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Fergie turns National anthem into National controversy

Duhamel Fergie, during her national anthem performance. Photo by Google Images


By Anuja KC

National anthems hold an important message to a country and how it defines its values. In every national game in the United States, singing the national anthem has been an integral part of American sporting history.

Duhamel Fergie, popularly known by stage name Fergie, is a singer, songwriter, and actress by profession. She performed a very different version of the national anthem in National Basketball Association (NBA) All-star game, on February 18. Her performance was criticized by many people about how badly she sang in the national game.

I think singing national anthems in games always gathers controversies. Despite being a difficult position to be in, artists feel honored to stand on stage while singing their national anthem. In 1991, Whitney Houston sang a national anthem which till date is one of the best.

I personally love watching NBA games, however, I was really surprised by the performance. It is not the first time that someone has tried to do something different with the national anthem. And it is not going to stop in the future. Even though her performance was not up to everyone’s expectation, she managed to handle the stage properly and was there until the end.

Her style of singing was not appropriate for the national anthem. The reactions of players and audience in the game were priceless; she left many people confused. Jimmy Kimmel, for example, didn’t try hiding his big smile.

The audience and players of the game were not the only ones left confused by the performance; users of social media expressed their views by creating memes and sharing the reactions from the video.