Let's get this out of the way: The national anthem is a really hard song to sing.
Combine that with singing in front of hundreds of thousands of people, and you're going to
get a few mishaps along the way.
That said, not everyone will be able to belt it out like Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston.
Whether due to technical issues, artistic expression gone wrong, or just downright bad
singing, here are the worst national anthem performances ever sung.
Fergie
At the NBA All-Star Game in February 2018, Fergie attempted a jazzy rendition of "The
Star-Spangled Banner."
Unfortunately, her vocal runs, odd timing, and bizarre inflections butchered the song
completely.
"That our flag was still there...ohowowo"
Adding insult to injury, several NBA stars and celebrities, including Jimmy Kimmel, couldn't
even contain their laughter during the performance.
Kimmel, who didn't realize he was on camera at the time, later addressed the incident
on his show:
"And in Fergie's defense, we don't know what Francis Scott Key was thinking when he wrote
the Star Spangled Banner.
Maybe he wanted it to be sexy."
Following her cringeworthy performance, Fergie told The Hollywood Reporter:
"I'm a risk taker artistically, but clearly this rendition didn't strike the intended
tone.
I love this country and honestly tried my best."
Michael Bolton
Michael Bolton can serve vocals for days, but no one is immune to sound issues or sudden
memory loss.
While singing the national anthem ahead of an ALCS game between the New York Yankees
and Boston Red Sox in 2003, a terrible echo in the stadium destroyed Bolton's performance.
"What so proudly we hail"
And even though he still delivered the best performance he could, Bolton wasn't completely
prepared — he didn't even try to hide it when he peeked at the lyrics he'd written
on his hand.
"Or the ramparts we watched… were so gallantly streaming…"
Christina Aguilera
Grammy winner Christina Aguilera has the pipes to deliver a beautiful rendition of the national
anthem.
Unfortunately at the 2011 Super Bowl, she focused more on vocal acrobatics than on remembering
the lyrics.
As a result, she got her verses mixed up.
"What so proudly we watched, at the twilight's last gleaming."
It sounds fine enough — but for context, that's the part of the song that's supposed
to go: "O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming."
Yikes.
Aguilera later apologized for the mix-up, saying:
"I got so caught up in the moment of the song that I lost my place.
I can only hope that everyone could feel my love for this country and that the true spirit
of its anthem still came through."
Scott Stapp
At the NASCAR Ford 400 in November 2005, former Creed frontman Scott Stapp slurred out a grungy
rendition of the national anthem, turning the lyrics into a weird, tuneless syllable
soup.
"Oh say can you seeeeyah"
Of course, the question isn't whether he should have sung it differently — the question
is, was anyone expecting him to?
"And the land of the free,"
Aaron Lewis
Staind frontman Aaron Lewis' performance of the national anthem at the World Series in
2014 left a lot to be desired.
The vocals were flat and lackluster, and there was an audible struggle with some of the high
notes.
He also flubbed the lyrics a bit.
"What so proudly we hail, were so gallantly..."
It may have been a bit of karma for Lewis, who'd previously slammed Christina Aguilera's
own botched performance of the song, saying
"I guess I just don't understand how people who sing the national anthem can be so f-----
self-absorbed that they would try to change that f------ song.
If there is a single song in the history of this country that deserves no creative interpretation,
it's that one."
Lewis later apologized, writing on Facebook, "All I can say is I'm sorry and ask for the
nation's forgiveness.
My nerves got the best of me and I am completely torn up about what happened.
[...] I hope everyone can understand the intensity of the situation and my true intent of this
performance."
Carl Lewis
Carl Lewis is a talented man, with nine Olympic gold medals in track and field to prove it.
Unfortunately, none of that mattered when he performed the national anthem at a 1993
NBA game at the Meadowlands in New Jersey - quite simply, it was a nightmare.
"Oh say can you see… and the rocket's red glare."
He later explained what happened on Oprah's Where Are They Now:
"So I was actually under the weather and did not want to do it but you can't back out but
I shouldn't have sang that day."
"I've been on interviews and they'll just laugh it up laugh it up Isn't it funny my
Anthem 25 years ago has been seen by more people than your show."
R. Kelly
R. Kelly was clearly going for a Marvin Gaye vibe with his 2005 rendition of the national
anthem before a boxing match, though the singer definitely made the song his own.
"What so proudly we hailed, by the twilight last gleaming."
Kelly also incorporated some awkwardly placed handclaps and Chicago step-dancers to create
what was basically a remix of his own "Step In The Name Of Love" at the expense of Old
Glory.
"Come on clap your hands! of the brave."
Hey, at least he didn't work in "Trapped In The Closet."
The Fray
The Fray tried to put their own spin on "The Star-Spangled Banner" for their April 2012
performance at the NCAA title game.
Unfortunately, it didn't work so well.
The guitarists were out of sync, and the whole performance was fairly lackluster.
"Oh say can you see, dawn's early light."
The band was, at least, self-aware of the failure, tweeting: "Upon thinking about it,
doing the national anthem is a bit like choosing between Jif and Skippy.
You just can't please everyone."
Steven Tyler
Steven Tyler has one of the greatest voices in rock 'n' roll history, which is why it
was so upsetting that he butchered the national anthem more than once.
While performing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the 2001 Indy 500, he started with an improv
harmonica solo.
Then, he added his own flair to the lyrics.
"Land of the free…
YA YAH YEEEEEEEE YA YA, ah yeah yeah."
He didn't fare much better in 2012, when he sang before the AFC championship game in Foxborough
Massachusetts.
"O've Land of the free…
YEAH"
Tyler later talked about that particular performance with the Associated Press and said that he
wasn't sorry about a thing.
"I nailed that note and you know what?
If you don't like it too bad."
​Beyonce
Beyoncé visibly suffered from audio issues during her performance of the national anthem
at President Barack Obama's inauguration in January 2013.
It was so bad that she ended up removing her ear monitor during the song
"The bombs bursting in air"
The move led some people to speculate that she lip-synced the entire performance.
Beyonce came clean about the whole thing in a press conference:
"Due to no proper sound check, I did not feel comfortable taking a risk.
I decided to sing along with my pre recorded track."
It may have made for a messy live performance of the national anthem, but there's no doubt
that Beyonce can sing the song.
To prove it, she sang an a capella rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the same
NFL press conference.
Roseanne Barr
In July 1990, Roseanne Barr gave what may have been the worst rendition of "The Star-Spangled
Banner," in history.
"Ov'r the land of the free" Years later, she talked about the performance
with Raw Dog on SiriusXM and explained that she knew as soon as she started that she wasn't
going to be able to do the song justice.
"I just thought what the hell, I'm a comic and I'm gonna make it funny.
Because I have, like, way overshot my wad here."
After all that, one would think that Barr would have some sympathy for other performers
of the national anthem.
But the comic still dissed Fergie for her 2018 NBA All-Star Game rendition, tweeting:
"Who saw Fergie's national anthem performance at the NBA All Star Game?
I think mine was better low-key."
We'll let fans decide that for themselves.
"And the rocket's red glare.
The bombs bursting in air."
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