There are basically three rules for a successful pre-game rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner”: Know the lyrics and enunciate them. Stay on key. And maintain the note you hit at the end of “land of the free” for as long as humanly possible.
Was Ingrid Andress’s rendition of the national anthem that bad? Here are 5 more standout flops
The country star was criticized for her take on the “Star-Spangled Banner” ahead of the MLB All-Star Game.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
July 16, 2024 at 7:18PM
Country singer Ingrid Andress went one-for-three during her performance of the national anthem ahead of Monday’s MLB Home Run Derby. And the consensus seemed to be, yeah, that was bad.
Andress offered an apology and explanation the next day on social media: She was drunk.
“That was not me last night,” Andress wrote, adding that she’s checked herself into rehab.
But it isn’t the first time a vocalist’s attempt at the national anthem struck the wrong notes with the public. Here are 5 that stand out:
Fergie, 2018
Peek the cuts to incredulous looks and stifled laughter among players and attendees alike in the video above to see the wide range of reactions to her rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” ahead of 2018′s NBA All-Star Game.
“Although Fergie was on pitch, her tempo, musical accompaniment and sexy delivery were not exactly typical for a sporting event or a patriotic song,” Star Tribune reporter Paul Walsh wrote at the time.
Michael Bolton, 2003
Everything was going just fine during Michael Bolton’s performance of the national anthem ahead of Game 4 of the American League Championship Series in 2003. Then he got to the end of the second verse and ... forgot the lyrics.
After a brief pause to mull over what should come after “o’er the ramparts we watched,” Bolton points to his noggin with an expression that says, “of course,” and finishes the song.
“He resumed, and the fans sang the last few lines with him,” the Star Tribune reported at the time. “When he concluded, he was serenaded with some boos.”
Christina Aguilera, 2011
The pop superstar opened the 2011 Super Bowl with her vocalization of the national anthem and immediately caught flak from internet observers when she mistakenly sang “what so proudly we watched” instead of “o’er the ramparts we watched” in the second verse.
“I got so caught up in the moment of the song that I lost my place,” said Aguilera, according to a Star Tribune dispatch in the next day’s paper. “I can only hope that everyone could feel my love for this country and that the true spirit of its anthem still came through.”
Steven Tyler, 2001
The Aerosmith frontman began his performance with 20 seconds on the harmonica before launching into a highly improvised rendition of the national anthem, particularly in the last verse.
Instead of holding a note after “o’er the land of the free,” Tyler instead snuck a short scat performance in. And rather than end the anthem on “home of the brave,” the rocker replaced the last word with “Indianapolis 500.”
Roseanne Barr, 1990
Roseanne Barr’s attempt at “The Star-Spangled Banner” was roundly excoriated when she took the microphone ahead of the San Diego Padres’s game against Cincinnati in the summer of 1990.
Barr practically shouted the words to the song in her signature nasally tone, a vocalization that prompted longtime Minnesota Twins Public Relations Director Tom Mee to remark at the time: “We’ve had bad singers, but never anything like that.”
Reporter Noel Holston described the performance as “a national debacle in which not only the comedian’s taste but also her patriotism was called into question.”
“Basically, it was a mistake on all our parts, but I do think the press totally overblew it,” Barr told Holston over the phone days later.
In 1903, there were 89 such dining halls, which were seen as more wholesome than hot dog stands. (Less fried stuff on a stick then.)
