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Super Bowl flub in the National Anthem?

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.

I see it more as an individual's personal take on such a revered and honored tradition. What's the point in honoring America if it requires removing the different humanity each person brings to the rendition? In this case, James Taylor, in his venerated laid back folk style, sings the national anthem, and the crowd roars and cheers. I think he honored America just fine. It's about respect, not style, and overall, it is about the individual and what America, by proxy of the flag, means to them.

He gets at least some props by not adding 10,000 notes into a single word (ala Xina) and doing too many theatrics but, I dunno, I personally wasn't impressed.
 
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.
 
Ugh. I'm annoyed with myself for having already posted in this thread and being back here again. But there's something that's bothering me about all of this and if i don't write it down i won't be able to get on with my incredibly busy day:

She's a professional singer. She sings for a living. She has sung before humongous crowds before. As a professional she should have practiced a helluva lot more than she obviously did, to mess up the words. It's not like someone grabbed her off the street and said, "Hey Christina, want to sing the national anthem today?" She knew she had the gig. A big gig. An important gig. She couldn't spend a little time memorizing the lyrics? I don't buy the "she's a human being she made a mistake". Not that she did this on purpose. I dont believe that for a minute. I just don't think she gave it enough time and energy to be sure she got it right. I find THAT disrespectful.

She was nervous? Sorry, don't buy it. Again, this is what she does for a living. She makes her living going out in front of HUGE crowds and singing. Uh-uh. I don't buy the nervous excuse.

And what i find most upsetting is that, while she was singing, the camera cut to some of the men and women over in Afganistan who are fighting (whether it be in a just war or not) ...standing in their uniforms, at attention, honoring their country in a way most of us will never do......and she couldn't get the words right......FOR THEM?????

That was the most cringe-worthy moment for me.
 
Congress promulagted guidelines for the Anthem for a reason. It wasn't so that we could put an individual stamp on it, it was so that we could be united by our performance of it.

I've got so many miles on my musical feet and have played the National Anthem for so many different people and in so many different places that I might just be stuck in tradition.
 
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.

Ugh. I'm annoyed with myself for having already posted in this thread and being back here again. But there's something that's bothering me about all of this and if i don't write it down i won't be able to get on with my incredibly busy day:

She's a professional singer. She sings for a living. She has sung before humongous crowds before. As a professional she should have practiced a helluva lot more than she obviously did, to mess up the words. It's not like someone grabbed her off the street and said, "Hey Christina, want to sing the national anthem today?" She knew she had the gig. A big gig. An important gig. She couldn't spend a little time memorizing the lyrics? I don't buy the "she's a human being she made a mistake". Not that she did this on purpose. I dont believe that for a minute. I just don't think she gave it enough time and energy to be sure she got it right. I find THAT disrespectful.

She was nervous? Sorry, don't buy it. Again, this is what she does for a living. She makes her living going out in front of HUGE crowds and singing. Uh-uh. I don't buy the nervous excuse.

And what i find most upsetting is that, while she was singing, the camera cut to some of the men and women over in Afganistan who are fighting (whether it be in a just war or not) ...standing in their uniforms, at attention, honoring their country in a way most of us will never do......and she couldn't get the words right......FOR THEM?????

That was the most cringe-worthy moment for me.

And it's been argued that some singers can mess up the words to their own songs even after singing them for years. Fine. But The Star Spangled Banner as it's sung at events like this is just one damn verse. Hardly beyond a professional woman's capability to memorize and perform well.

Again, I can "forgive" her for mixing up the words, but the performance as a whole was just terrible and she may not have messed up the worlds if she wasn't so into the "theatrics" of her performance.
 
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.

People will soon tell that you "you just don't get it because you're not American" but don't listen to them. I'm American and I've got to say it's always baffled me as well. Sure I will sing along and do the pledge of allegiance or whatever else they want from the crowd, but I'm always thinking, "what does this have to do with guys throwing around a ball again?" I guess I just don't see sporting events as some sacred time-honored tradition that defines us as Americans. It's just a game.
 
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.

