"Celeb" national anthems

Sure if this doesn't come close:

 

as HC noted, "it's about the anthem, not you." that's the trouble i have with some of these folks. granted, it's a very tough song to sing, but is it asking too much to have some of these so-called "celebs" to do it right?
use a recording of ray charles and be done with it.

 

Please tell the marketing sorts, label executives and the so-called "artists" themselves that, JR and HC. No blue font, either.

Just do it, don't try so hard to make it about your voice, your style or you in any other way, shape or form and be done with it. Or, when in doubt, let a marching band handle it pregame and bring them back for a halftime show.

 

Sam Mills 51.....couldn't agree more....that would alleviate some of that crap.

 

I really hate it when they add an extra 10 syllables to one freaking word.

 

Oh come on, this doesn't give you chills?

 

In other words, what Mariah Carey has made a career out of doing?

For all the range in that voice, she still cannot sing. (And yes ... I await major flames for this ... )

 

by the way, who IS singing the national anthem for the Super Bowl?
Kurt Warner's wife?

 

One of my favorite betting options each year is the over/under on how long the singer goes with the anthem

 

Amen a million times over.

 

OK, I understand the "It's not about you" sentiment to an extent, but think about some of those great renditions. Think about Marvin Gaye at the All-Star Game, or Whitney Houston before Super Bowl XXV in Tampa in the shadow of the first Iraq war. Singers like them put their stamp on the anthem and I get chills every time I hear them.

Frankly, more singers miss than hit, but when you hear Whitney belt it out or even Mariah Carey before Super Bowl XXXVI, man, it can really be powerful. It is a great challenge to sing that song - one that everyone has heard thousands of times - before a big event like the Super Bowl and not everyone is going to do it well. But when they do, it can really set the tone for a great event.

You know, as writers, we could all just pump out copy with "just the facts, ma'am," when it comes to the Super Bowl, but we all try to put our unique spin on something that hundreds of other writers are going to pontificate about. Some of us will nail it. Others will try too hard. Still others will toe the line and just give the reader all the facts. But we all try to make the readers hear our voice. That's all the singers are trying to do. I think we would all do well to remember that.