Christina Aguilera botched the national anthem at the Superbowl, did you notice?

Yesterday I got an e-mail sent from a reader (I don’t know if she wants me to mention her name) with the title “Christina butchered anthem” and she pointed out that “Christina Aguilera just finished singing the national anthem incorrectly.” I’m actually in the US now and was awake when this happened, so I headed downstairs to my dad’s big screen and we rewound and watched the national anthem again together. I didn’t notice that anything was wrong, she did seem to flub one line but it was hard to tell, and we both agreed that she did a great job. Plus I got all teary from seeing the footage of the troops in Afghanistan, who were cheered by the crowd. Overall it was a rousing performance and you did not get the sense that anyone there was unhappy with it.

Today there are stories about how Christina messed up, though, and substituted the words for one line. From what I saw she covered it up well. The girl can belt out a tune and she doesn’t suffer from a lack of self esteem that’s for sure.

Christina Aguilera, always a pro singing the national anthem, couldn’t make it through the Star Spangled Banner before the kickoff of Super Bowl XLV. Aguliera, who has handled the task without issue before NBA games, botched the lyrics badly halfway through the song.

Instead of “‘O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming” turned into “what so proudly we watched at the twilight’s last [unintelligable lyric].”

Luckily, Aguilera had the quick, crowd-rousing “rocket’s red glare” line to follow it up, which she nailed and got the packed Cowboys Stadium quickly on her side.

Still, our eyewitnesses in Dallas tell us that the crowd had some drastic reactions. “This was the biggest performance of her career and she blew it,” a source with a VIP view tells me. “To mess up the lyrics was a disaster.”

Another source tells us the televised roars of the crowds weren’t as loud in person. “A hush fell over the stadium and everyone was looking at each other.”

After the Star Spangled Banner wrapped, Aguilera headed backstage where a source tells me that the singer is “devastated.” She knows she messed up big time. It’s an honor to be ask and she let America and herself down. She doesn’t want anyone around her. Everyone telling her she was great but she knows the truth.”

[From Popeater]

I don’t really pay attention to sports and since I live overseas most of the year I’ll admit I don’t hear the national anthem enough to realize when one line is wrong. For people who know it well and hear it constantly at sporting events, particularly all the people who hired Aguilera and paid her big bucks to sing one simple song to show our national pride at the biggest sporting event of the year, I get how this would be a disaster. It’s embarrassing. I bet Christina doesn’t forget the words to her songs about oral sex and copying more original artists, but when it comes to the Star Spangled Banner she’s couldn’t get the lyrics right. At least she seemed sober even if she wasn’t prepared.

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Screencaps from the performance.

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131 Responses to “Christina Aguilera botched the national anthem at the Superbowl, did you notice?”

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  1. sisi says:

    and it seems her hair looks half decent

  2. Jan says:

    The National Anthem was a mess! The little girls from Texas would have done a much better job sans lipstick!

  3. Wens says:

    I’m not an American and don’t know the actual words to this but I have to say listening to her sing I couldn’t actually understand half of what she was singing anyway so what’s the biggy?

  4. brin says:

    I wasn’t watching but that’s the first thing everyone was talking about so it is a big deal.

  5. Innocent says:

    Yeah i noticed as TMZ broke the story.
    I can’t believe she didn’t verify the lyrics prior to rehearsals and then the actual performance.

  6. Bite me says:

    Xtina is known for forgetting lyrics, poor thing just can’t catch a break

  7. Anaya says:

    There are many American’s who don’t know the national anthem partially or at all. Christina’s been singing the national anthem since she was a child back in Pittsburgh so it’s not like she doesn’t know the song. She did flub one or two lines but you can’t deny that this woman is a powerhouse singer. All in all she did a great job last night in my opinion.

    By the way, she also sang the national anthem at the Lakers basketball game last year. She was so good that they invited her back to sing it again. The Lakers won the championship. Some could say that she is their good luck charm. 😉

  8. trillian says:

    This seems to be a new trend, Sarah Connor butchered the German anthem a couple years ago, same way, she forgot one line and just made it up 😉

  9. Hautie says:

    I am going to give her a pass on the song. I bet money no one even notice. That is until TMZ decided they needed to mock her for something.

    I live in Dallas and the local news had footage of her walking in the tunnel leaving the field.

    And she tripped.

    If her bodyguard had not caught her, she would have been face first on the cement.

    I am just baffled why she is in such a tail spin. But at least she had a new wig! 🙂

  10. JulieM says:

    Yes, I noticed. She left out the ramparts. Oh no! But she kept going and didn’t bring attention to her flub, which is quite professional. Very strong voice.

    Caught the last part of Lea Michelle’s rendition of America, the Beautiful. I thought it was weak. Full disclosure: it’s damned hard to sing live in front of hundreds of millions of people watching around the world. So she did OK, but nothing great. Christina has a much stronger voice. Even if she messed up the words.

  11. QUEST says:

    I honestly did not know about the error until it made the headlines. But then again I am not American and don’t know the words to judge. She did look put together compared to recent appearances she has made.