I see it more as an individual's personal take on such a revered and honored tradition. What's the point in honoring America if it requires removing the different humanity each person brings to the rendition? In this case, James Taylor, in his venerated laid back folk style, sings the national anthem, and the crowd roars and cheers. I think he honored America just fine. It's about respect, not style, and overall, it is about the individual and what America, by proxy of the flag, means to them.

He gets at least some props by not adding 10,000 notes into a single word (ala Xina) and doing too many theatrics but, I dunno, I personally wasn't impressed.

And that's okay, you don't have to be impressed. The national anthem is for reflection, and it can be a drum and bugle corps that bring it, or the offerings of a contemporary artist. Each person is going to be different. Homogenizing the national anthem to strict perfection won't change that. Let China do that. We'll do it our way.
 
Seems to me that the words of the US national anthem, while being much more poetically impressive than those of other countries (for example, the UK), are a tad too complicated for Christina and her ilk. Perhaps it's time to institute a dumbed down version for ceremonies such as these by introducing the repeated use of the word "la".
 
Seems to me that the words of the US national anthem, while being much more poetically impressive than those of other countries (for example, the UK), are a tad too complicated for Christina and her ilk. Perhaps it's time to institute a dumbed down version for ceremonies such as these by introducing the repeated use of the word "la".

Is it really that hard?! Especially for a professional singer?

I mean, I was singing this thing in third grade!
 
We have a lot easier time of it just repeatedly asking a non-existent bearded fellow to look after our hereditary monarch. We leave out the bit about crushing rebellious Scots nowadays.
 
Its kind of funny...I've been reading this thread, and although I don't really listen to her on a consistent basis, I DO know she pretty much is considered to have one of the best if not THE best voice in pop music today. I know she also has a habit of over-singing occasionally, but have heard her sing some of the most amazing, clear, wide ranging songs ever. its strange that she didn't sound that great, on top of getting the lyrics wrong.

I would like to point out also, as others have that you can sing the same song over and over again many times and still get it wrong occasionally. Especially the US national anthem which is notorious for such things.

I also agree the name calling is a bit uncalled for. Why are some people so immature on here?

RAMA
 
Seems to me that the words of the US national anthem, while being much more poetically impressive than those of other countries (for example, the UK), are a tad too complicated for Christina and her ilk. Perhaps it's time to institute a dumbed down version for ceremonies such as these by introducing the repeated use of the word "la".

Maybe you lot could just replace your current National Anthem, with the theme from Team America.

"AMERICA! FUCK YEAH!"

Seems more fitting in these modern times...
 
Seems to me that the words of the US national anthem, while being much more poetically impressive than those of other countries (for example, the UK), are a tad too complicated for Christina and her ilk. Perhaps it's time to institute a dumbed down version for ceremonies such as these by introducing the repeated use of the word "la".

Is it really that hard?! Especially for a professional singer?

I mean, I was singing this thing in third grade!

Dude, people make mistakes. Even on important things that they've prepared for. I'm sure you've made mistakes on simple tasks that you had previously done correctly a number of times.
 
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.

She didn't do that. And then she flubbed the lines.
 
She lost her nerves.. simple as that.

I'm pretty sure that in the beginning, when she rehearsed with few people around she could recite the lyrics flawlessly but with hundreds of millions watching and many more around the world singing the musical symbol of your nation you are allowed to be nervous.

The world didn't end.. from what i read she's devastated and has holed up in her home returning straight there after her performance in the stadium (skipping the entire game and all the aftergame parties) I wouldn't want to be in her shoes right now.

She's a great singer when she's not overdoing it.. great range, great performances but she dropped the ball on this one. Life isn't like Hollywood and sometimes you fail at important moments.
 
Yeah, I don't think knowing the supposed importance of the event helps one to keep from making mistakes. Probably the contrary, I imagine.
 
She flubbed the lines. Fine. I'll accept that.

She still did a shitty job at singing it, she looked horrible, and she may not have screwed up if she wasn't trying to belt out a word and extending it out to last 300 times longer.
 
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