Aguilera flubs national anthem at Super Bowl
February 6th, 2011
09:31 PM ET

Aguilera flubs national anthem at Super Bowl

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.

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Filed under: Celebrity • Football • Pro football • Showbiz • Sports
soundoff (2,138 Responses)
  1. gunther

    And how much did they pay her to mess this up?????

    February 7, 2011 at 9:34 am | Report abuse |
  2. Frank Rizzo

    The majority of folks under the age of 30 could care less about America. So it does not surprise me she destroyed the song . I bet if you could take a poll no one knew she messed. up .

    February 7, 2011 at 9:34 am | Report abuse |
  3. Ana

    It is our National Anthem. Not a dance tune for American Bandstand ("I give it a 60 because it is easy to dance to"). Nor is it a scramble song for Soul Train "Tars Pangelds Nabner." It is our National Anthem and deserves respect. No other country on this planet would allow their anthem to be sung as a top ten show tune. What a disgrace.

    February 7, 2011 at 9:34 am | Report abuse |
  4. Joel

    These celebrities aren't doing this for free.

    You tell me we can't have a 12th grade music student who wouldn't be just as good....and loyal?

    Get rid of the phonies and use someone who really cares.....and won't forget the words.

    These celebrities just continue to embarrass themselves.

    February 7, 2011 at 9:34 am | Report abuse |
  5. jorge washinsen

    I heard just part of it. She no doubt forgot the words which could happen to anyone. There are few, if any left, that are capable of singing the song as it should be. If it is not presented as it was originally written, the person trying to sing it should not be allowed to butcher it up.There are certain songs that should have but one arrangement,this is one of them.

    February 7, 2011 at 9:35 am | Report abuse |
  6. Matthew

    She was awful. She is a horrible singer. The half-time show was even worse, which was tough to do.

    February 7, 2011 at 9:35 am | Report abuse |
  7. marc

    No big deal – she sounded great.

    February 7, 2011 at 9:35 am | Report abuse |
  8. Lucian

    Christina Aguilera should take lesson from Chipmunks 🙂
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYoYrMvNleU

    February 7, 2011 at 9:35 am | Report abuse |
  9. Kacy

    The only reason this was bad is because she didn't sing very well. As for the mess up, so what? It's happened so many times before and it'll happen again.

    February 7, 2011 at 9:36 am | Report abuse |
  10. Pilgrymm

    Sounds like someone needs a Tosh.0 web redemption!

    February 7, 2011 at 9:36 am | Report abuse |
  11. B. Tabak

    Sing the song like it is suppose to be sung. And stop with all the garbage she added. OH! And learn the words

    February 7, 2011 at 9:36 am | Report abuse |
  12. Phil

    I think she should not be paid. This is a disgrace to our country.

    February 7, 2011 at 9:37 am | Report abuse |
  13. ArizonaUSA

    Most pop singers are totally overrated. Professional American singers should be able to sing the National Anthem in their sleep. It's not a show piece, it's an anthem.

    February 7, 2011 at 9:37 am | Report abuse |
  14. Mindy

    ROTFLMFAO Aguilera is funtional illiterate/twit who couldn't pour water out of a boot with instructions on the heel. Priceless!

    February 7, 2011 at 9:37 am | Report abuse |
  15. alexsb82

    Looks like she is hailing Hitler in the photo

    February 7, 2011 at 9:37 am | Report abuse |
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