The New England Patriots may have won their spot in the Super Bowl on Sunday by winning the AFC Championship game against the Baltimore Ravens 23-20, but singer Steven Tyler may have also won something – a spot on the list of failed Nation Anthem performances.
The "American Idol" judge, sporting his signature scarf - this time with a sequined Patriots theme - sung "The Star Spangled Banner" before the game. While fans at the stadium cheered on the Aerosmith frontman, others expressed some harsh criticism of the singer on the web.
The AP wrote, "Let’s just say the rendition probably wouldn’t get him to Hollywood." And Yahoo added: "He most definitely would not have made it to the next round on the show and I am sure Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson would have had some interesting words to say had he been singing in front of them."
Tyler isn’t the first singer to have a tough time with the National Anthem. During this past baseball season, former "American Idol" contestant Scott Mccreary flubbed the lyrics. And at least year’s Super Bowl, "The Voice" judge Christina Aguilera also tripped over the lyrics, later explaining that she got lost in the moment - and lost her place in the song.
All eyes will be on the very first "Idol" winner on Super Bowl Sunday when Kelly Clarkson will take the stage to perform the National Anthem. Hopefully, she'll have an easier time than the "Idol" judge handling the arduous task of belting out the opening number for "Super Bowl XLVI" on Feb. 5.
When you hire a washed up rockstar to perform the Nation Anthem, you should expect a washed up performance.
I think its more than that. People who know nothing about music, and just know him from American Idol expected too much of him. We knew that he hasn't got much left in him. Unfortunately singers who were amazing back in the day are fading. Robert Plant's voice is shot, now Tyler, and i know I'm guna get hate for this, but Ozzy is next. I saw him live last year...no...just no.
...That wasn't that bad.
Honestly that wasn't that bad. It wasn't great but that wasn't enough to have been slammed. I've heard far worse. The one scream in the middle was pretty sour but apart from that it was decent.
As GrungeHippie said, I think most of this was due to expectation because of American Idol. Did people honestly expect a guy who has been screaming and wailing and singing for decades to come out and sound like he was in his twenties again? Look at Whitney Houston. One of the best singers of all time, regardless if you like her music or not (which I don't). She sounds bloody horrendous now, and a thousand times worse than this. People age.
It must have been FREEZING which really messes up anyone's vocal cords. You can see his breath very clearly in the air. I don't blame him for being a little bit pitchy.
When you hire a washed up rockstar to perform the Nation Anthem, you should expect a washed up performance.
I think its more than that. People who know nothing about music, and just know him from American Idol expected too much of him. We knew that he hasn't got much left in him. Unfortunately singers who were amazing back in the day are fading. Robert Plant's voice is shot, now Tyler, and i know I'm guna get hate for this, but Ozzy is next. I saw him live last year...no...just no.
I agree wholeheartedly about Ozzy. He's going down sadly.
It's a tough song to sing, and it takes a singer with good range to do it well. Tyler may be good at what he does, but he just isn't a good fit to do it.
He sang at the Indy 500 a few years ago and that performance wasn't all that great either. And he caused controversy then too when he changed the word "brave" to "Indianapolis 500". Take a look:
His voice only works with a full band behind him, that's why. A rock n roll voice ain't meant for a capella.
I agree.
But look, they didn't get him to sing it because he's a fabulous singer. They did it because he's the singer of Aerosmith, from Boston.
Honestly, I expected to hear Steven Tyler sing the national anthem, and that's EXACTLY what I heard. I was happy he threw in a little scream at the end.
Well first of all, I don't think it's really that bad. Sounds fine to me. Plus, considering that he's a rock star, and this is how he's always sang, I feel like this is what they should have been expecting. He's never been a class A singer from a technical aspect. No, he's no Freddie Mercury. This doesn't deserve the hate it's getting. It's sounds exactly how I expected it to sound
I thought it was fine, he added in his own little flare there. A bit of screech just because that's part of his singing style I guess. To someone who isn't an expert in singing, i.e. the vast majority of people watching the game, it was fine.
When you hire a washed up rockstar to perform the Nation Anthem, you should expect a washed up performance.
I think its more than that. People who know nothing about music, and just know him from American Idol expected too much of him. We knew that he hasn't got much left in him. Unfortunately singers who were amazing back in the day are fading. Robert Plant's voice is shot, now Tyler, and i know I'm guna get hate for this, but Ozzy is next. I saw him live last year...no...just no.
Ozzy seemed to do alright at the Metallica 30th anniversary show
When you hire a washed up rockstar to perform the Nation Anthem, you should expect a washed up performance.
I think its more than that. People who know nothing about music, and just know him from American Idol expected too much of him. We knew that he hasn't got much left in him. Unfortunately singers who were amazing back in the day are fading. Robert Plant's voice is shot, now Tyler, and i know I'm guna get hate for this, but Ozzy is next. I saw him live last year...no...just no.
