The flubbing of the lines might be forgivable. I mean, she's a professional singer and it's not a hard song (it's one damn verse, the version sung for events that is)...
You're wrong. It's a very difficult song for amateurs and even for many pros both lyrically and because it has a wide range of an octave and a half. As I said before, the US National Anthem is notorious for frequently tripping people up, which is why it's often prerecorded and lip-synced at many sporting events.
Sorry, J., but it's the same problem. It's a stylized rendition that puts the spotlight on the individual performer rather than those present performing the Anthem to honor America.
Yeah, I didn't like it much either. Too slow and too, I dunno, "off." I could've done without all of the "commercial" for Taylor before hand too.
I'm sticking with The Dixie Chicks version myself.
The Dixie Chicks version was "stylized" too. Not nearly as much as Aguilera and others have done, but they changed the tempo a couple times, warbled, and put emphasis on alternate notes. The fact that it's still such a well-received version in spite of that speaks to the fact that absolute conformity to the traditional style is not always necessary to still produce a great rendition.
If we're bashing stylized versions of the national anthem as disrespectful, that means no
Jimi Hendrix National Anthem at Woodstock, and bashing that means you and I are going to have words.
Why is anyone singing a national anthem at a sporting event anyway? Unless it's some kind of international competition, I really don't see how it's supposed to be relevant.
I'm not sure why it started or why it's done it just is. And, really, it's probably one of the few times that most people will see it performed so I don't think it's any big deal.
It should be noted that the NBA, MLB, and NHL are effectively "international" in that they all have teams in Canada as well as the US. That's not why they sing the song, but still.
Anyway, soldiers and civilians started singing the Star-Spangled Banner before baseball games during the US Civil War as a symbol of Union solidarity. It was played on opening day in Philadelphia in 1897, and regularly at the Polo Grounds in NYC from 1898 on. President Wilson ordered it to be played at military events and other appropriate settings in 1916, and two years later it gained national association with baseball when it was played during the seventh inning stretch of the World Series during WW1. President Hoover signed it into law as the official national anthem in 1931. During WW2 the song 'Ballad for Americans' performed by football player/singer Paul Robeson (and later Bing Crosby) actually competed with it in popularity at some sporting events for a while.
The modern tradition of singing it before
every baseball game (and gradually every major pro sporting event afterward) came about as a result of the huge number of professional baseball players (over 700) returning from serving in WW2. It was sung in their honor and eventually caught on as a pre-game tradition.
Yeah, but this was singing the National Anthem at the single most watched event on TV. It's unprofessional of her to not ensure that it was absolutely 100% perfect and flawless. She was going to be broadcast all over the world and be watched by 100 million people she should have done everything possible to make it absolutely, 100%, flawless.
It's unprofessional for her to not overcome human nature and be infallible? Well, as long as your expectations are reasonable.
