Aaron Lewis mauls the national anthem. I was saying Boo-urns. Picture: AFP Source: AFP
HERE’S a hot tip for all you singers out there: If you’re going to diss others who tackle one of the most notoriously difficult songs of all time, you’d better get it right yourself.
Frontman of American rock band Staind, Aaron Lewis, stepped up to perform the American national anthem prior to a game in the Baseball World Series in San Francisco on Sunday.
The 42-year-old rocker immediately got into trouble, though, flubbing the song’s opening lines -which are admittedly something of a mouthful (“Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light / What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming” doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue).
Lewis got back on track later in the song, and finished relatively unscathed as yet another in the long list of singers who’ve almost come undone thanks to a combination of nerves and the unwieldy nature of the Star-Spangled Banner.
Aaron Lewis flubs the anthem
And that’s where it would’ve ended, except for one thing: Lewis has form getting stuck into other singers who have trouble singing the anthem. Critics have been only too eager to dig up footage recorded at a 2011 concert which shows Lewis addressing the crowd, apparently after giving a rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner, and dissing fellow singer Christina Aguilera’s attempt:
“Better than Christina! Or was that Cyndi Lauper? I’m not really sure who it was. I don’t understand how people who sing the national anthem can be so f**king self-absored that they could try to change that f**king song. If there’s a single song in the history of our country that deserves no creative interpretation, it’s that one.”
Aaron Lewis (centre) and his Staind band mates. Source: AP
Ouch. Having now learned the hard way that the Star-Spangled Banner is a tricky song to get right, Lewis is more circumspect. Following the televised flub, and following a backlash from viewers who’ve called his patriotism into question, Lewis released the following Team America-esque statement on his website:
“All I can say is I’m sorry and ask for the Nation’s forgiveness. My nerves got the best of me and I am completely torn up about what happened. America is the greatest country in the world. The Star-Spangled Banner means so much to so many, including myself. I hope everyone can understand the intensity of the situation and my true intent of this performance. I hope that the Nation, Major League Baseball and the many fans of our national pastime can forgive me.”
Here’s Lewis back in 2011, dissing Aguilera and others who’ve tackled the Star-Spangled Banner (language warning):
