This page was last updated on February 9, 2011.
So what if Aguilera messed up one line?; Jean A. Haney; Beaver County Times; February 9, 2011.
A previous letter from Ms. Haney is here.
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“I really didn’t care for Christina Aguilera’s rendition of ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ at the Super Bowl, but for the newspapers and TV stations to jump all over her for messing up one line is downright ridiculous.
“How many times have you messed up the lines when you weren’t reading the words? It’s not an easy song for anyone to sing at any time - just watch the lips of the audience when they try to sing along when it is played.
“Every star who sings it at football and baseball games has their own way of singing it, and it seems to me that they all try to sing it their own way and none of them really sing it the way it was written. Only a few do it the right way.”
[RWC] Amen! This is a pet peeve of mine. Intentionally or not, too many performers make singing the national anthem about themselves, not about the U.S. It probably happened before, but my first recollection of this behavior is José Feliciano’s rendition before game five of the 1968 World Series. I don’t know the guy’s name, but the best performance I recall was by a Canadian before a Penguins game (in Montreal, I think) last year.
“So give Christina a break because it really is hard to sing it as a solo. The song means a lot to all of us, and the mistake of a few words did not ruin it.
“After all, it is just a song and she tried to do her best with it. I have to give credit to anyone who can stand up before such a huge crowd and TV cameras and sing it. ”
[RWC] Mistakes happen and it’s not like it never happened before. Heck, even U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts messed up the oath of office during the inauguration of President Obama. (To make sure there would be no future legal problems because of the flubbed oath, Justice Roberts re-administered the oath the next day.) Give Miss Aguilera credit for not lip-synching the song as many others do.
© 2004-2011 Robert W. Cox, all rights reserved.