Since I was little, one of my dreams has been to sing the anthems (Canada and US) at a sporting event. Preferably an Ottawa Senators game, though Lyndon Slewidge has that locked down and no one can do it like he does. Or a baseball game, which would also be amazing. I've sung the Canadian anthem at events before. It's an amazing feeling, staring at the flag, listening to the crowd sing along. It's something really special that is pretty difficult to describe.
I've wanted to write this post for a while. I got a friendly nudge on the weekend, someone telling me I need to write about music more. I don't disagree with this.
And then today, as I was listening to rare home video of Brian McKnight and his sons singing the anthem, my coworker asked if I'd seen the Glee cast singing it at the World Series (of course I had). Strange coincidence, both of us listening to an anthem (not even our own) at the same time. So that inspired this post.
Ready? The best US Anthem performances, in my opinion.
#1: You know it. It's Whitney. It has to be. Ask anyone who knows anything about anthems/music/acoustics/live performances in huge venues, and they'll probably bring up this performance, if they're geeky like me and know a bit of history of anthem performances. Anyway. The fact that this took place during Desert Storm just gave it more meaning. I can't even describe how amazing this is, how she follows the orchestra, rather than trying to make the orchestra follow her (a lot of singers can be guilty of this). She displays her vocal skills without trying to overtake the song (an anthem no-no). It's tasteful, patriotic, and generally awesome. People say this is pre-recorded, but I don't believe it is. Even if it was? I don't care. It's amazing.
#2: Jordin Sparks. Okay, so this is pre-recorded. Whatever. I can't blame her. You try singing in a big, huge space that's meant for sound to echo for effect (fan noise is important, too, you know). The point is, no matter whether she sung live, she sings the hell out of it. That said, I was skeptical about this at first. I wondered how many takes she took in the studio to get this to sound so good. Then I watched this (Shaq is impressed). And this. Bottom line is, the girl can sing the hell out of this anthem, live or not.
And as usual, I have a number one and a number two, but I can't really rate the rest of them on a scale, so here they are in no particular order.
Marvin Gaye. Just...Just listen. You can't say anything bad about this. Anthem purists might, but listen to the commentary at the beginning. And then listen to the crowd. They love it. Marvin is just magic, people. Just magic. And to quote someone who commented, "Only Marvin Gaye could turn the national anthem into something you could have sex to." Truth.
*NSync. Y'all know I love pretty much anything a capella, and I love pretty much anything *NSync (don't judge; they're fantastic and you know it). The harmonies on this are ridiculous. No one pushes the tempo. No one sings off key. Instant chills. Give me five part harmony with these guys any day of the week, and it'll make some list of mine.
Celine Dion. (Ignore [or don't, either way] the extra stuff at the end of this vid.) Seriously. If anyone ever questions hers as legitimately one of the best voices of all time, just make them listen to her sing something a capella. Talk about power. And no, maybe there's nothing spectacular about this rendition, but it's Celine, and pretty much anything she sings can sound like the most amazing thing on the planet, just because she puts her whole freaking heart into everything. And do yourself a favour and listen to her God Bless America while you're at it.
James Taylor. It's not fantastic or anything, but it's James freaking Taylor, and it sounds like him. So forget it. It's on my list.
Anthems I surprisingly really dislike: Carrie Underwood (snoresville), Boyz II Men (how 'bout a melody line, boys? there're four of you...), Mariah Carey (whisper singing = lame).
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celine dion,
glee,
james taylor,
jordin sparks,
marvin gaye,
nsync,
whitney houston
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