    My take is that we all make mistakes, however I do understand people’s point on their national pride.

  12. Samigirl says:

    My father is a veteran. His jaw hit the ground and he was terribly offended. My 3 year old knows all the words too, so I was offended as well. I hate making a big deal of it, but it’s our NATIONS ANTHEM. I know people NOT born in this country and they know all the words. So. Yeah, sorry to get my panties in a wad, but it ticked me off at that moment. I’m slightly over it now.

  13. fancyamazon says:

    I can’t believe she wouldn’t know the lyrics to start with…..they should be embedded in your mind from childhood, and not just at sporting events. I’m Canadian, and it makes me sad when people don’t know their anthem.

  14. pebbles says:

    yes, I noticed……..

  15. ThatBoyLuke says:

    Christina can SING and is capable of amazing performances (See “Lift me up” at Help for Haiti and “You lost me” on American Idol) she just needs to get some coaching on how to manage her voice which is the only thing she loses out to compared to Beyonce because Naturally XTina has the better voice and when she does use it properly she has no competition.
    So she messed a line up some people are acting like she set fire to and then peed on the American flag or something, she was probably nervious due to all the bad stuff she’s going through and being called fat in the media every day despite probably weighing less than the average US woman…
    She is a great singer, the voice of her generation.

  16. cici says:

    i didn’t care. she’s human. i also thought she looked fantastic with weight on her body. she sounded awesome, regardless of the words.

  17. Marjalane says:

    I was in a room with over 75 people- EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THE ROOM NOTICED IT! How could you not?? When she first came out we all snarked that she came right from the office to the game, and then watched as she screwed it up. She may have kept going and was somewhat in tune, but it’s still offensive. There are a million singers out there that probably would have made the effort to get it right. Personally, I thought she looked high, but she looks so crappy most of the time these days, that it’s hard to tell. I say it’s time for rehab.

  18. luls says:

    LOL… i can barely make out what shes singing anyway, so whats the big deal?
    i bet hardly anyone noticed till some angry faux-journalist decided to make it big news!
    she souds GREAT and is decently covered up for once, so cut her some slack 😉

  19. Maud says:

    Embarrassing, didn’t she practise? My British hubby pointed out that loads of Brits get “God Save the Queen” wrong. It’s one thing if you’re a spectator singing it but quite another when you’re the Star getting paid to sing it.

  20. Rita says:

    Who hasn’t botched the anthem at one time or another. Whether it’s pictch, tone, or amnesia, its a difficult song to sing properly but that’s what pros get paid to do. Christina has an amazing voice but it goes to show you that even great singers can have a brain-fart in the middle of a performance.

  21. spinner says:

    I was shocked how bad her overall performance was. Yodeling…warbling…growling…lost lyrics. It was bad. I smell breakdown.

  22. Tiffany says:

    Kaiser called it. Christina has done the anthem several times at several sporting events since her youth and she botched this time. Maybe I am paranoid but it seems like she will do anything to stay in the press.

  23. gabs says:

    I noticed on the spot. It isnt just the messing up the lyrics that bothered me its the way she sang it. She doesnt know how to show restraint and trys yodeling and screaming the thing when she should tone it down for emotional effect. Great range but she needs a vocal coach to teach her control.

  24. tango says:

    I noticed it but thought she did a good job covering it so to minimize anyone noticing. I appreciated her clothing being somber and appropriate too.

    The thing is, apparently the words were being played as she sang along so she could’ve checked occasionally to make sure she was on track. Especially on that part of the song she screwed up. I heard that she did the same thing in practice before the game, so knowing that, it seems silly for her not to use the teleprompter or screen for guidance. So her mind probably had it in her head one way and that’s how it was coming out.

    Everyone screws up so I give her a pass. I do feel sorry for her because to some extent this does hurt her in front of such a big audience to make that kind of mistake.

  25. jen says:

    I was too busy looking at her double chin.

  26. Jillian says:

    According to the Daily Mail, the lyrics she sang were incorrect lyrics that were posted on Wikipedia. They’ve since been corrected.

  27. GeekChic says:

    The song has 8 lines. Eight. She’s a professional, and she can’t get 8 lines right?

  28. brenda says:

    ABSOLUTELY ATROCIOUS!!! How could you be given the honor of singing the national anthem and then eff it up SO badly? She owes the nation an apology!

  29. ghostwriter says:

    The National Anthem’s lyrics tell the story of our nation’s birth. It’s not just another pop song. Not to be too hard on C.A., she should have rehearsed it or used a teleprompter. Maybe she was nervous? Benefit of the doubt here. It wasn’t a disaster, but it wasn’t good. It’s a notoriously difficult song to sing to begin with, so nailing the lyrics is a starter. If you had any doubt about the flub, rewind and look at the faces in the crowd. A lot of people were looking around with wtf faces when their words didn’t match hers (she combined two lines), because a lot of us do know the words. We learned them in school. Yeah, that just dated me. Final word, if you read any of the football blogs last night, they were on fire re C.A.’s performance, and it wasn’t pretty.

