# In which Fergie (Black-Eyed Peas) attempts to sing \*her\* amazing National Anthem - and misses. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 19, 2018, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-fergie-black-eyed-peas-attempts-to-sing-her-amazing-national-anthem-and-misses/809116 "2018-02-19T13:42:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-fergie-black-eyed-peas-attempts-to-sing-her-amazing-national-anthem-and-misses/809116/61 "2018-02-20T17:24:10Z")
Imho Fergie tried to wing it with little rehearsal. I don’t get any indication that she had learned the melody or had a clue how to approach singing this difficult song. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-fergie-black-eyed-peas-attempts-to-sing-her-amazing-national-anthem-and-misses/809116/62 "2018-02-20T17:30:06Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > It didn’t work for the poor conductor, though. You can hear her accompaniment lagging behind her at several spots, because she was unable to sing/signal in a way that contributed to an ensemble performance where all the musicians successfully interacted. You say this as though musicians successfully interacting can only mean absolutely every single musician is in absolute hamfisted rhythmic lockstep with each other. Which is false. Especially when a soloist is involved. Of course the band is in absolute hamfisted rhythmic lockstep with each other–they’d better be or they will sound like a mess. She, a vocal soloist, has room to play with rhythm, hitting beats a little late sometimes, a little early sometimes. This doesn’t cause the conductor or the band even a little bit of trouble. There’s nothing in the recording to indicate that it does, and it _better not_ as they’re like, you know, tip top professional musicians. If they have trouble with her playing a bit with rhythm as a vocal soloist, to a degree that everyday internet schlubs can detect, then we’ve got problems. Everybody does their job really well in that clip. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-fergie-black-eyed-peas-attempts-to-sing-her-amazing-national-anthem-and-misses/809116/63 "2018-02-20T18:33:45Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > She, a vocal soloist, has room to play with rhythm, hitting beats a little late sometimes, a little early sometimes. Exactly. Pushing and pulling the beat is (often/usually) part of a successful, emotive solo, IMHO. Not necessarily vocal, either, but instrumental as well. You have a steady track under you, and you solo to create and resolve tension against it. Some play with the beat more than others, of course. I don’t hear any straining there by the orchestra to keep up, either. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-fergie-black-eyed-peas-attempts-to-sing-her-amazing-national-anthem-and-misses/809116/64 "2018-02-20T18:49:12Z")
I listened more closely. Her vowels are very sloppy. Sideways instead of vertical. Some nasal notes. Her Dynamics are very jarring in places. She has serious problems going from low to high volume smoothly. As I said earlier. This all could have easily been corrected rehearsing with a good vocal coach. Apparently there was very little rehearsal. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-fergie-black-eyed-peas-attempts-to-sing-her-amazing-national-anthem-and-misses/809116/65 "2018-02-20T20:37:23Z")
[She’s sorry](http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2760364-fergie-comments-on-national-anthem-performance-i-honestly-tried-my-best?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial): > [@Fergie](#): > > I’ve always been honored and proud to perform the national anthem, and last night I wanted to try something special for the NBA. I’m a risk-taker artistically, but clearly this rendition didn’t strike the intended tone. I love this country and honestly tried my best. I have no doubt that she tried her best; my best would fall short of Marvin Gaye too. The thing is, I know that before I try and so avoid embarrassing myself by not agreeing to sing the national anthem in front of the largest TV audience of the year. And judging by [the rehearsal](https://screengrabber.deadspin.com/rehearsal-footage-shows-fergie-unsure-about-star-spang-1823130734), she should have known to scale it back and just do a quick, respectful version. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-fergie-black-eyed-peas-attempts-to-sing-her-amazing-national-anthem-and-misses/809116/66 "2018-02-20T21:20:17Z")
Yeah, I made peace with the fact that many “singers” are pop stars, just like many “actors” are movie stars. Madonna didn’t have much of a voice, Jennifer Lopez doesn’t, Fergie doesn’t either, but they can be dynamic entertainers. But know your limits. Then again at least she didn’t pee herself this time. ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-fergie-black-eyed-peas-attempts-to-sing-her-amazing-national-anthem-and-misses/809116/67 "2018-02-20T21:32:43Z")
I thought her singing was not at all bad, but the arrangement was a bit…outside. Harmonically interesting but weird to untrained ears, I guess. Did she do the arrangement? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2018, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-fergie-black-eyed-peas-attempts-to-sing-her-amazing-national-anthem-and-misses/809116/68 "2018-02-20T22:37:47Z")
