Zooey Deschanel sings the National Anthem at the World Series: how did she do?

You guys remember… I used to find Zooey Deschanel annoying. But as the New Girl progressed last year, I grew to love her. She’s “quirky” and weird and some of it is an “affect”… but I still enjoy her a great deal. It’s amazing what a great performance in a well-written, well-acted ensemble comedy show can do. So, Zooey is a big deal now, surprisingly enough. After making a name for herself in mostly quirky supporting parts in quirky films, Zooey is now a leading lady on the small screen with her own hit Fox show. And since Fox is airing the World Series, that means Fox gets to do a little cross-promotion for their hit show – they asked Zooey to sing the National Anthem at Game 3 of the World Series on Saturday. Here you go:

I don’t think she has the strongest voice ever, and God knows that our anthem is difficult enough for people with perfect singing voices. I think she did it very well, considering. I’m assuming she was looking at a teleprompter, right? That’s what she was focusing on? She didn’t want to get any of the words wrong, which is better than drunk Christina Aguilera’s way of singing our Anthem, so I won’t fault Zooey. I think Zooey treated the occasion with respect and she did a decent, solid version. She didn’t embarrass herself or anyone else. Well done!

PS… Ah, I just saw that Zooey was also asked to sing the National Anthem last year too. Fox must love that one of its big sitcom stars is a singer too. They love cross-promotion so much.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

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40 Responses to “Zooey Deschanel sings the National Anthem at the World Series: how did she do?”

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  1. Scarlet Vixen says:

    My friend and squad leader (basically my boss in our Army unit) SSG Gould sang “God Bless America” during the 7th inning, and perhaps I’m biased but I think she did WAY better! 🙂

    • Mrs. O says:

      Going to find that on YouTube right now. Thanks! That must have been so cool for you to watch!

  2. Abby says:

    It’s kind of interesting that if Fox is cross promoting a show… Why not use a singer from a singing show like…. Glee? Or American Idol?

    That being said, I love Zooey to death and New Girl is my favorite show on TV. I love her voice. Way to go!

    • Seagulls says:

      They used Matthew Morrison for one of the games. He knocked it out of the park. Since all the participants and spectators are supposed to be, in theory, singing along with the anthem, I like when they sing the song without a lot of verbal antics, and he did it wonderfully.

  3. goodquestion says:

    She’s an average or slightly below average singer.
    But I have to give her credit for having the guts to do this. Unless of course, she thinks she’s awesome and it took no courage at all 🙂

  4. LondonLou81 says:

    Really?! Bloody hell. I think it’s realy pretty amateurish at best, but there we go. You only have to watch Whitters bash this out to hear how bad this version is!

  5. keats says:

    She rubs me the wrong way, even though new girl is awesome. But I do love that pink and black dress!

  6. ojulia123 says:

    I think she did a great job! She looks beautiful, too.

  7. honeychurch says:

    Oh, she has a lovely, lovely timbre to her voice. Which I much prefer to so-called “technically perfect” singers who tend to be as dull as dishwater.

  8. katiebob says:

    she has a very unique timbre and tone, which is sorely lacking with pop singers these days. She’s also able to actually hit and sustain notes, something that many singers don’t do well — even some opera singers rely so heavily on vibrato and ornamentation that simply hitting a note without sliding up to it becomes difficult. I like it..

  9. Flora says:

    Love her voice, love her dress.

  10. Emmy says:

    She’s got a very old school filmstar kind of voice. Not particularly strong but lovely in its own distinctive way. She almost reminds me of Judy Garland.

    I also really appreciate the lack of runs (not that they aren’t appropriate sometimes– just maybe not the national anthem). I thought she did a nice job.

    • Pamspam says:

      I agree. Not a huge fan, but I really did appreciate this rendition. You’re right – the runs just aren’t appropriate for this song. I always feel like singers are trying to wring the life out of every last note and it drives me NUTS!

    • j.eyre says:

      I agree with both of you. I like when a singer sings the anthem and not when they try to reinvent it. I agree with Kaiser – she treated the occasion with the respect it was due. Good for her.