  30. Bee says:

    Did anyone else catch the look one of the football players shot another player when Christina messed up? Ha! The poor girl should have just lip synched the song like everybody else does. Unfortunately, it looks like Xtina on her way to being Britney part deux.

  31. flourpot says:

    Ouch. Not her best work.

  32. Angelina says:

    Not an Xtina fan by any means, but I don’t see why everyone is making such a big deal about this. Everyone makes mistakes! She does know the right words as she sang it in the past without incident. I think it’s more about how her life seems to be falling apart rather than not knowing the right words. She is a complete mess right now, and it shows! I personally think the Superbowl organizers were idiots for choosing her in the first place, knowing all the drama and controversy surrounding her these days.

  33. the_porscha says:

    Whatever, pass. I don’t get why they don’t just wheel out a teleprompter for the singing of this song. Enough people forget the lyrics to this that it seems like a foregone conclusion. I get that a prompter would seem cheap, but at the same time, forgetting the lyrics doesn’t always have to do with not knowing the song. Sometimes you’re just way nervous. Either way, it seems like if Fox and the NFL really cared, they would’ve handled this issue a long time ago. As it is, she covered it pretty well. Who cares?

  34. irena NL says:

    Atrocious!

    So many superb vocalists in the USA and they put her up there. Shame on whoever chose her.

  35. Praise St. Angie! says:

    “But at least she had a new wig!”

    I was wondering if that was a wig. it looked terrible.

    oh, and I definitely noticed because I was singing along. While it’s not a HUGE deal, it bothers me that she’s been “singing it since she was 7” and yet couldn’t get it right?

    Though, what bothers me more is what gabs pointed out. the girl’s got great pipes, I don’t deny that. but she doesn’t have to showcase them in EVERY SONG. Sing the song as it was meant to be sung. don’t make one syllable into seven.

  36. Rita says:

    @ghostwriter

    The anthem was written by Key after witnessing the attack by the British on Fort Henry in 1812, however most of us consider the anthem of our founding patriotism.

  37. Justalark says:

    Of course Christina knows the words to our national anthem–she has sung the song many times at various events since she was a child!

    I think it’s more likely that it was a case of nerves since she was performing live before an enormous audience. I also think she distracted herself with trying too hard to dazzle the crowd with all of the jazzy phrasing and obvious attempts to show off her vocal range.

    I would have much preferred to hear a clean, classic rendition of the anthem sans the theatrics! Christina has amazing talent, but she shoots herself in the foot with her vocal overkill!

  38. mimi says:

    I was watching her sing and wondering if she’d had a couple drinks or was on something because she seemed a little off…and then when leaving to go in the tunnel she about smacked her face on the pavement. Like I said I thought she was ‘off’

  39. devilgirl says:

    The big deal with her botching the Anthem is the fact that this is her job. She is supposed to be a professional. I would expect the flub from a local singer, performing for the first time in front of a crowd, but Aguilera is not an amateur, cocktail lounge singer, so on an anthem that requires you to know a few lines, she should be up to the task.

    Grade schoolers know the words.

    As for her singing, I didn’t find it all that good, and I get a little tires of all the extra “shoo-be-doo-wah’s” that these singers with big voices add to the song.

  40. mia girl says:

    I didn’t mind the botched line as much as I minded being taken on a vocal rollercoaster ride.

    Just when you thought it was safe, she’d overkill it with another run of notes up and down. It’s not enjoyable and the at end of the song, she tore into another crazy vocal run that ended up being a big ol mess.

    She has an amazing voice, but restraint is a friend she’s yet to meet.

  41. Kimble says:

    @ Maud – Really? Listening to tens of thousands of fans AND the players singing the British National Anthem is awesome and I’ve never been aware that lots of people get the words wrong – it’s not exactly difficult…

    I don’t know why USA sporting events feel the need to get professional singers to warble their way through – it’s much more emotional when the players and fans sing their hearts out!

    Xtina butchered it – impossible to sing along with unless you wanted to sing all the runs too 😉

  42. GradStudentEatingHotPockets says:

    I will give her props for doing it acapella. That is hard EVEN if you were singing a simple song. The National Anthem is a really, really hard to sing anyways…so I gave her props.

    I may be sappy because my boyfriend is in the army, and my dad is a ret col, but I always start crying during the anthem…I didn’t do it this time because she blew it hard.

    Carrie Underwood is hands down one of the best at singing the anthem. She makes it sound so easy and beautiful 🙂 And she doesn’t had too many runs in it (which I think takes away from the beauty of it).

  43. someone says:

    I heard Carrie Underwood sing it, and it was absolutely beautiful..Cristina..not so much..at least Carrie knew all the words.

  44. mln76 says:

    I noticed and I am pretty sure I saw some of the players react also. But yeah it can happen to the best of us. I do think she was just a little twisted though.

  45. Pix says:

    Ugh – she’s a disgrace and she looked like trash. I noticed immediately and she lost me as a fan forever. A – she gets paid millions of dollars – learn the f-ing song! B – She’s from Pittsburg – her team was in the Superbowl!!! The least she could have done was learn the f-ing lyrics to one of the most emotional parts of the game for most fans.