Ozzy seemed to do alright at the Metallica 30th anniversary show
I saw Ozzy december 2010 and he was amazing, your probably just hearing impaired.
This wasn't bad at all. He was on pitch the whole time. Steven Tyler has a VERY distinct voice and singing style. If that's not what you want then don't get him to sing the national anthem. Its that simple.
It certainly wasn't good, that should be pretty obvious, but I'm sick of having to endure lackluster performances from has-been rockstars etc. on their last legs being shoved on the biggest stages possible just because the older folks can say "Hey! Thats that Steven Tyler fellow! He really rocked it hard back in my day!!!"
Honestly its just sad, pathetic, and annoying to watch. I mean, it seriously wasn't quite as bad as I was anticipating, but just the whole notion of the thing bugs me, when there are so many amazing, young, talented singers around and CBS or the NFL or Pats or whatever decide to get this guy as if its 1970.
Also, It was 32 degrees up here in NH so it really wasn't that cold in Foxboro. Granted not perfect singing conditions but not the kind that will destroy a good set of pipes.
How was that bad? He only lost key like once or twice, and didn't screw up the lyrics. It just sounded like "the dude from Aerosmith" singing the National Anthem with his signature, raspy-rock style. Let's face it Steven Tyler never was the greatest singer in the world, and now he's older. I think he did quite well, actually.
This wasn't bad at all. He was on pitch the whole time. Steven Tyler has a VERY distinct voice and singing style. If that's not what you want then don't get him to sing the national anthem. Its that simple.
But that's part of the problem. If he did this at an Aerosmith concert, fine, nobody would complain, he's just doing what Steven Tyler does. But when he's on national TV in front of a national audience who are tuning in for a football game and not to listen to him, they want that clean polished no frills version done the way its supposed to be sung.
This wasn't bad at all. He was on pitch the whole time. Steven Tyler has a VERY distinct voice and singing style. If that's not what you want then don't get him to sing the national anthem. Its that simple.
But that's part of the problem. If he did this at an Aerosmith concert, fine, nobody would complain, he's just doing what Steven Tyler does. But when he's on national TV in front of a national audience who are tuning in for a football game and not to listen to him, they want that clean polished no frills version done the way its supposed to be sung.
better than madonnas stupid ass "singing" for the super bowl. i wanna know who shit the bed with that one. you gotta give steve a break man. just the fact that he can still walk and talk amazes me. he's what? a thousand? plus I'm not really sure why everyone is so upset. he can't sing. he never has been able to. but america pays him well for it. hell I've paid him well for it. kudos to the old bastard for risking breaking a hip or something and getting up there and do what he does, which is wail into a microphone for 2 1/2-5 minutes. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT HE HAS ALWAYS DONE. this is steven tyler. welcome to the world
The man is 63. He sang dream on when he was what, 19? needless to say hes been doing it for a good long while, hes not going to sound like he did in the seventies. And anybody who knows Tyler, or Aerosmith for that matter, knows that he isnt known for his silky smooth voice. Hes the Demon of Screamin' for christs sake
Steven sang this just fine,if some did not care for the way too bad,this is his style and he still does it very well! Too bad Joe and Brad were not there to add to some guitar to it,it would have made it even better!!
Didn't bother me. I think there are more important things to bitch about. And frankly, none of them should be on a guitar site, but we all know how that goes
I don't like aerosmith or Tyler but I don't know what everyone is complaining about, a rock singer gave a rock performance of that song. A decent performance too.
I actually thought that Steven did a pretty food job. He sung it the way it was supposed to be sung, just walking up there, singing it, and walking away instead of making it all flashy to make himself look good. Seriously, people singing the US national anthem at games is getting out of hand now. It has become a contest on who does it the flahiest, which I find disrespectful to the country. I bet you 75% of the people bashing Steven Tyler couldn't even tell you who wrote the poem and which war was being fought.
I liked it. If it wasn't Steven Tyler, and just some dude sang it like that, then everyone would be like wtf. But it's his signature voice, it has swagger.
No matter how many times you reassure everyone that artists like The Who or Bruce Springsteen were amazing 40 years ago, nobody wants to see a bunch of 55+ years old struggling to keep a pitch
He could have taken notes from the Patriots coach...tape someone else practicing, take notes, and then sing. Kinda like how the Patriots beat the Rams in the Super Bowl a few years ago. Cough cough.
He did good when it got to the high notes but the beginning sucked
But seriously, even though the song is such a standard staple for singing, not a lot of people realize that its an incredibly hard song to sing because of the range needed. Sports events should just get a random singer that actually has the range, instead of finding a popular celebrity.
