Alicia Keys' run through the national anthem at Super Bowl 47 was certainly something, wasn't it? It was like the best piano recital of "The Star Spangled Banner" ever!
VIDEO: Alicia Keys’ slow, sweet Super Bowl 47 national anthem
Alicia Keys sang the national anthem well at Super Bowl 47. She also sang it reallllllly slowly.
Here’s the video:
Keys both sang the anthem and provided her own accompaniment on a white Yamaha piano at midfield on the Superdome turf, singing it relatively straight and without much bombast. There were no Christina Aguilera-esque moments of forgotten lyrics, and no major moments of vocal gymnastics, with just a little extra added on near the end, and a false ending on “home of the brave.”
But the distinctive part was Keys’ tempo: she sang the anthem very slowly, clocking in well over 2:30 -- two of SB Nation’s stopwatches came up with 2:35 and 2:38. That’s well over the 2:10 time set as the over/under for her rendition at Bovada, and well, well over the average for the last 10 years, in which most performers have failed to even eclipse 2:00.
No one’s going to be talking about how great Keys’ anthem was on Monday morning. If it does get mentioned, though, it’ll be mentioned for its speed, or lack thereof.
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