Nwanne Eke
Viewpoints Editor
The 2026 NBA All-Star Game kicked off with an interesting rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Full of layered harmonies and runs, the arrangement, performed by Brandy, also known as Brandy Rayana Norwood, falls in line with the artistic qualities present in her discography. The Grammy-winning star was quickly subject to criticism for her creative liberties. While some loved the R&B style of the cover, others felt it was a bunch of “hootin and hollerin.” Some users on X compared the performance to Fergie’s infamous jazz inspired rendition at the 2018 NBA All-Star Game, a performance. Fergie’s performance lives in the hall of fame for being so terrible that both players and celebrity-filled audience members couldn’t hide their reactions to it. Fergie even went on to issue a public apology for the performance: “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.” Singer Charlie Puth credited the late Whitney Houston’s 1991 rendition as inspiration for his well-received performance of the National Anthem at the 2026 Super Bowl. Unlike Brandy and Fergie who performed live and suffered the consequences, Puth’s performance was pre-recorded, allowing for cushion in the event of technical issues or performer error.
“The Star-Spangled Banner” is a polarizing song, with every artist who covers it immediately being placed under public scrutiny. The average listener may wonder why it is that there are so many “bad” renditions. Amongst the musically inclined or informed, however, it’s lauded for being notoriously difficult to sing. Originally titled “Defence of Fort M’Henry” and written to the 18th century popular melody “The Anacreontic Song” by John Stafford Smith, the standard and present version by Thomas Carr introduced a raised fourth. When the fourth degree of a scale is elevated by a semitone to create a tritone interval, composers are able to envelop their works with dreamy tones. This raised fourth, combined with challenging notes, awkward leaps and a 1.5-octave range, results in singers struggling to hit both the lowest and highest notes without falling out of key. If singers manage to navigate the song they must face the climactic G4 high note on the closed vowel “ee” in “free.” A feat that requires immense resonance to manage in an upper register.