Last week Aerosmith front man Steven Tyler came under fire for his rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" ahead of the AFC championship game between the Baltimore Ravens and the New England Patriots.
The rock legend was widely panned for his failure to hit the high notes, and he also had some trouble with the lyrics. But the complaints were nothing new, and perhaps for good reason. Recording artist Erica Chase tells Pop Tarts that, in characterizing our country's national anthem, “difficult would be an understatement.”
“The song itself does contain many challenging intervals and goes from lower to upper register frequently and has more than one climax to it,” she said. “A lot of stars are used to performing in their niche and along with a band or group, so this is completely out of their comfort zone.”
A lot of stars indeed.
At last year’s Super Bowl, Christina Aguilera forgot one of the lines and ended up singing the same phrase twice after “getting lost in the moment and forgetting her place.” 80s sensation Cyndi Lauper muffed the words during her performance at the 2011 US Open, which happened just after a moment of silence for the victims of 9/11. “Idol” runner-up Lauren Alaina flubbed a lyric and fell silent ahead of the Detroit Lions-Green Bay Packers game last Thanksgiving.
And those are the "good" mess-ups.
Michael Bolton forgot the words during the 2003 Red Sox versus the Yankees American League Championship game, prompting him to turn to his hand for written notes. Track star Carl Lewis promised to “make it up” to his upset audience halfway through a 1993 anthem performance. And Roseanne Barr infamously gave a shrill, off-pitch rendition of the anthem at a National League baseball doubleheader, topped off by a crude on-field gesture.
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