Yesterday I got an e-mail sent from a reader (I don’t know if she wants me to mention her name) with the title “Christina butchered anthem” and she pointed out that “Christina Aguilera just finished singing the national anthem incorrectly.” I’m actually in the US now and was awake when this happened, so I headed downstairs to my dad’s big screen and we rewound and watched the national anthem again together. I didn’t notice that anything was wrong, she did seem to flub one line but it was hard to tell, and we both agreed that she did a great job. Plus I got all teary from seeing the footage of the troops in Afghanistan, who were cheered by the crowd. Overall it was a rousing performance and you did not get the sense that anyone there was unhappy with it.

Today there are stories about how Christina messed up, though, and substituted the words for one line. From what I saw she covered it up well. The girl can belt out a tune and she doesn’t suffer from a lack of self esteem that’s for sure.

Christina Aguilera, always a pro singing the national anthem, couldn’t make it through the Star Spangled Banner before the kickoff of Super Bowl XLV. Aguliera, who has handled the task without issue before NBA games, botched the lyrics badly halfway through the song.

Instead of “‘O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming” turned into “what so proudly we watched at the twilight’s last [unintelligable lyric].”

Luckily, Aguilera had the quick, crowd-rousing “rocket’s red glare” line to follow it up, which she nailed and got the packed Cowboys Stadium quickly on her side.

Still, our eyewitnesses in Dallas tell us that the crowd had some drastic reactions. “This was the biggest performance of her career and she blew it,” a source with a VIP view tells me. “To mess up the lyrics was a disaster.”

Another source tells us the televised roars of the crowds weren’t as loud in person. “A hush fell over the stadium and everyone was looking at each other.”

After the Star Spangled Banner wrapped, Aguilera headed backstage where a source tells me that the singer is “devastated.” She knows she messed up big time. It’s an honor to be ask and she let America and herself down. She doesn’t want anyone around her. Everyone telling her she was great but she knows the truth.”

[From Popeater]

I don’t really pay attention to sports and since I live overseas most of the year I’ll admit I don’t hear the national anthem enough to realize when one line is wrong. For people who know it well and hear it constantly at sporting events, particularly all the people who hired Aguilera and paid her big bucks to sing one simple song to show our national pride at the biggest sporting event of the year, I get how this would be a disaster. It’s embarrassing. I bet Christina doesn’t forget the words to her songs about oral sex and copying more original artists, but when it comes to the Star Spangled Banner she’s couldn’t get the lyrics right. At least she seemed sober even if she wasn’t prepared.

Screencaps from the performance.