      (another one that really surprised me was Ne-Yo singing the anthem to open the Redskins/Giants game on 9/11 last year.)

  11. gigi says:

    This is girl is as interesting as a wet noodle. I find her so boring and average in every department. She is like the white version of Rashida Jones. Both snoozefests.

    • Amanda says:

      I agree with everything you said… except I think Rashida Jones is pretty sexy 😉 despite being boring and kind of annoying. Zooey, on the other hand, seems reaaaalllly full of herself.

    • Christian says:

      I agree, and I thought her rendition of the National Anthem was awful. I like New Girl but Zooey the person rubs me the wrong way. I’ve read numerous accounts of her being rude to fans. Just another boring, spoiled child of Hollywood who thinks they’re above it all. Also, girlfriend is 32 years old – she needs to give the doll makeup a rest.

  12. Jules says:

    Try to listen to Demi Lovato’s version from last nights game. The worst singing EVER. I hate Fox.

  13. shixa says:

    She has an old timey singing voice…kind of cute. She grates on my nerves in general though.

    I hate the nude panty hose n the first pic..bluh.

  14. bgirl says:

    Her voice is so distinctive. I watched it live and was very impressed. She’s adorable.

  15. L says:

    Better than Xtina or Demi that’s for sure.

    She’s got a pretty alto voice and doesn’t cheapen the song with crazy runs or vibrato. I’m usually not a fan of hers, but I liked it. And I think she was looking at the flag while she was singing which was a nice touch.

    • NerdMomma says:

      You know, I think that’s what I ended up appreciating most about this performance too- she wasn’t showboating, she didn’t make it about her- she just sang the song. She didn’t even wait for applause after “land of the free” or whichever line everyone claps after.

      She doesn’t have an amazing voice, she has a nice one, and I think she knows that.

  16. MG says:

    I like her voice, it’s unique but I don’t think it’s suited for the anthem. She definitely didn’t embarrass herself though.

  17. Skipper says:

    She sounds like she has cottage cheese stuck in her throat, like Shaggy

  18. Lisa says:

    Anyone else cringe when they see her name and sing in the same sentence? That shouldn’t happen.

  19. I like her, like her voice, and think she did a nice respectful version of the National Anthem.

  20. roxy750 says:

    yes, love her voice, it’s a classic kind of eclectic little thing! Beautiful!

  21. Shelly says:

    The poor girl looked terrified. But she did a good job.

  22. choppersann says:

    Just seeing her name in print annoys me…one trick pony…booooringgg…..

  23. Mac says:

    She was OK.

    Whitney Houston at the Super Bowl was the absolute best performance of the Star Spangled Banner I’ve ever heard.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wupsPg5H6aE

    • Alarmjaguar says:

      Damn! And she was having so much fun doing that. Makes me a little sad, but thanks for sharing

  24. Miss Thang says:

    Pssst…your cutlet is showing…

  25. TheOneAndOnlyOnly says:

    The cross promoting has become so annoying; I realize that all media is in a fight for viewers, but come on; can’t anything stand on it’s own quality; and is this Zooey another entitled on yah model/singer/actress – please pick one and excel – btw, WOrld series ratings having been going in the tank outside of the teams involved, viewership is way down from the salad days of yore.

  26. skuddles says:

    Well I imagine as long as she didn’t botch the lyrics, fall down, or bleed all over the stage she probably did okay.

  27. Melissa says:

    She’s been put forth for years as someone who has a great singing voice (I remember when Elf came out), and I guess I’m just missing it. She can’t hit the high notes, so it seems she sings the anthem an octave lower than her natural voice, but she has trouble hitting the low notes, then, and you can’t even hear them. Enjoying singing and actually being able to sing are two different things.

  28. Ana says:

    Well I already love her as a singer, both her albums with her singer friend, her little band of two “She & Him” are amazing! She may not be a Xtina or Mariah but she certainly does way better than any of the other “singers” out there! Love Zooey and New Girl is one of the best sitcoms on the air right now!