O say, can Christina have a do-over?
Christina Aguilera helped kick off Sunday's Super Bowl with a singer's nightmare, flubbing the words of "The Star-Spangled Banner" about 40 seconds into the song as tens of millions prepared to watch the game between the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Standing at midfield at Texas' Cowboys Stadium, the singer-actress mixed a previously sung clause with the one she was supposed to be on.
Here's what she sang, with the error in bold:
"O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight
What so proudly we watched at the twilight’s last [unintelligible].â€
That fourth line was supposed to be: "O'er the ramparts we watch'd were so gallantly streaming."
In a statement released by her publicist, Aguilera explained what happened:
"I got so lost in the moment of the song that I lost my place," the singer said. "I can only hope that everyone could feel my love for this country and that the true spirit of its anthem still came through."
Aguilera isn't the first person to have trouble with the song, as Time magazine's "Top 10 Worst National-Anthem Renditions" will remind us.
The list includes Michael Bolton's effort at a 2003 playoff baseball game in Boston's Fenway Park, where he had to pause midsong and check some notes before correctly getting through the same line that troubled Aguilera.
Aguilera sang the national anthem twice during last year's NBA finals. She delivered both performances without incident.
- CNN's Denise Quan contributed to this report.
Hello? she human, it happens.
It should be sung by a midget getting their twig & giggleberries yanked upwards.
Who was the dark-haired girl who sang the other patriotic song during the pre-game BS? And I hope the NFL got the black eye peas crap out of their system for a few years.
@ Les, That was the amazing Lea Michelle, who stars in the the FOX show GLEE. Check out some of her other performances on youtube! She is a veteran performer with more talent in her little finger than CA! She can handle ANY song, and should have been given the honor of singing the Anthem as well!
Look up Glee, "Rain on my Parade"... Lea is fantastic performing this song! Very close to, if not better than Streisand!
Major problem today is we have lost appreciation for GOOD music and true, talented musicians and vocalists!
She still sounded great, even for a white chick!
What a disgrace. I missed the beginning of the game, but if she has any class at all, which, given who she is, is doubtful, she should get up and apologize to the country as a whole and to the families of every veteran living and dead. This makes me ill.. if you dont have enough respect for the country that gave you so much more than you deserve or have earned to know the lyrics to the NAtional ANthem, then please , do us all a favor and take your self absorbed sefl to another country
Reminds me of an old Simpsons episode when Bleeding Gums Murphy took three hours to sing the anthem because he was Scat singing it. Still, does she have to go ooooooooooooooowwoooooooooooowowooooooooowowoo saaaayayayyyyyyyyyayyy....?
Absolutely the most revolting rendition I can remember! Even worse than messing up the lyrics, her performance came across as glorifying herself rather than our country and its symbol. Our national anthem is most moving when sung as it was originally written, not filled with the performer's vapid melody changes and embellishments. Ms. Aguilera evidently even thought that subjecting us to her screaming would kindle our patriotic fervor.
I have no doubt that Ms. Aguilera is capable of singing our national anthem very beautifully however her personal interpretation she chose to give ruined it for most of us.
Ms. Aguilera – the national anthem is not YOUR song, it's OURS. Your mistake was trying to make it your own. Save that for YOUR songs, not OUR national anthem! I hope I never hear you perform the national anthem again because it will bring back memories of how you massacred it this evening!
Performers – our national anthem should not be an opportunity for self-aggrandizement!
I was appalled. She really does have a good voice but flubbling the words is unforgivable. I suppose next year they will find someone who will just sing the damn song and not try to get too fancy.
Who cares. Let it go people.
Lets get to the point...popular entertainers are brought in to perform for two reasons: increase viewership and increase revenue(profit). When more people watch more money is made. Artists know this and try to put their own spin on the national anthem in hopes of increasing their popularity and personal wealth. Fewer people would tune in early if a "nobody" sang the anthem. The Super Bowl is nothing more than a revenue generating platform for the network airing it, its sponsers, and the nfl.
The song is monotonous, hate to say it, but not upbeat at all.
NFL sucks donkey balls. CFL rules!
True dat!
It was horrible. Black Eyed Peas were terrible. That Michael Douglas bit was irrelevant. The game was spectacular.
NFL blows goats. CFL rules!
NFL s u c ks balls....CFL rules!