# Fuck you, Christina Aguilera **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 7, 2011, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-christina-aguilera/570488 "2011-02-07T04:23:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-christina-aguilera/570488/1 "2011-02-07T04:23:30Z")
If you’re going to sing the national anthem in front of millions of patriotic Americans, please learn the lyrics before you go out there. It’s not that hard. You’ve been singing it your entire life. Now, I know that it’s one hell of a run-on clause, but still…there’s no excuse. Just remember - “Can you see what we hailed, whose stripes were streaming?” [Why do you hate America?](http://tv.gawker.com/#!5753404/watch-christina-aguilera-fumble-the-lyrics-to-the-national-anthem-at-super-bowl-xlv) [That goes](http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2010/12/07/eli-young-band/) for all [you other](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmBQgPqv8iM) [selected individuals](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrHsOQfiptA) who [can’t seem](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgVGa3buGcA) to do your [ONE SINGLE JOB](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4880PJnO2E&feature=related) when you get out there on the field to sing. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-christina-aguilera/570488/2 "2011-02-07T04:30:40Z")
The important thing is to learn if she finished the song in under 00:01:52 (which was the Vegas line). And if she wore a cowboy hat (7-2 against, IIRC). ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-christina-aguilera/570488/3 "2011-02-07T04:46:41Z")
Okay so… lyric fuck up aside, that was terrible. WTH. Not quite as bad as this one though: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SHnpWohrg0&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SHnpWohrg0&feature=related) ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-christina-aguilera/570488/4 "2011-02-07T04:52:04Z")
Everybody fucks up the Anthem somehow, it’s tradition! ---
**Author:** ![flickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@flickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickster)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-christina-aguilera/570488/5 "2011-02-07T05:13:48Z")
She could have at least flashed us some nipple… ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-christina-aguilera/570488/6 "2011-02-07T05:25:50Z")
Even if she had managed to get the lyrics right, it still would have been embarrassing. Of all the countries i’ve lived in and visited, America loves its anthem the most, and yet Americans seem perfectly happy to have it mutilated on a regular basis. ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-christina-aguilera/570488/7 "2011-02-07T08:48:28Z")
I know this has been brought up before, and I’m bringing it up again. Why do we even need a singer at all? It’s hard to sing, even for an experienced professional. It glorifies one of the most insignificant wars we’ve been in. It’s just a bit creepily jingoistic. It’s not even _complete_, for crying out loud. And of course, not only does it frequently get butchered, some of the singers make it a _point_ to butcher it (I’m looking at you, Roseanne Barr.) EVERYONE. KNOWS. THIS. So if we need to play the national anthem (which I rather vehemently disagree with, but never mind that), fine, _play_ the national anthem, respectfully, professionally, and _within a reasonable time_. If it has to be part of the pregame ritual, make it just that, not some hammy star vehicle. (Yeah, yeah, bands cost money. This is the Super Bowl. Chump change.) ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-christina-aguilera/570488/8 "2011-02-07T09:03:53Z")
I agree. They should have had Slash play it; no singer. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-christina-aguilera/570488/9 "2011-02-07T09:35:39Z")
As long as the version they played was Hendrix’s, I’d support that change. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-christina-aguilera/570488/10 "2011-02-07T09:41:39Z")
What pisses me off is that everyone feels a need to “interpret” it, or put their own unique stamp on it. Just effin’ sing it like it’s written and unless you have opera-level training or are channeling the ghost of Hendrix don’t “embellish” it. Just do it straight. Better yet, get a military singer to do it - those folks are trained singers, they know the words, and they don’t do weird crap to it. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-christina-aguilera/570488/11 "2011-02-07T11:44:06Z")
Should’ve got Jim Cornelison who sings the National Anthem at the Chicago Blackhawks games, [like they did for the recent Bears-Packers playoff game](http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Blackhawks-singer-leads-Bears-fans-in-rousing-na?urn=nfl-308250). He’s been singing it for years; he knows how to belt out a straightforward, fast version. Oh yeah, and though the article notes that his day job is real estate, [he is a trained opera singer](http://blackhawks.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=63064). (Only side effect may be 'Hawks fans cheering it throughout, which is also a tradition.) ---
**Author:** ![Galanthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Galanthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galanthus)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-christina-aguilera/570488/12 "2011-02-07T12:05:14Z")
meh ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-christina-aguilera/570488/13 "2011-02-07T12:15:54Z")
