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Alicia Keys’ Anthem: Twitter Reacts

With all the talk of public performances of “The Star Spangled Banner” lately, one would expect Alicia Keys to be a little nervous about performing the song–and an updated version of...
Alicia Keys’ Anthem: Twitter Reacts
Written by Amanda Crum
  • With all the talk of public performances of “The Star Spangled Banner” lately, one would expect Alicia Keys to be a little nervous about performing the song–and an updated version of it, at that–at the Super Bowl.

    “I’m really excited about it, I can’t even lie,” Keys said last week. “I have to rehearse it totally, as if it’s a brand-new song, because it is actually a brand new song in the style that I’ll deliver it. I’m actually rehearsing it like a maniac.”

    Keys wowed the audience with a somewhat slowed-down version of the Anthem on piano; the rendition was highlighted with photos and video footage of soldiers serving time overseas, which got massive applause. And while the crowd appreciated the performance, Twitter seemed torn.

    Obviously, most of the complaints have to do with the length of the song, but that probably has more to do with the fact that the Super Bowl was agonizingly close to starting, and fans didn’t want to sit through too many more performances (Keys’ set came after Jennifer Hudson and the Sandy Hook Elementary chorus taking on a sweet and heart-breaking rendition of “America The Beautiful”). Check out the performance below.

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