  46. MSat says:

    THAT is a WIG. I’m telling you – that is NOT her real hair!

  47. daisy424 says:

    Yes, my 10 year old Grandson watching with us, called it first.

  48. kiki says:

    This wasn’t a little flub, she totally substituted one line for another. It was glaringly obvious to any American with half a brain and the crowd definitely picked up on it. The parts that were correct were screamed, warbled, full of unnecessary and distracting runs, and generally unpleasant to listen to. She’s an incredible singer and I was really disappointed, especially in her inability to reach the tough notes. I know she can sing this song beautifully and I really hoped she would nail it. Very disappointing.

  49. Crash2GO2 says:

    Tsk tsk. It would be nice if she issued an apology.

  50. guesty says:

    I thought she looked way skinnier last nite than she has lately…know her suit was black but she still looked better. & yes I noticed.

  51. Chrissy says:

    Yeah, I was and am still offended. From now on just make an agreement with whomever is singing it – this isn’t the time to prove how many octaves you can hit!! Just get the words right!!!! Give them a tele-prompter to make sure it isn’t screwed up. I understand it must be incredibly nerve-wracking to sing in front of all those people but isn’t that what she does for a living??? Christina – huge fail in my book. The one positive note? At least she wore clothes!!!

  52. Sunnyjyl says:

    She DOES know the words. She has sung it correctly before. She made a mistake, and no one in my group even noticed. I do think that many of the fans would like to sing along. Get someone boringly perfect to sing it from now on.
    I’m more bothered by the little factoid Tony Robbins was sharing this week: It takes 3,000 cows to provide the footballs for one NFL season. That’s repulsive.

  53. mia girl says:

    Best comment yet about XTina’s performance from Michael K at Dlisted:

    “Francis Scott Key rose from the grave and is now on a Greyhound bus heading towards Dallas to lay a STFU on her ass.”

  54. kristin says:

    Ugh, of COURSE I noticed. So did MANY other people…Twitter blew up after she botched the lyrics. On top of that, she tried too hard to show off her range and ended up yodeling and pretty much just making a mess of the song. Reminded me of some contestants trying too hard on American Idol.

    Listen to Whitney Houston’s 1990s version if you want to hear the National Anthem sung beautifully (and correctly) …

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHmdu_I_0zI

  55. “Offended?” “apology?” Oh come on. All this fuss about a human mistake is over the top. It could happen to anyone, in any moment. And it will, trust me, when you age enough that estrogen disappears and so do things you’ve known forever. Like names and lyrics. That’s not her exact problem, but cut her a break. She’s human.

  56. Justaposter says:

    I was so distracted by the horrible singing, it took me a bit to realize she forgot a lot of the song.

    I had to youtube it afterwards. It is even worse the second and third time you watch it.

    If you think about it, a performer who lets the song be the star, is remembered for years doing a fantatisc job. Those who ‘try to make it their own’ and totally mess up, becomes fodder for years. (A La Xtina) She may have actually taken over Rosanne’s spot.

    We all know she has a great voice, and she has sung this countless times, but last night was horrible. And inexcuesable. I don’t care how big of a star one is, singing the National Anthem is a huge deal, and one to be taken seriously.

    Part of me wonders if she is a deal worked out with People (aka Kneepads) about her comeback after a ‘rehab’ stint.

  57. Isabel says:

    I noticed it immediately.

    My issue is that this chick is a drunken druggie bloated mess as of late…so it’s hard to separate those issues from that of forgetting the lyrics to the national anthem. You have to somehow think they’re intertwined.

    And really…if it were “Genie in a Bottle”…you know she would have gotten it right.

    It is a sensitive, patriotic song. It has a very deep meaning, especially to our military. People will rightfully be upset about such a blunder. If she were truly such a professional, it wouldn’t have happened. Period. It’s the one song you don’t f*ck up.

  58. happygirl says:

    @ mia girl ~ LMAO! Love it.

  59. flutters says:

    I definitely noticed and yeah, in this age of Twitter and how the schadenfreude is major when it comes to Christina right now, it’s definitely something people were going to jump on.

    Once she messed it up Christina DID handle it like a pro. However I think she’d already lost a lot of people with the overdoing of melisma.

  60. Kiki says:

    I am not American but I went to school in the US for a year and I know the National Anthem really well. I noticed she didn’t sing it correctly and actually, I was kind of offended :-S
    I think it is inexcusable when one doesn’t know their anthem! She is a fantastic singer though… I would have preferred Whitney Houston… This year would have been 20 years since she sang beautifully at the ’91 bowl… Miss those times…

  61. Marie says:

    There are some singers that should not I repeat NOT sing without having their voices “fixed” in the studio and Christina is one of them. I shivered at the entire performance, it sounded like shit.

    and fiinally @Mia lmao at Michael K f*cking hysterical.

  62. eja102 says:

    I cannot stand her screeching.
    That said, she gave no indication it wasn’t what she meant to do, so kudos to her.

  63. jinni says:

    I’m so tried of all these singers doing a million vocal acrobatics/ runs in a song. Just sing the damn song! Don’t they know that when they do that throughout the song it sounds gimmicky.

