However, Whitney's publicist Regina Brown said: 'Our understanding is Whitney sang live into a live microphone.' See more: Whitney Houston and Stevie Wonder's duet of 'We Didn't Know' is mind-blowing They didn't want any feedback, they didn't want any technical difficulties. 'The reason it was pre-recorded was, that was a moment that no one wanted any mistakes. Producer Jimmy Jam told Associated Press in 2004: 'Whitney, when she did the national anthem, which was the greatest national anthem that we ever heard, what we heard over the air was pre-recorded.

See more: Remember when George Michael and Whitney Houston released a single together? There has also since been speculation over whether Whitney was singing live or reportedly lip-syncing to a pre-recorded song, that famous day in 1991. Whitney was belting out the powerful song to a nation on tenterhooks it was ten days after the start of the Persian Gulf War and millions of people watched as the patriotic performer sang the national anthem to a world holding its breath. The patriotic emotion of the song resonated deeply with the public, so much so that it was re-released as a single in the aftermath of Septemterrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre.

The version of the song was so popular - and now widely regarded as the best of all time - that the singer released it as a charity single to raise funds for soldiers and families of those fighting the 1991 war.

QUIZ: How well do you know Whitney Houston's song lyrics? Whitney was belting out the powerful song to a nation on tenterhooks it was ten days after the start of the Persian Gulf War and millions of people watched as the patriotic performer sang the national anthem to a world in conflict.

The star spangled banner song video