Alicia Keys Gets Criticized for National Anthem Performance at the Super Bowl

By: Amanda Anderson-Niles

The Super Bowl wasn’t without its controversy, but overall, it was a great night for Ravens fans and Beyonce’s loyal fan base whom she affectionately refers to as the “BeyHive.” As entertaining as Beyonce’s performance was, she wasn’t the only woman to get people talking about her Super Bowl appearance. Other notable performances of the night included Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams, and Alicia Keys. Alicia Keys performed the National Anthem, making it her own with her piano skills and some are saying it may have been the longest rendition of the anthem ever performed. While some of Alicia’s critics are saying her performance wasn’t very memorable, there now seems to be a group of people who are complaining that the singer’s rendition of the National Anthem was downright disrespectful.

So what was the problem? Well according to these people, she was disrespectful for sitting down throughout the song, considering that singers and everyone else is supposed to stand up while singing the song as a symbol of having respect for the country.

A morning show producer tells the Huffington Post:

“It was disrespectful. They had enough time and manpower to think of this before the performance. They could have had her stand at her piano keyboard and sing. To me and a lot of my friends, she sounded great but the visual was wrong.”

 

Alicia’s publicist clapped back and says the criticism is “silly.” They tell the Huffington Post:

“Alicia is a proud American and was honored to perform at the event. Her slow version of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ was her own arrangement, accompanying herself on the piano, adding ‘living in the home of the brave’ at the end of the song. It’s silly to see how that was being disrespectful.”

 

Regardless, the NFL has already removed Alicia’s performance, but claims it was due to “copyright” issues.