  64. cara says:

    I’m not surprised. Most people can’t speak proper American English these days either. Stupidity is acceptable and common.

  65. Courtney says:

    get over yourselves it’s the hardest song in the world to sing because of Pitch Variances and key changes. never mind the super bowl being the most viewed sporting event in the world kind of like if Gwyeneht Paltrow makes a mistake singing at the Oscars at the end of the month everybody will be jumping on her because thats the most prestigeous award show in the film industry and people will never let her live it down if she botches it

  66. ghostwriter says:

    @36 Rita – Thanks. I knew that and am glad you know some American history. So many people don’t. If memory serves, it may be viewed as more a turning point than the founding of patriotism, but I’m not certain. At any rate, the anthem has become symbolic as describing the birth of our nation, though, as you accurately point out, it specifically described an eye witness attack on a fort by the British. I am always touched to watch people visibly moved when they hear the anthem being sung. It moves me. Thanks for your comment. I enjoy reading your posts. 🙂

  67. dread pirate cuervo says:

    Cara: Yes! But I’ll go one further and say that stupidity is encouraged. Her voice is amazing, but this was a major fail. Everyone in my house noticed right away. Also, please don’t try to “make the song your own.” It’s the national anthem, not American Idol. There is only one way to sing the song.

  68. devilgirl says:

    @Courtney- Well, yes, it is a difficult song, but you might want to take a look at someone who handled it beautifully once upon a time, Whitney Houston, who in my opinion, did one of the best performances ever at a sporting event.

    Aguilera couldn’t hold a candle to that performance and she cannot even remember a few lyrics. It wasn’t like she was asked to do the entire anthem.

  69. Jenny says:

    She let America and herself down? OMFG. Americans, really…

  70. EdithP says:

    @mia girl — I agree 100%!! I didn’t notice her flub because I can’t bear to hear her absolutely milk the life out of every single note.

  71. Tammy says:

    She should have used a teleprompter if she was nervous. I felt embarrassed for her. It was trending on Twitter as soon as she made the mistake.

    @luls #18 I can’t read your name. In the USA we have Freedom of the Press. Would you rather live in Egypt or Iran where they shut down the internet and twitter to block the news from getting out?

  72. Delta Juliet says:

    My husband and I noticed right away. I am one of those people who gets choked up when I hear the anthem…it always gives me goosebumps. And hubby is a veteran so you know he gets choked up too. It was insulting. And like a poster mentioned, with all the drama around her lately you have to wonder if she was loaded or something.
    WHAT I WOULDN’T GIVE to hear a singer with a great voice belt out the song the way it’s written. None of the stupid voice tricks, just sing it. It’s beautiful enough on it’s own. I’m sick of this whole “making it their own” crap.
    **rant over**

  73. Jayna says:

    Only one person noticed at our party. I feel bad for Christina. She sang that twice at the NBA playoffs last fall. She was so good the first time they asked her back a few weeks later. That rarely happens. It’s usually different people. But she sang it accapella and she recovered nice, when many would have been so rattled at such a huge occasion they would have really fallen apart. Though, I wish she hadn’t oversang it so much. She’s better than that.

  74. Rita says:

    @dreadpiratecuervo

    Your comment really made me think. You’re right. It is our song. Not “look at my talent” time. It should be sung with a humility that deflects from the performance in favor of those who sacrificed for us. Bravo cuervo!

  75. Jayna says:

    Devilgirl, Whitney Houston lipsynced her performance, as did Jennifer Hudson and most others. Underwood lipsynced. So it was flawless, naturally.

  76. Jayna says:

    Marie, Christina is not one of those that shouldn’t sing without her voice fixed in the studio. Granted, this performance wasn’t her best. But she can be breathtaking live.

    Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmUzh2wKZMs

  77. icantbelievethis says:

    I don’t like CA, but I didn’t find her forgetting a lyric or a few words insulting or anti-patriotic. It is never good to mess up on your “work”, but who hasn’t? Only difference is that most of us are lucky enough that the entire World doesn’t see our flubs.

    ‘So she messed a line up some people are acting like she set fire to and then peed on the American flag or something,’

    Exactly. She’s a hot mess but I don’t think we’re going to get invaded or democracy collapse b/c she messed up a lyric or two.

  78. anti says:

    the girl they had on tosh.0 last week did way better. i was more moved by her performance than christina’s.

  79. Moreaces says:

    How could you not notice

  80. Moreaces says:

    I wasn’t watching but that’s the first thing everyone was talking about so it is a big deal.

    =============
    Facebook, was all abuzz

  81. lama says:

    I had to listen to some whitney houston circa 1991 after that hot mess

  82. devilgirl says:

    @Jayna- Hudson’s was, Houston’s was not, that was a rumor.

  83. Kitten says:

    oh for the love of everything holy, get over it. She messed up. She sang it before and she messed up THIS ONCE singing it.

    Tell me, whats a bigger travesty? her flubbing a line? or the fact that there are quite a few adults in this country that don’t know who George Washington was?

    I mean really people.