Every now and then over in this part oof the world someone sings the anthemn but rarely do they make a fuck up or sing it in a crazy style. What’s more common however is a band to play the music and the crowd just sings or listens depending on if it’s their anthemn or not. This is a much better system IMO. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/CQ6-bYixpYE/hqdefault.jpg "Ireland V England Rugby Croker Anthems") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ6-bYixpYE) ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-christina-aguilera/570488/14 "2011-02-07T12:22:36Z")
People make mistakes. Christina is a people, last time I checked. As for people putting their “spin” on the anthem, why the hell not? If people want the same, dry, “standard” version, they could just get a voice recording of it done by some no-name singer and play it over and over. The song is not all that great anyway. Lyrics are lame, the music is lame. I much prefer “Lift Every Voice”. Much more inspirational and proud. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-christina-aguilera/570488/15 "2011-02-07T12:27:10Z")
Why even play the anthem at all? It’s a silly tradition. We don’t play the anthem before movies or plays, what is it about sporting events that require the anthem? ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-christina-aguilera/570488/16 "2011-02-07T12:39:50Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > People make mistakes. Christina is a people, last time I checked. Sure. But there are some jobs for which you are hired where mistakes are not tolerated. In the case of the job of “singing the national anthem at the Superbowl,” the tolerance for mistakes is most certainly quite low. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-christina-aguilera/570488/17 "2011-02-07T12:43:28Z")
I love the tradition of singing the national anthem. However, I, too hate the vocal acrobatics that some artists feel the need to infuse into the song. (Hint: The song is about your country; it’s not about you.) I think that Faith Hill did the best renditions in recent years. She went off melody a tad, but kept the melody intact for most of the song, which allowed the fans to sing along. By the end of the song, the entire stadium and a few football players were singing along. It’s hard to sing along when the artist stretches one word into 300 notes. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-christina-aguilera/570488/18 "2011-02-07T12:51:02Z")
> [@](#): > > ``` > Why even play the anthem at all? It's a silly tradition. We don't play the anthem before movies or plays, what is it about sporting events that require the anthem? > > ``` Parents tell me, in many places we USED to play it before movies, waaaaayy back. In any case, yeah, it has kind of devolved into something that does not quite fit, in the pregame rituals. Not that I mind the creative interpretations, though, **if done well**. Mr. Feliciano must have had no idea of what he was unleashing, lo so many years ago. … And speaking of the Thread Title, well, I _would_ offer to fuck Christina Aguilera, any time, any where. Wearing appropriate hearing protection of course 😛 But she ain’t taking my calls. ---
**Author:** ![McReady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@McReady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/McReady)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-christina-aguilera/570488/19 "2011-02-07T13:01:26Z")
> [@DKW](#): > > It’s hard to sing, even for an experienced professional. It glorifies one of the most insignificant wars we’ve been in. It’s just a bit creepily jingoistic. It’s not even _complete_, for crying out loud. And of course, not only does it frequently get butchered, some of the singers make it a _point_ to butcher it (I’m looking at you, Roseanne Barr.) EVERYONE. KNOWS. THIS. At the time, it didn’t seem so insignificant. When Francis Key wrote “The Defense of Fort McHenry”, it was just weeks after the British had occupied Washington and burned the White House and Capitol. Scott eye-witnessed the successful defense of Baltimore. Okay, it was a stalemate, since the British ships had range on the fort and could bombard it unanswered (not causing too much damage), while American forces stopped the British land invasion. Typical of the whole war’s stalemate. But it was very picturesque; the British officers dined while enjoying the spectacle of Fort McHenry intermittently lit up by Congreve rockets. The British withdrew from Baltimore after that, which is why in the badly-punctuated 1815 edition of the American Wildlife Manual, under “British Officer” it says, “Eats shoots and leaves.” Anyway, agreed, it’d probably be better to just have the anthem played by the marching band, or they could play Jimi Hendrix’s rendition from Woodstock, probably the best version. Note that Roseanne Barr did nothing wrong. Sang a difficult song as well as she was able. Don’t ask me why MLB officials put non-singers in that position. There’s no good reason to have the anthem at a game at all, but it’s such an entrenched tradition that there’d be a shitstorm if they stopped. (But why the hell did they precede the anthem with Lea Michele singing “America the Beautiful”?) ---
**Author:** ![McReady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@McReady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/McReady)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-christina-aguilera/570488/20 "2011-02-07T13:05:12Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Parents tell me, in many places we USED to play it before movies, waaaaayy back. In any case, yeah, it has kind of devolved into something that does not quite fit, in the pregame rituals. Not that I mind the creative interpretations, though, **if done well**. I remember it being played before a movie in the 1970s – but I think that was actually at an Air Force base. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-christina-aguilera/570488.md?page=2)