WHY CHRISTINA AGUILERA’S NATIONAL ANTHEM STRUCK A NERVE: Last night, the pop singer Christina Aguilera performed the "Star-Spangled Banner" with passion, soul and grilled on radio, television and the web to pick a few lines. "It exploded," said sports talk show Mike Golic on his show "Mike and Mike in the Morning."
But in many ways, rendering Christina Aguilera may have been related to the history and tradition of the song.
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is among the virtually famed songs in the global. In part, since she is so familiar, singers often miss, or flub words high marks because they believe because they think they know so well the song, it will show more easily.
It is normally not.
Rendition of Whitney Houston's national anthem before 1991 Super Bowl XXV between the Giants and the Buffalo Bills is that many listeners cite as a favorite: the All-American version, powered with high marks and great song.
But the performance of Marvin Gaye, before the game 1983 NBA All-Star entering one of the best. He turns "The Star-Spangled Banner" in a prayer, a demand unity and a foetid complete jam - whole without profaning the gravitas of the song. (Or withdraw his sunglasses inside.)
Aguilera performed the song a number of times herself, including a minimalist interpretation of it, accompanied only by a drummer.
When someone takes a chance with "The Star-Spangled Banner", it can be career threatening. Roseanne Barr delivered a vile interpretation before a crunch match the 1990 San Diego Padres, and his public image was tarnished. Jose Feliciano sparked a controversy starred in 1968, while she sang the anthem ahead Game 5 of World Series between the Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals. His view was lightly swinging Latin, which has proven controversial for the day. Feliciano said that following his performance, radio stations pulled their records and it took some time to recover his career.
At Woodstock in 1969, Jimi Hendrix soared through an instrumental version on his electric guitar - and his point of view quickly became a symbol of the cons-culture of the 1960s.
Hendrix version was widely interpreted as an attack against the Vietnam War - but this is only part of the story. Hendrix had served in the 101st Airborne Division stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky., for his feelings about the military were - like his music - nuanced and complex. Charles R. Cross, in his book "Room Full of Mirrors: A Biography of Jimi Hendrix" writes: "If he meant the song as a screed anti-Vietnam war, the experts quickly suggested, he never said that."On a conference show a few weeks after Woodstock, Hendrix said:" I am an American, so I played. They used to make me sing at school, so it was a flashback. "
Christina Aguilera has released a statement last night saying his version of "I'm so caught up in the moment of the song I lost my place. I can only hope that everyone could feel my love for this country and that the true spirit of his hymn yet comes through. "
Christina Aguilera sings pop style has roots in the soul, where the emphasis is sometimes less words than on emotions. Sometimes lyrics get repeated or skipped in favor of concluding the heart of all that piece of music is running.
