Did Beyonce sing live during Obama's inauguration ceremony?

The United States Marine Band has retracted an earlier statement that claimed that Beyonce Knowles "did not actually sing" the U.S. national anthem during President Barack Obama's second inauguration ceremony on Monday.

Immediately following Beyonce's performance, her rendition of "Star Spangled Banner" was widely praised and acclaimed by the media and viewers, who applauded Beyonce's R&B riffs and vocal performance on the song. However on Tuesday, Kristin DuBois, the Master Sgt. of the Marine Band told several American news outlets, including CNN and the New York Times that the 31-year-old former Destiny's Child member requested to use a pre-recorded track at the last minute before her performance.

DuBois told media outlets that she didn't know why the decision to use the pre-recorded track was made, saying that "it's not because Beyonce can't sing. We all know Beyonce can sing".

However today, Capt. Gregory Wolf said in a statement to the Associated Press that "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". Wolf and DuBois both stated that the Marine Band did in fact perform live during Knowles' performance.

The statements from DuBois and Wolf have added more confusion into the rapidly moving controversy over whether Beyonce did in fact perform live or if the rendition was pre-recorded. Following the performance, a media backlash occurred, with critics and viewers claiming that Beyonce used a large microphone during her performance in order to hide her mouth, so that it couldn't be seen that she was lip-syncing. Despite these "large microphone" claims, Kelly Clarkson was seen performing using the same microphone, however a representative for the Marine Band told reporters that Clarkson definitely performed live.

Public animosity on Twitter towards Knowles' supposed fake performance was unleashed, with the general public criticizing Beyonce for faking such a momentous performance. The Marine Band has stated that all performances are always pre-recorded "just in case" of weather or technical difficulties, however that the pre-recorded tracks are normally not used.

Beyonce released a photograph of her in a recording studio-like environment with the Marine Band on Instagram on Sunday, which fueled more speculation that the performance was false. However, many have stated that the performance couldn't have been faked due to the echos and technical flares in Beyonce's performance, along with Beyonce having to remove her earpiece half-way through the song, while singing "The bombs bursting in air" after Beyonce experienced apparent audio issues while singing. During her performance, Beyonce did not give any obvious indication that she was lip-syncing.

Beyonce, who will be the half-time show during the Superbowl on February 3, was spotted looking "unhappy" on Tuesday after flying to New Orleans with her husband of nearly five years, Jay-Z to rehearse for the performance.

A representative for Beyonce did not comment. Beyonce is currently preparing to release Lovesongs, a compilation album by Destiny's Child that will be their first release since their 2005 breakup. Lovesongs will feature love-themed songs from the trio's former albums along with the newly recorded single "Nuclear". Beyonce is also preparing to release her fifth solo album, which is due out in April. Her fifth album will be a follow-up to the somewhat lackluster sales of her 2011 effort 4.

Kim Kardashian is pregnant

Twitter is currently exploding, with Kanye West announcing just moments ago that Kim Kardashian is pregnant with his child.

West, 35 stopped partway through a concert at the Revel entertainment resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey to address the audience, saying "Stop the music and make noise for my baby mama", pointing to Kardashian, 32 who had been sitting in one of the sold out seats during the performance.

West and Kardashian have been in a relationship since April and have previously denied pregnancy rumors. In October 2010, Kardashian began dating NBA player Kris Humphries, 27, to whom she became engaged to in May 2011 and married on August 20, 2011. The marriage lasted just 72 days, when Kardashian filed for divorce from Humphries on Halloween 2011. The horribly short marriage was highly criticized by several media outlets, who called the marriage a publicity stunt in order to generate attention to the Kardashian family's brand and ventures. Kardashian's former publicist stated that the wedding was indeed staged and an attempt to generate money. Kardashian filed a lawsuit against the publicist, calling his claims "untrue". It is expected that the divorce will be finalized by May, with Kardashian and Humphries expected to meet in a court to continue divorce proceedings in February.

Kanye West ended his on-and-off 6-year relationship with designer Alexis Phifer in 2008. The relationship had begun in 2002, with West eventually proposing in August 2006. The proposal was called off in 2008, with West reportedly focusing and dedicating all his time to his concert tour which caused the couple's relationship to become strained and eventually collapse. Phifer told People that she remains friends with West. West was in a high-profile on-and-off relationship with model, recording artist, and actress Amber Rose from 2008 to Summer of 2010. Rose became engaged to Wiz Khalifa in March 2012 and is expecting her first child with him in January.

Tonight, #kimye (Kardashian and West's couple name), Khloe, Kanye, Kris Humphries, Ray J (Kardashian's ex-boyfriend), and Blue Ivy (Beyonce and Jay-Z's child) are trending worldwide on Twitter.

12/31/12 1:19 pm Update: The pregnancy has been confirmed. Kim Kardashian released a statement on her official website saying "It's true!! Kanye and I are expecting a baby. We feel so blessed and lucky and wish in addition to both of our families, his mom and my dad could be here to celebrate this special time with us. Looking forwards to great new beginnings in 2013 and to starting a family. Happy New Year!!! Xo". Accompanied with the statement is a black and white image of Kardashian and West embracing in what appears to be a dressing room. Sources confirm that Kim is 12 weeks pregnant, and apparently several members of the Kardashian clan have been sitting on the secret. The kid was reportedly conceived while the couple was vacationing in Vatican City in October when they were celebrating West's birthday. The child is due in June.