Oh, say can you....

I've seen all kind of comments today about Christina Aguilera's National Anthem last night at the Super Bowl. Some of them were forgiving, most of them were not. Some were people I knew, some weren't. After reading all these comments, I thought I would let you in on my perspective.

The National Anthem is my favorite and least favorite song to sing. :-)

I love honoring our country, backing my favorite team (Go Titans!), hearing the crowd singing along...it's all really exciting and I feel so amazing when I get asked to sing it!

However, the range on the song is nuts...so starting in the right key is very important. Plus, I almost always second guess myself on the lyrics...even though I've been singing it for years. The "what so proudly we hailed" and "o'er the ramparts we watched" lines are the ones that get jumbled in my head sometimes. I can be all the way to "the land of the free" and still be wondering if I did it right. 

So...that being said, I have all the sympathy in the world for Christina Aguilera. We all know the girl can saaaang! She's so talented and I've heard her do awesome versions of the anthem.  I was impressed that she and Leah Michelle sang live. But not only did Christina sing live, she did it acapella. Normally, singers at the Super Bowl have some huge orchestral accompaniment that gives them an extra boost, but she just laid it all out there. Yes, she mixed up the lyrics, but it happens! It's just sad that it had to happen in front of all of us. 

My last week on Idol, I sang two songs chosen by the executive producers and the judges, and then I sang I song I had already sung on the show...I'm a Woman. That was the only song I actually knew and I royally jacked up the lyrics! I can't even tell you what I sang...just jumbled up syllables. I was horrified. I couldn't believe I did that on a song I knew well with 30 million people watching. I cried when I got back to my apartment...

Then I think of the fact that Christina did that in front of 111 million! And you know that she immediately knew everyone was going to be talking about her. So, let me be one of the people that says, these things happen and I'm more impressed that she powered through it and didn't even let it show on her face that she messed up. That is a true professional.

For those that talked about all the runs she did....ummm...she's Christina Aguilera...what exactly were you expecting? Yes, she probably added a few more in the end, but it is human nature to try to compensate for a mistake and end big. My close friends know that when I mess up on a song, the first thing I do is belt out a big 'ol note to try to make the audience forget that ever happened. LOL! ;-)

Anyway, I just needed to get that off my chest. Thanks for letting me do that! 

Love y'all and would love to hear what you think!

Melinda