Beyonce Backlash over Lip Synching claims ?

 Aretha Franklin r-e-s-p-e-c-t's Beyoncé's decision to use a "beautiful" pre-recorded rendition of the national anthem during President Barack Obama's inaugural ceremony on Monday.

When the showdown between Beyonce and American Idol Kelly Clarkson went down at the inauguration, viewers were wondering what was going on with Beyonce when she pulled her earpiece out.  When rumors surfaced that Beyonce pre-recorded the track, many fans were miffed.  If Kelly Clarkson could sing it live, why couldn’t Beyonce?  Well Aretha Franklin thinks it’s really no big deal.

"I thought it was funny because the weather down there was about 46 or 44 degrees and for most singers that is just not good singing weather," she said. "I thought it was really funny, but she did a beautiful job with the pre-record … next time I'll probably do the same."

Franklin, 70, added that she personally chose to sing her rendition of "My Country 'Tis of Thee" live in 2009 because she "wanted to give people the real thing and pre-recording never crossed my mind."

"I think it's optional really, it's up to the artist," the legendary singer pointed out. "In 2009, I wanted everything to be live and on the real side for the moment as it actually happened. Those were my feelings for my performance, but having come face to face with 28, 22 degrees I am not surprised she pre-recorded."

On Tuesday, Jan. 22, a rep for the U.S. Marine Corp Band told several media outlets that Beyonce, 31, had chosen to lip-sync over a pre-recorded track at the last minute.

"We received last-minute word that Beyonce was going to use the pre-recorded vocal track,"  "Those were the instructions we were given. We don't know what the reason why."

Shortly afterward, however, a rep for the organization came forward to shoot down DuBois' claims, asserting that "no one in the Marine Band is in a position to assess whether it was live or pre-recorded."

And, according to Franklin, the singer's decision ultimately came down to an issue of control, not incompetence.

"She wanted her performance to be what she wanted to be and she realized it wasn't going to be the way she wanted it to be or she was going to be running a risk," she told ABC News. "That's probably why she pre-recorded exactly how she wanted it to be heard."

LeAnn Rimes was also asked about the alleged lip sync on "Jimmy Kimmel Live."

"There are times when people will ask you to do it and they will not let you do it unless you do it because they want control of what happens," the country singer told Jimmy.

Lopez's former American Idol co-star Steven Tyler weighed in too, telling TMZ that while he had never mimed, 'Beyonce's so hot she can do anything, let's get real'.

Alicia Keys, who performed during the Presidential Inauguration Ball, also took to Beyonce's defense when she sat down for an interview with Capital FM on Wednesday.

Speaking about the events, she said: 'What I do know is that Beyonce is a great performer and she's an incredible artist. Really really powerful voice and the one thing you can not doubt is she can sing, you know what I mean?  

The 31-year-old continued: 'And she absolutely can sing so all the rest of the wires and whatever, we know that she can deliver and she did deliver that song and she did deliver that song really beautifully.'