Watch What Happens When Famous Musicians Completely Butcher The National Anthem In Front Of A Zillion People
Sure, the high notes in the National Anthem are hard to hit and its lyrics are frequently flubbed, but these renditions by famous singers are just awful. Some forget the lyrics, others are way off-key and a few try to put their own spin on the beat— but either way, they completely butcher it and embarrass themselves in front of mass amounts of people.
So, cover your heart (and your ears) as you listen to the worst performances of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Keri Hilson
Ever make a mistake and wish you could go back and correct it? Well, that’s exactly what R&B singer Keri Hilson did when she forgot the lyrics at a NBA Lakers vs. Hawks game in 2010. She skipped the verse that says, “O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming.” Then she goes back to correct it as if no one would notice. Everyone noticed.
Christina Aguilera
At Super Bowl XLV, Christina Aguilera infamously butchered the National Anthem. The Grammy Award-winning singer changed the words in the song’s fourth line, merging the lyrics with the song’s second line. And that final note? Yikes.
Steven Tyler
Aerosmith’s frontman Steven Tyler gave a screechy and just overall horrible performance of the National Anthem at the 2012 AFC Championship game. Oh and he forgot the words when he said “as bombs bursting” instead of “the bombs bursting.”
Scott Stapp
Creed’s Grammy Award-winning singer needs to “Stapp” singing the National Anthem. Scott Stapp has butchered “The Star-Spangled Banner” on several occasions, with the worst being at the NASCAR Ford 400 in 2005, and more recently, at a 2010 Florida Marlins game.
Michael Bolton
Remember in school when you would cheat and write the answers to the test on your palm, thinking the teacher wouldn’t notice? Well, Michael Bolton had a similar idea at a 2003 Red Sox vs. Yankees baseball game when he stopped to peek at the lyrics on his hand. That and the weird echo following each line made his performance a failure times two.
Vince Neil
Mötley Crüe front man Vince Neil gave an a capella and completely off-key rendition of the National Anthem in 2015 at the inaugural game of his arena football team, the Las Vegas Outlaws. Although he got most of the words right, his voice was enough to make anyone’s ears bleed.
James Taylor
It’s one thing to forget the lyrics, but what about when you forget what song our national anthem is? That’s what happened at the 2013 World Series when James Taylor began singing “America the Beautiful.” Luckily the Grammy Award-winning singer realized his mistake, stopped and re-started with “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Kat DeLuna
Once a rising pop star with a promising future, Kat DeLuna never quite made it after her National Anthem performance at a sold out Dallas Cowboys game in 2008. She tried too hard to hit the high notes, half-forgot the lyrics, carried the notes out for too long and completely botched the last note. What’s worse is that she actually thought she was nailing the performance— that is, until everyone booed her at the end.
Jesse McCartney
Jesse McCartney didn’t just skip a couple lyrics; he missed an entire line of the National Anthem at the NASCAR Pepsi 500. While it seemed like he didn’t even realize his mistake, everyone else sure did.
R. Kelly
Aaron Lewis
What goes around comes around. After loudly criticizing Christina Aguilera’s Super Bowl performance, Aaron Lewis, the lead singer of The Staind, messed up the words to the National Anthem before game five of the 2014 World Series.
Cyndi Lauper
On the 10-year anniversary of 9/11, Cyndi Lauper forgot the words to the National Anthem during her performance at the 2011 US Open remembrance ceremony. After “O’er the ramparts we watched,” she sang, “as our flag was still streaming,” instead of “were so gallantly streaming.”
Scotty McCreery
American Idol winner Scotty McCreery had a bit of trouble singing the National Anthem before game one of the World Series in 2011. First, his microphone wasn’t turned on, so he had to start over. Perhaps this false start threw him off, because later on, he appeared to sing, “No Jose does that star-spangled banner” instead of “Oh say does that star-spangled banner.”
Lauren Alaina
American Idol runner-up Lauren Alaina flubbed a lyric, causing her to fall silent when she sang the National Anthem ahead of the Detroit Lions-Green Bay Packers game on Thanksgiving in 2011.
Jamie Foxx
Jamie Foxx’s soulful rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” wasn’t bad, just a little off-script. However, just before he was about to sing the National Anthem at the 2015 Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao “Fight of the Century,” his vocal monitor supposedly failed, causing him to be out-of-sync with the organ.