This shit is just popping up all over the internet: [A vocal coach tries to make sense of Fergie’s disastrous national anthem](https://www.avclub.com/a-vocal-coach-tries-to-make-sense-of-fergies-disastrous-1823155496). > [@](#): > > Vocal coach O’Neil Gerald has, through his YouTube channel, dissected the decidedly un-Fergilicious performance with an expertise that gives us more helpful terms to work with in describing her singing than “upsetting,” “tortured,” and “actually sort of an avant-garde musical criticism of modern America if you think about it.” > > Gerald doesn’t believe Fergie “altogether is a terrible singer,” but does say she had “a really, really, really bad day with a bad arrangement.” He singles out missed notes, “horizontal vowel placement,” lots of “nasality” and “tongue tension,” false vibrato that makes her “wobble out of pitch,” bizarre rhythmic choices, and so much more. He also mentions the unhelpful arrangement and that she seems to just plain be trying too hard. The video commentary is pretty devastating, IMO. I mean, he stops just 3 notes in to mention that she’s already screwed up and after that it’s a near continuous pummeling over nearly every aspect of her performance. ETA: [Direct link to the Mr. Gerald’s video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwiardVCEgY). ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2018, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-fergie-black-eyed-peas-attempts-to-sing-her-amazing-national-anthem-and-misses/809116/69 "2018-02-21T04:19:27Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > ETA: [Direct link to the Mr. Gerald’s video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwiardVCEgY). I’d already watched that video. [But the one at the bottom of that article is amazing](https://www.avclub.com/a-vocal-coach-tries-to-make-sense-of-fergies-disastrous-1823155496)! With the right accompaniment, even the bad stuff I kept hearing sounds okay. And it just fits. ---
**Author:** ![Not\_a\_Platypus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d26b3c/32.png) [@Not\_a\_Platypus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_a_Platypus)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2018, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-fergie-black-eyed-peas-attempts-to-sing-her-amazing-national-anthem-and-misses/809116/70 "2018-02-21T04:56:25Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > This shit is just popping up all over the internet: [A vocal coach tries to make sense of Fergie’s disastrous national anthem](https://www.avclub.com/a-vocal-coach-tries-to-make-sense-of-fergies-disastrous-1823155496).The video commentary is pretty devastating, IMO. I mean, he stops just 3 notes in to mention that she’s already screwed up and after that it’s a near continuous pummeling over nearly every aspect of her performance. > > ETA: [Direct link to the Mr. Gerald’s video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwiardVCEgY). He was very critical of her singing, but I have to respect how he clearly cared about being respectful and fairly professional in his comments, like he was more interested in explaining what the problems were instead of just bashing her performance. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2018, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-fergie-black-eyed-peas-attempts-to-sing-her-amazing-national-anthem-and-misses/809116/71 "2018-02-21T05:09:33Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I’d already watched that video. [But the one at the bottom of that article is amazing](https://www.avclub.com/a-vocal-coach-tries-to-make-sense-of-fergies-disastrous-1823155496)! > > With the right accompaniment, even the bad stuff I kept hearing sounds okay. And it just fits. Whoever made that video is a genius! It’s remarkable. I’d kill to have that kind of facility with music and technology. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2018, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-fergie-black-eyed-peas-attempts-to-sing-her-amazing-national-anthem-and-misses/809116/72 "2018-02-21T05:31:26Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > So, it wasn’t badly done, it’s just that they shouldn’t have invited an opera singer to sing the anthem? I’m saying she should have sung it the way it was meant to be sung, not like she was performing Verdi. That’s all. > [@Gyrate](#): > > “Respect the classics, man!” 😃 > > As I said, I could really do without the Houstonian versions. Much better to get the crowd to sing. Jeff Jimerson, the Penguins’ anthem singer, does encourage the fans to sing along. (He’s a great singer, too) ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2018, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-fergie-black-eyed-peas-attempts-to-sing-her-amazing-national-anthem-and-misses/809116/73 "2018-02-21T05:55:53Z")
Maybe it’s because I heard for days about how bad it was before hearing it myself, but this was MUCH better than advertised. I wondered as I watched: are people objecting to the jazzy style, or the quality of her voice? Mark me down in the minority who didn’t like Whitney’s version. I prefer this Fergie style (and I don’t like her overall, so that’s a surprise), although much better would be the same arrangement with someone like Diana Krall singing it. