Beyonce to sing national anthem at Obama's second inauguration ceremony

Beyoncé sings 'At Last', the Etta James song, for President Barack Obama and Michelle at their first dance during the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball (REUTERS)

Beyonce will sing the national anthem at President Barack Obama's inauguration ceremony.

The committee planning the Jan. 21 event also announced Wednesday that Kelly Clarkson will perform "My Country 'Tis of Thee" and James Taylor will sing "America the Beautiful" at the swearing-in ceremony in Washington.

Richard Blanco, the son of Cuban exiles, is the 2013 inaugural poet, joining the ranks of Maya Angelou and Robert Frost who have done the same.

Blanco's works explore his family's exile from their native country and "the intersection of his cultural identities as a Cuban-American gay man," the inaugural planners said.

AP