synced "The Star-Spangled Banner" at President Barack Obama's second inauguration Monday was hardly of Milli Vanilli-proportions.

But it did bring the practice back into the spotlight.

Beyonce's much-lauded performance fell more into the did-she-or-didn't-she category. Marine Corps Band Director Col. Colburn told NBC News that the band "created a visual simulation of playing" along with Beyoncé. He said that the Grammy-winning singer had been getting ready for her Super Bowl performance and had no time to practice with the band. But whether or not she lip-synced, he couldn't say. Beyoncé has yet to comment on the reports.

Here though, are five other famous moments in lip-sync history that left little doubt as to whether or not the singer was belting out live or getting a little help from their pre-recorded selves.

Milli Vanilli

Singers Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus hold the distinction of being the most notorious lip-syncers in modern musical history. They even won a Grammy. The cat was let out of the bag during a performance of their hit "Girl You Know It's True" on MTV in 1989. Think it's annoying when your CD or MP3 recording skips? Guaranteed it's nothing compared to this massive technical fail:

Ashlee Simpson

When Jessica's little sister was booked to perform on "Saturday Night Live" in 2004, fans hoped it would be a moment when the singer could step away from her sibling's shadow and show how talented she really was. Sadly for Simpson, as she attempted to perform her second song of the night the music (including her prerecorded vocals) of her first song "Pieces of Me" was piped in instead. After attempting a few awkward dance steps, Simpson simply walked offstage as the music was cut and NBC went to a commercial break.

Mariah Carey

In 2008 Mariah Carey appeared on "Good Morning America" to a crowd of screaming fans in New York and a television audience across the nation. At the start of her "Touch My Body" performance, a second track is played over the first resulting in two versions of Mariah singing the same song.

50 Cent

While performing his hit "Amusement Park" at the 2007 BET Awards, the rapper (real name Curtis Jackson) attempted to sing the chorus only to be left wanting when the instrumental version of the song was played instead. After wandering through the audience 50 Cent cut the performance short - even after the record was eventually re-cued.

Scotty McCreary

The reigning "American Idol" missed his cue during a 2011 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade performance of his song "The Trouble WIth Girls." As his voice boomed out over the crowd, the singer's microphone was nowhere near his lips.

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