Christina Aguilera’s rendition of the National Anthem at Super Bowl XLV has become a media outrage. The 30-year-old five-time Grammy
winner made an unusual mistake for such a compelling artist at one of the grandest stages of all.
Instead of singing “O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming,” she sang “What so proudly we watched at the twilight’s
last gleaming.” Huge difference, right?
The madness continues. There have been many screw ups of the National Anthem at our own Basketball games. Last Saturday at a Lady Rattler’s
basketball game, The Star Spangled Banner was victim to another assault. Its words were violated and rearranged in such a way, that it
should have been called “The Star Spangled Banner: the Chopped & Screwed Edition. As the song ended on that note, the team would end up
losing to Morgan State University.
However, with the ongoing mishaps of our beloved song, one has to ask is this really a huge issue? In Ms. Aguilera’s case, she proved that
singing live exposes a singer to mistakes that just may be subject of human nature. Unlike Whitney Houston’s famous performance at the 1991
Super Bowl XXV, this was taped with an orchestra free of any flaws?
As viewers would we prefer a taped lip singing flawless performance, or a live authentic one displaying the singer’s genuine sound barring
possible natural wrong-doings? As proud Americans we take patriotism very seriously. The National Anthem should be held with the highest honor, respect and gratitude for our forefathers, and the men and women that fought for our freedom.
Singing this song in front of millions of viewers becomes a big deal. In grade school students are taught their country’s National Anthem and the pledge of allegiance for the sake of taking pride in the United States of America.
Although mistakes happen, there is no excuse for the experienced failure to learn or misinterpret the lyrics to such important content.
An error of this sort is unacceptable and fewer occurrences would be greatly appreciated among viewers