Yo-Yo Ma Nailed in Presidential Cover Up

The most famous classical musician on the planet pulled an Ashlee Simpson of sorts at Obama's inauguration -- as in, the music you heard was really a tape recording of his group that they had made two days before the ceremony!

Mr. Ma claims the deception was in the best interests of the country, because it was just too cold for his all-star string quartet's instruments to stay in tune.

Before you go comparing them to Milli V, however, let's be clear: Yo-Yo, Itzy, and the others actually played on that track -- and they also played live, exactly in sync.

And Mr. Ma gave us fair warning when we caught up with him before of the chill factor.