  84. Dana M says:

    @ #25 Jen,
    LoL!! I kept looking at her chin too!

    I didn’t notice the errors. I was too busy helping my children eat. I was still in full view of the TV, but didn’t catch the mistakes. Darn. My husband didn’t catch them either.

    I liked her black suit though.

  85. lucy2 says:

    I give her credit for singing live and not lip syncing, but I was too distracted by the vocal gymnastics to notice the flubbed line. She has such a great voice, why not just sing the song as written?

  86. flutters says:

    @Jayna and @devilgirl: Actually, Jennifer Hudson’s and Whitney Houston’s Super Bowl anthems are confirmed to have been lipsynched. See this article which quotes pregame show producer Rickey Minor and also Billboard executive editor Robert Levine.

    http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/WinterConcert/story?id=6788924&page=1

    However Carrie Underwood’s Super Bowl performance last year was live, not lip synched. Ditto Queen Latifah’s performance of America The Beautiful at last year’s Super Bowl.

  87. Jayna says:

    DevilGirl, check the wikipedia List of National Anthem Performers.

    Here’s a quote:

    ” Lip syncing & controversies. Just days after Super Bowl XXV, a report surfaced that Whitney Houston lip synced her performance. It was confirmed that she was actually singing into a dead mic, but the performance heard in the stadium and on television was prerecorded.[2][1] The disclosure, however, did not tarnish the performance’s critical praise.”

  88. original kate says:

    why people are so offended and freaked out is weird to me. embarassing? yes. high treason? um, no. it is a song, and singers sometimes flub lines from songs, even ones they have written themselves. maybe she was nervous, maybe she was sick, maybe her kid was sick, maybe she had something else on her mind. it’s not like she came out and burned an american flag while chanting “death to tyrants!”

    you know what’s way more offensive to me as an american? the patriot act. the illegal war we waged in iraq. the fact that veterans in this country have so few benefits. the fact that thousands of children go to school hungry. if a singer flubbing the national anthem is what offends you maybe you should read the news more often.

  89. garvels says:

    Christine probably has one of the strongest singing voices of today’s female artists, but it is difficult to understand how she could mess up the lyrics to the national anthem. She after all is a “Professional Singer” who gets paid millions to sing. She is not an amateur who occasionally sings in public.

  90. flutters says:

    @Jayna You’re right about the Hudson and Houston lip synching because it’s been confirmed by the Associated Press. But you’re wrong on Underwood. She was definitely live last year and it was a break with tradition.

    The fact that Underwood sang live is why there was a betting line on how long her version would be. If it had been prerecorded then the length would have leaked out (because these people have a way of finding out everything). With Christina there was a betting line I think on how long she would hold out one of the notes.

  91. Rita says:

    @flutters

    Given the fact that by your account, Underwood’s performance was live, the statement that “it was recorded and thus perfect, natually” makes Carrie even more incredible.

  92. Zelda says:

    I’m torn on this one.
    Is it really a big deal? I guess not. I don’t think people should be OFFENDED, for god’s sake.

    But I’m a Canadian who’s been living in Europe for several years–I haven’t heard the US anthem in forever, and even before I got here I don’t think I heard it all that often. And I know the freaking words. Furthermore, she’s a professional singer who has memorised much longer songs in the past, and has memorised THIS SONG in the past.

    So it’s definitely a WTF-is-wrong-with-you moment, at the very least

  93. B's Fan says:

    So she messed up a line. People have done worse when sining the national anthem. If you don’t believe me, the check out the video of Steven Tyler singing the national anthem. Now that was horrible.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCQEu6Y2gbs

  94. Kim says:

    At least she sang live I didnt notice I guess I should have stopped @ 2 margaritas.

  95. Pow! says:

    It’s not ‘just a song’, its our national ANTHEM and she got paid BIG BUCKS to sing it for millions of Americans. I understand everyone makes mistakes, but this is one of those time where you *have* to be on top of your game.
    Someone said nobody even noticed until TMZ pointed it out… Uh, not true. I was watching in a crowded pub & the whole room looked at eachother like “did that really just happen?!”.

  96. Bodhi says:

    1) If she wasn’t sure about the lyrics then she should have used a cheat sheet

    2) I hate listening to the National Anthem a any sporting events because I HATE the way singers try to make it their own by adding notes, trills, etc that aren’t in the damn song. I hear little kids at Little League, hockey, whatever games to it all the time & I want to smack their parents &/or vocal coaches! Sing the notes of the song & quit making shit up! GAH!

  97. Original Kate: Thank you! Well-said!

  98. Kate says:

    I noticed and I was shocked! However, she is human and I can’t imagine if the entire world witnessed and had hurtful comments about the way I did my job poorly, my hair looks like a cheap wig, I blew up like a tick, my hubby won’t leave OUR home so I move my latest lover in…all are no ones business in the first place. In truth I would listen to her sign the phone book…the woman is scary talented!!!

  99. jen says:

    brenda:
    February 7th, 2011 at 9:46 am
    She owes the nation an apology!

