The biggest moment any singer can ask for: "The Star Spangled Banner" at the Super Bowl. And Christina Aguilera messed up the lyrics.You can watch the painful video here.
At about 51 seconds in, as she was about to sing the fourth line ("O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming"), she accidentally sang a hybrid of the second line: "What so proudly we watched, at the twilight's last streaming."
Like a professional, she seemed to know that she messed up, but kept going to the end.
Yes, sometimes even the pros screw up, but could it be that her efforts to hit every note in the scale EXCEPT the melody line distracted her from the lyrics? You know, there actually is a melody to this song, and it's a pretty good one - one of the most challenging songs for any soloist even if you don't try to make the song all about how talented you are.
To quote the opening line of Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life: "It's not about you." The same is true with The Star Spangled Banner. If it was about you I'm sure Francis Scott Key would have worked your name in there somewhere.
"Oh say can you, Christina Aguilera, see..."It's not written that way, is it?
Sing it straight. It's a pretty darn good song. And as far as I'm concerned, any singer who screws up the anthem deserves to have a "paycheck malfunction".
Oh, and by the way, it's not a dirge. It's a battle song. Tempo, people, tempo. Sing it like you're playing it in a marching band. You never hear them dragging the song out. If the Revolutionary Army had fought the way some people sing that song, today we'd all talk like the guys on "Top Gear".
Follow the K.I.S.S. rule: Keep it simple, stupid.
UPDATE: Joe Bonsall of The Oak Ridge Boys has some thoughts on the subject here.
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1 comment:
Could not agree more.
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