Why Christina Aguilera Flubbed Lyrics At The Superbowl

0 CommentsMonday • February 7, 2011 • by Imei

Tweet

Why did the soulful pop singer Christina Aguilera flub up the lyrics to the National Anthem during Superbowl XLV? First of all, I assure you that my blog is not about to become a media rag of critique and negativity. I do believe that what happened to Aguilera can happen to any of us, and because it can, it’s well worth looking into.

Within hours of her National Anthem rendition at the Superbowl, Aguilera’s Wikipedia page was updated to reflect her performance:

Aguilera performed the U.S. national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner, during the Super Bowl XLV on February 6, 2011 and created controversy when she omitted a line of the anthem and messed up the song’s lyrics.[127] She later apologized for messing up the song’s lyrics, telling CNN that “I got so caught up in the moment of the song that I lost my place. I can only hope that everyone could feel my love for this country and that the true spirit of its anthem still came through.”[128]

I was watching the Superbowl, and I immediately caught the mistake and noted it on Twitter. While Twitter fans tweeted their speculations as to whether Aguilera intentionally flubbed the lyrics, I watched the performance a couple of times to judge for myself.

Here’s why I tend to believe Aguilera is telling the truth about her unintentional mistake:

1. She has sung The Star Spangled Banner numerous times in the past without a mistake.

2. She is a professional singer, and it is doubtful she would take a risk to tarnish her career.

3. She did three things that indicate she made a mistake:
a. She closed her eyes.
b. She rushed the musical phrase and shortened the rest between it and the next (as compared to the previous phrase, which had breath and space in it).
c. Her mistake is fairly common. When musicians, singers, and dancers “blank”, their minds often start reaching for the closest familiar words, notes, and combinations. Think of it as a kind of recall by repetition. By repeating something, the mind is better able to remember what comes next, and it’s a common way all of us “jog” our memories for something that seems so close, yet so far away. I once watched a very painful piano recital of a friend who forgot her piece midway through. Her teacher insisted she never bring sheet music to the stage. She made three attempts to find her place by repeating the phrase before, but because she was unable to complete the phrase, the next one never came. She made a decision to stop repeating the phrase, and jumped to the next memorable section (movement two, or in the case of The Star Spangled Banner, “And the rockets red glare”).

This final point is why I do not believe her mistake was intentional, as in an intentional lyric change to draw attention to herself. If it was crafted, it would have been very different. This mistake is simply too common.

And why the word, “reaming”? My best guess is related to 3c. It isn’t about logic at this point. Adrenaline, nervousness, and embarrassment play an active roll in tripping up the tongue and interfering with other-wise logical actions. Her mind was likely grabbing for a familiar word — such as gleaming, which she sung in the previous phrase. Unfortunately, reaming was what came forth.

I’m not defending Aguilera. Her own career is a credit to her popularity and survival in a competitive market. What I am saying is that she’s human, and so are you and I. We would be so lucky if we were given a moment as she has been given. I can only imagine that she would do as I have done a few times in my performances: taken a moment to look out at that crowd, forget your status and reputation, and just ENJOY the moment. Getting caught up in a moment isn’t a crime (unless that moment includes a loaded gun and a bottle of whiskey). It is just so unfortunate that she is being skewered by onlookers and New Media trolls for having taken that moment, and getting lost in it.

If I ever do decide to send in my audition to sing the National Anthem for a public event, I am bringing my iPad with the lyrics queued up. I know that song backwards and forwards, but with adrenaline pumping away, I’d want to make sure that the word “reaming” didn’t accidentally fall out of my mouth. Karaoke via the iPad works just fine with me.

What do you think? Intentional error, stupid mistake, or getting lost in the moment? Share your thoughts here.

Posted in: entertainment

Tagged with: Christina Aguilera, flub, lyrics, mistake, Superbowl 2011, Superbowl XLV