    OMG I can’t stop laughing XD Thank you for the laugh, I’m having a bad day & needed that…

  100. Pow! says:

    @ Orginal Kate: who’s to say some of us aren’t upset at those things? That’s not what we’re discussing here… we’re talking about the fact that she messed up the national anthem.

  101. I Choose Me says:

    Yeah she flubbed the line but recovered. I love Christina’s voice but I don’t like how she sung the anthem. I wish she’d have just sung the song straight without all of the unnecessary overrought warbling and vocal calisthenics. She does this quite a bit, sadly – I remember one painful rendition of Beautiful during an award show where she lay down on the stage and just plain butchered her lovely song. Sigh. She’s so talented, I just wish she’d get it together.

  102. Bill Hicks is God says:

    I’m Canadian and I noticed. She was god-awful.

    Loved the expressions on the faces of the U.S. service personnel. It looked like cramming her into a tank gun and firing her into a wall was foremost on their minds. I don’t blame them.

  103. MissyA says:

    The entire bar noticed it and laughed.

    I know I was throughly drunk by kickoff (I’ve been supporting my boys since 10 am starting with a proper “Wisconsin Breakfast”) – but I wasn’t getting paid to perform.

    I LOVE YOU, PACKERS!

  104. Jul says:

    Are you kidding me????

    If she’s hired and paid to sing a song, she should be required to sing it with the right words…. that’s for starters…. (the ‘dah’ factor is high here)

    THEN, because that song is SO special… so symbolic, and so IMPORTANT to our country (and those who defend it with their lives) there should be a zero tolerance for such an amateurish, unprofessional, and careless mistake.

    My solution: DON’T pay her a dime for that sorry excuse for a performance, DON’T hire her again, but DO buy her a different shade of lipstick.. that red hurt my eyes.

  105. Bobby the K says:

    ‘The voice of a generation’?
    ouch.

    Anyways, national anthems are all about the words. They’re not show tunes.
    There aren’t that many lyrics and they get sung all the time.
    And she got a lot of money for it.

  106. Isa says:

    I didn’t notice it. I had to rewatch it again. She sang the second line of the anthem twice, well kinda. I knew it was supposed to be in there, but I didn’t realize she had said it twice until it was pointed out.

    She over sings. Horribly. Like Jessica Simpson. But I am impressed that she sounds pretty much the same lives as she does in her recordings. Not many people can say that.

  107. The american says:

    She looks like snoopy when her eyes are closed………….what a resemblance…..

  108. The Bobster says:

    How could you notice she flubbed a line when you couldn’t even recognize the song?

    What’s with the whining and wailing like you’re being stabbed to death?

    Sing the song properly and show some respect for your country, Xtina. It’s not all about you. It never was.

    BTW, I heard that none of the acts are paid for their performances – just travel and lodging. Even at that, Xtina was overpaid.

  109. original kate says:

    “we’re talking about the fact that she messed up the national anthem.”

    yes, exactly. she messed up, she’s human. does it really merit all this vitriol and demanding she apologize? no, i would call that a rather extreme reaction. what’s next, a petition to have her arrested for anti-american activities?

  110. Anon73 says:

    Xtina should have PRACTICED that anthem. it’s an honor that she was chosen to sing it — since the singer represents our country’s pride. so for Xtina not to practice those lyrics IS somewhat insulting. plus, she was PAID to sing that song.

  111. iMachias says:

    Performing the National Anthem is an honor that very few have the privilege of doing. Our National Anthem should be performed humbly, with reverence and with the honor that has been bestowed upon the performer. Yes, she forgot some words and made up her own to fill in the gaps, but I am willing to bet a lot of money that if she had performed the song as it was written, instead of making it all about her with her ridiculous yodeling, she wouldn’t have forgotten the words. I was most offended by her “Thank you” at the end. That was just ridiculous. It wasn’t about her third rate lounge act on The Love Boat, the applause from the crowd was about the love for our country. CA is going to end up the next Charo.

  112. Seriously?! says:

    She made a mistake. Get over it.

    I can’t believe the fuss over this. Do people give you shit everytime you make a mistake at work? and then call you an “amateur”? or make it a national headline?

    You’d think she pissed on an American flag while screaming “I’m a terrorist” with the reactions some of you are giving to this.

  113. Maritza says:

    Oh please, she did just fine, anyone can make a mistake. I just saw the movie Burlesque and boy can she sing, I liked the movie, she was pretty good.

  114. Shannon says:

    I think it’s ridiculous to be offended by someone messing up a few words to the national anthem at a freaking sporting event. I think it’s ridiculous that sports have tried to co-opt patriotism. It’s like flying the biggest American flag you can find at a Perkin’s restaurant or a car dealership (that sells foreign models to boot). Talk about cheapening and diluting national pride… why aren’t you folks out protesting at the nearest Toyota dealership?

  115. james ginter says:

    i wasnt offended by her botching the song it has been getting botched for a few years now if she had sang the song the way it was written i bet she wouldnt have botched it every one gets up there and starts the national anthem with a yodeling contest and they turn a 1 1/2 minute song into a 5 min bunch of noise and holding the notes forever ill be honest i was wishing the song to be over long before she botched it(if you get the honor to sing the national anthem sing it right. the way it was written hope i havent affended anyone but enough is enough

  116. Kim says:

    Look at the players in the background when she forgets the words they start looking at each other like WTF!