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2018, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-fergie-black-eyed-peas-attempts-to-sing-her-amazing-national-anthem-and-misses/809116/74 "2018-02-21T11:31:04Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I wondered as I watched: are people objecting to the jazzy style, or the quality of her voice? > > Mark me down in the minority who didn’t like Whitney’s version. I prefer this Fergie style (and I don’t like her overall, so that’s a surprise), although much better would be the same arrangement with someone like Diana Krall singing it. Look at the clip that **BigT** linked to above in I think post #69. It’s Fergie, but someone has laid down lounge music piano underneath her vocal. It totally works and frames what does NOT work about Fergie’s version: It’s a poorly-rendered Lounge version of the national anthem. So she gets demerits for thinking anyone would be interested in Lounge version of the Star Spangled Banner, and then for doing a Lounge version that comes in way too hot, overselling and interpreting the notes. Oy. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2018, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-fergie-black-eyed-peas-attempts-to-sing-her-amazing-national-anthem-and-misses/809116/75 "2018-02-21T12:27:59Z")
When a person celebrates the 4th by laying your flag out on the grass and having a picnic on it, is that disrespecting your flag? When Fergie deliberately sang your anthem the way she did, was she disrespecting your anthem? ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2018, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-fergie-black-eyed-peas-attempts-to-sing-her-amazing-national-anthem-and-misses/809116/76 "2018-02-21T12:37:29Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > When a person celebrates the 4th by laying your flag out on the grass and having a picnic on it, is that disrespecting your flag? When Fergie deliberately sang your anthem the way she did, was she disrespecting your anthem? Meh. She aspired to do an artistic interpretation and failed. Can’t it just be that? ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2018, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-fergie-black-eyed-peas-attempts-to-sing-her-amazing-national-anthem-and-misses/809116/77 "2018-02-21T14:12:03Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Look at the clip that **BigT** linked to above in I think post #69. It’s Fergie, but someone has laid down lounge music piano underneath her vocal. It totally works and frames what does NOT work about Fergie’s version: It’s a poorly-rendered Lounge version of the national anthem. > > So she gets demerits for thinking anyone would be interested in Lounge version of the Star Spangled Banner, and then for doing a Lounge version that comes in way too hot, overselling and interpreting the notes. Oy. I’m interested in a “Lounge version”, by which I think you mean a jazzy arrangement. What I’m wondering is why so many others are opposed to this so steadfastly. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2018, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-fergie-black-eyed-peas-attempts-to-sing-her-amazing-national-anthem-and-misses/809116/78 "2018-02-21T14:27:43Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I’m interested in a “Lounge version”, by which I think you mean a jazzy arrangement. What I’m wondering is why so many others are opposed to this so steadfastly. Because Art is subjective and folks don’t like this version? You say jazzy - which can be cool. I said “Lounge” because it is a bit slipperier. Bad Lounge music, to me, is denoted by a jazzy arrangement, yes, but one in which that style is imposed on a song. Think Bill Murray singing the Star Wars theme: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-t2n\_jk1QM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-t2n_jk1QM) I think most folks think Fergie drifted into that territory. If you dig it, cool. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2018, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-fergie-black-eyed-peas-attempts-to-sing-her-amazing-national-anthem-and-misses/809116/79 "2018-02-21T14:28:48Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > No, Ramona thought that “Dawnzer” was another name for a lamp. One that produced a “lee light,” if I recall correctly. While I’ve certainly heard worse renditions of the anthem, I did enjoy the clip the local news channel kept showing of the players’ reactions. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2018, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-fergie-black-eyed-peas-attempts-to-sing-her-amazing-national-anthem-and-misses/809116/80 "2018-02-21T23:42:29Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Because Art is subjective and folks don’t like this version? You say jazzy - which can be cool. I said “Lounge” because it is a bit slipperier. Bad Lounge music, to me, is denoted by a jazzy arrangement, yes, but one in which that style is imposed on a song. Think Bill Murray singing the Star Wars theme: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-t2n\_jk1QM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-t2n_jk1QM) > > I think most folks think Fergie drifted into that territory. If you dig it, cool. That example doesn’t work for me, because I actually dig Bill Murray’s tongue-in-cheek musical stylings. (Maybe this is the problem, that a lot of people don’t like anything “winking” around this anthem.) Maybe if it were more like that weirdo couple played by Will Ferrell and (?) it would be a bridge too far for me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-fergie-black-eyed-peas-attempts-to-sing-her-amazing-national-anthem-and-misses/809116.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-fergie-black-eyed-peas-attempts-to-sing-her-amazing-national-anthem-and-misses/809116.md?page=5)