It wasn't bad at all, and certainly not worth the shit it got. People ask a rock n' roll singer to sing the damn song and then expect a blissfully smooth performance? Call me crazy, but I'd expect a rock performance from a rock singer.
...That wasn't that bad.
Honestly that wasn't that bad. It wasn't great but that wasn't enough to have been slammed. I've heard far worse. The one scream in the middle was pretty sour but apart from that it was decent.
As GrungeHippie said, I think most of this was due to expectation because of American Idol. Did people honestly expect a guy who has been screaming and wailing and singing for decades to come out and sound like he was in his twenties again? Look at Whitney Houston. One of the best singers of all time, regardless if you like her music or not (which I don't). She sounds bloody horrendous now, and a thousand times worse than this. People age.
It wasnt good, I'll say that. But, being that he is from Boston, and a Patriots fan apparently, I don't have a problem with it.
Steven Tyler isn't exactly known for having a large vocal range, which this requires. It's a hard song to sing.
Maybe it wasnt spot-on, but he sang a song from the heart symbolizing the freedom we enjoy as Americans, for his country and community. Gotta respect that.
This wasn't bad at all. He was on pitch the whole time. Steven Tyler has a VERY distinct voice and singing style. If that's not what you want then don't get him to sing the national anthem. Its that simple.
But that's part of the problem. If he did this at an Aerosmith concert, fine, nobody would complain, he's just doing what Steven Tyler does. But when he's on national TV in front of a national audience who are tuning in for a football game and not to listen to him, they want that clean polished no frills version done the way its supposed to be sung.
Why the hell would they get Steven Tyler to sing it if they didn't want it to sound like Steven Tyler? That's pretty stupid.
Some people are saying that all older singers are losing their voice, sure thats true in some cases. On the other hand look at Bruce Dickinson, sounds bloody amazing. Except he is 10 years younger.
Some singers vocies refine better with age, but much like Steve Tyler alot also die
Ouch.. That was pretty bad. A lot of people are trying to justify it while some keep going on about how Tyler is past his best, but whatever it is, I'm sure everybody would agree that was a pretty awful performance.
When you hire a washed up rockstar to perform the Nation Anthem, you should expect a washed up performance.
I think its more than that. People who know nothing about music, and just know him from American Idol expected too much of him. We knew that he hasn't got much left in him. Unfortunately singers who were amazing back in the day are fading. Robert Plant's voice is shot, now Tyler, and i know I'm guna get hate for this, but Ozzy is next. I saw him live last year...no...just no.
I agree wholeheartedly about Ozzy. He's going down sadly.
I dunno, I still think Ozzy is close to how he used to be, if you listen to Crucify The Dead on Slash's album he rocks that... regarding Tyler though you could never expect to get to that age and still hit the notes he could. But he can hold his head high, at least he didnt sell out and piss all over his legacy.
It's a tough song to sing, and it takes a singer with good range to do it well. Tyler may be good at what he does, but he just isn't a good fit to do it.
He sang at the Indy 500 a few years ago and that performance wasn't all that great either. And he caused controversy then too when he changed the word "brave" to "Indianapolis 500". Take a look:
Funny no one says anything to Chief fans when they say "home to the Chiefs" at the end.
I actually thought that Steven did a pretty food job. He sung it the way it was supposed to be sung, just walking up there, singing it, and walking away instead of making it all flashy to make himself look good. Seriously, people singing the US national anthem at games is getting out of hand now. It has become a contest on who does it the flahiest, which I find disrespectful to the country. I bet you 75% of the people bashing Steven Tyler couldn't even tell you who wrote the poem and which war was being fought.
Uuuhhhhh, Katty Perry for the Bay of Pigs, dduuuhhhhh. Everyone knows that lol!!!
looked like it was pretty f'n cold out, understood his voice is pretty blown out, but it had to make it a little difficult to belt out what he was tryin to go for.ive heard worse.
Some people are saying that all older singers are losing their voice, sure thats true in some cases. On the other hand look at Bruce Dickinson, sounds bloody amazing. Except he is 10 years younger.
Some singers vocies refine better with age, but much like Steve Tyler alot also die
I hate Aerosmith though so I couldnt care less
Let's see 10 from now then.. I'd say Steven's voice was at its best like 10 years ago. And you're wrong. His voice has definitely refined with age but EVERYONE's voice will start to go downhill after they hit 60...
I realize that it's the National Anthem, and I'm American and very proud of hearing someone sing it really well. But for every great performance of the song that I've heard, I could name another 10 that sucked. Do we really need to make a huge deal everytime someone forgets a word or struggles with pitch while singing the Star Spangled Banner? I don't think it means they have less pride in their nation than you do and most people who critisize couldn't sing a note to save their lives. I'm tired of reading this crap everytime some stupid football game airs.