    Hilarious!

  117. chasingadalia says:

    I noticed. Immediately. I rewound it, and it was… it was bad.

    I did like the one football player they showed immediately after with the “WTF?” face.

  118. Louise says:

    People are making way too much of this. Calling her performance a distaster and ruining her career is really overboard. If you weren’t paying attention it’s not something you would notice. She didn’t skip a beat. Many singers have competely stopped or mumbled lines when they mess up. Christina’s will not be considered one of the worst ever.

    What made the performance bad was her overblown singing. I don’t know why she couldn’t just sing the anthem instead of inserting vocal gymnastics.

  119. My2Cents says:

    No biggy. You ask any Australian what the other verses to Advance Australia Fair is and they wont know. Hardly any of us do. Me included.
    I can’t believe it made news here as well.

    She was nervous. Get over it. There are so many more important things in the world that is going on.

  120. MissyA says:

    I just read Trippen’s response on the Lea Michelle thread, (re:having the players sing) and I couldn’t agree more.

    It means nothing to me to see some flavor of the week engage in shameless self-promotion. I know professional sports have lost the zeal and intensity of days of old (or even that of college ball), but I think the majority of players are still excited and humbled to be there. Would have loved to see the players deliver an off-key, but enthusiastic rendition of the National Anthem.

    I also want to believe that Donald Driver has the voice of an angel, so there’s a vested interest for me as well. 😉

  121. NicoleAM says:

    Forget the lyrics blunder, she ruined the song with her over the top vocals. We get it, you can sing and hit high notes. I agree with other posters about her feeling the need to turn one syllable into ten.

  122. MomInNH says:

    My family and I were at a large house party of family and friends watching the game. We ALL sang along to our anthem and were stunned when she effed up the lyrics. My cousin’s 77 yr. old mother immediately said “What a shame that girl is. She brought shame to our anthem, shame to our country and shame to our soldiers.” Kind of sobered the room and we all got quiet. My baby brother is over in Iraq right now as well as several other family members not expected home for at least 3 more years… I wasn’t as offended as some of my more patriotic family members, but it was a noticable flub of a song she’s sung countless times. She should have practiced or had a copy of the words if she didn’t think she was able to sing it properly. Billions of Americans were disappointed.

  123. wellgunde says:

    Bad singing in addition to the embarrassment of the wrong words.

  124. april says:

    I thought it was horrible even if she would have gotten the words right. However, she looked fantastic. I loved her outfit and her red shoes and lipstick rocked her outfit.

  125. Tiffany says:

    @ Shannon – I come on this site regularly and I usually scroll through the comments because it is so interesting to see what others think of a particular topic. I don’t know why but for some reason your comment was offensive to this Marine. As others have mentioned I too get chills when I hear the Anthem and I am filled with pride when I see that I’m not the only one affected. I am trying to gather my thoughts right now because I really don’t want to come off as super emotional..

    The reason why the National Anthem is an integral part of sporting events and other entertainment venues is because it is a reminder of what was and is endured for America’s freedoms. I know many other countries don’t exhibit as much pride in their anthems and/or rituals but we are not them. Furthermore when you consider how this nation came to be, the significance of how those lyrics as a back drop to the many freedoms outlined in our Constitution makes the ritual of remembrance very appropriate at an event we consider to be a national pastime.

    I apologize to Shannon and all who felt it was “no big deal” for my overly sentimental post as you have a right to voice your opinion. I know because I signed my name on the line to ensure this.

  126. Aspie says:

    Even if part of Whitney Houston’s performance at the 1991 SuperBowl was ‘prerecorded’ her example is still considered the gold standard by many because it was still her voice that people heard and it gives chills to this day.

    I still listen to it on CD and watch it on YouTube from time and time (I definitely did today and yesterday, I needed that just to cleanse my memory of CA’s ‘underwhelming’ performance), and tear up every time…her voice is (or was) unmatchable and her talent was undeniable. Her voice during the 1991 performance was restrained, elegant and no vocal histrionics were heard. It was just simply beautiful to watch.

    Carrie’s performance was good but to me it just doesn’t hold a candle to Whitney’s, IMHO.

  127. Chari P says:

    Why can’t these people just sing the song without all the jazzing it up? There are songs that should be sung the way they were intended…I don’t understand why some singers feel the need to butcher and then botch a song that should provoke National pride.
    I think it was a disgrace to her and all Americans that it should be butchered and contorted into something most people couldn’t understand.
    Next year I hope the NFL will remember this and get someone who doesn’t feel the need to rewrite the melody and the lyrics!!
    Proud American

  128. Angel says:

    “She owes the Nation an apology”???

    Good lord, people. Calm yourselves, you’ll feel better once the patriotic frothing subsides.

  129. X says:

    I have to say; I think she did an amazing job. So what if she a botched a line; there was no way you could tell. Go CA- never been a fan, but that was a good performance.

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