Best Superbowl Anthem from this gen's "divas"

[neally]

Please vote for your favourite performance of this generation's big-voiced gals (Top 5 vocalists of the past several years, IMO). If you don't mind, please feel free to rank from most to least favourite and reasons !

[josh]

Christina.

#oop

[K Newman]

Jennifer Hudson
Kelly Clarkson
Carrie Underwood
Jordin Sparks/Beyonce
Christina Aguilera

[Fat Ass Kelly Price]

The last note of the Beyonce video is cut off...

[otternobetter87]

Kelly Clarkson
Jennifer Hudson
Beyonce
Jordin


Carrie (she just had an off day..)



Christina

[neally]

live:
Kelly




Carrie




Christina

lipped:
Jennifer Hudson

Beyonce



Jordin

Combined:
Jennifer/Kelly, but Kelly gets the vote for singing it so flawlessly soulful live

Beyonce

Jordin


Carrie







Christina

[neally]

Feb 5, 2012 19:09:57 GMT -5 Fat Ass Kelly Price said:

The last note of the Beyonce video is cut off...

Fixed- thanks for catching that ! ;)

[franklin]

Queen Kelly, ofc.

[Deleted]

There's only one correct answer.

[Fat Ass Kelly Price]

Live:
Kelly
Carrie
the other

Recorded:
Beyoncé/Jordin
Jennifer Hudson

Combined:
Kelly Clarkson
Beyoncé/Jordin Sparks
Jennifer Hudson
Carrie Underwood






the other thing (not even in the same ballpark, town, level of atmosphere, world, solar system, galaxy, universe. Terrible all around. )

[jdanton2]

Jordin Sparks.

[Deleted]

1. Kelly Clarkson- I take back every negative thing I've ever said about Kelly's voice; that was phenomenal. We've seen (and heard) how easy it is for great vocalists to screw up the anthem at the Superbowl for various reasons; way to go Kelly!

2. Beyonce- Great, controlled vocal and no over-singing.

3. Christina- I know I'll get a lot of flack for this, but I like the way Christina sings the anthem; she overdid it, but she always oversings everything. She also covered up her mistake well; in my mind she's better than 90% of the pop vocalists out there, even on an off-day.

4. Jordin: She's a great vocalist, but I really wish she had sung this live; I love her version of the anthem though.

5. Carrie- I LOVE Carrie to death; she's my girl. I think she is fantastic, and she has given some of the most beautiful performances of the anthem. However, she had a really off day during the Superbowl performance, and it seems her nerves really got to her. I gotta give her props for singing it live, and the fact that she had a bad day does NOT take away from the fact that the woman has a beautiful voice & that she can sing her ass off.

[Fat Ass Kelly Price]

Feb 5, 2012 19:24:49 GMT -5 @carrieflattsfan said:

3. Christina- I know I'll get a lot of flack for this, but I like the way Christina sings the anthem; she overdid it, but she always oversings everything. She also covered up her mistake well; in my mind she's better than 90% of the pop vocalists out there, even on an off-day.

Get. Out. Now.

[Deleted]

Feb 5, 2012 19:26:19 GMT -5 Fat Ass Kelly Price said:

Feb 5, 2012 19:24:49 GMT -5 @carrieflattsfan said:

3. Christina- I know I'll get a lot of flack for this, but I like the way Christina sings the anthem; she overdid it, but she always oversings everything. She also covered up her mistake well; in my mind she's better than 90% of the pop vocalists out there, even on an off-day.

Get. Out. Now.

Seriously, I don't understand the big deal. So she had an off-day; she sounded fine, other than botching the lyrics in ONE spot. And at least she sang it live.

[Deleted]

Kelly by far, not here for those lipped studio perfected ones (though they were pleasant, they sure as hell should be).

Seen Carrie perform it better. Christina's was appalling but made for good tv.

[dbhmr]

Kelly. It was live, it was subtle without being boring, full sounding without losing balance, and her voice was totally on point. You couldn't ask for anything more.

Beyonce and Jennifer had great renditions, as well. Carrie and Jordin were fine, but not memorable (courtesy of Stephen, I've heard better anthems from Carrie than the Superbowl one).

Feb 5, 2012 19:34:08 GMT -5 @carrieflattsfan said:

Feb 5, 2012 19:26:19 GMT -5 Fat Ass Kelly Price said:

Get. Out. Now.

Seriously, I don't understand the big deal. So she had an off-day; she sounded fine, other than botching the lyrics in ONE spot. And at least she sang it live.

She was consistently flat. That's not a matter of opinion, just as it's a fact she messed up the lyrics. I understand that some fans really do like that strained quality to her live vocals, but I don't see how anyone could overlook those two huge errors enough to rank her anything but last in this poll. It's a shame for her--she is much better than the anthem showcased, even with all the issues I have with her live vocals.

[jdanton2]

Feb 5, 2012 19:24:49 GMT -5 @carrieflattsfan said:

4. Jordin: She's a great vocalist, but I really wish she had sung this live; I love her version of the anthem though.

Jordin has performed it at other sporting events live and did and amazing job.

[clarksonnumber1]

Kelly's would be the best, and I thought Carrie did well too. Lip synched performances don't count to me. It's hard for me to judge them.

I'd also be curious about an America The Beautiful poll. I thought Miranda did very well, but Kelly's from years ago was fantastic. I think she'd win that poll too.

[Fat Ass Kelly Price]

Feb 5, 2012 19:34:08 GMT -5 @carrieflattsfan said:

Feb 5, 2012 19:26:19 GMT -5 Fat Ass Kelly Price said:

Get. Out. Now.

Seriously, I don't understand the big deal. So she had an off-day; she sounded fine, other than botching the lyrics in ONE spot. And at least she sang it live.

Like Danny said, it wasn't just the lyrics. Her intonation was terrible. She was consistently flat throughout it. And I wasn't trying to bait an argument, but Carrie's was easily better. Carrie's wasn't that great, but her pitch was much better, and although she was flat on the last note, which many cite as the lowpoint, Christina was too with the addition of also having a gritty, strained sound.

I understand that you love Christina's over-the-top vocal "runs" and "melisma" but that wasn't what I was getting at. It's not about having an "off-day," which is really just a normal day for Xtina, when you're comparing several performances of the same song and determining which were best. Excuses don't matter.

I just found your defending arguments funny. Oyas, give her an award for singing it live although she sounded terrible. You wouldn't be saying the same if it were Selena Gomez up there singing it.

I can understand defending one of her better renditions, which she has had, but not this one.

[carrieidol1]

Kelly and Carrie, of course.

Carrie's off day is a day I'd like to have any day. She still killed it for being "off". Carrie also didn't have musical support (just saying). Considering everything, it's basically a tie for me.

[strikeleo]

This is one of my favorites! Kelly's has also joined my short list of favorites. I like that she didn't oversing it, that's what bugs me when pop singers sing it.
Beyoncé's was disgusting, not only did she oversing it but by the end of it, it seemed like she thought it was some single of hers.
Hudson's was also a bit disappointing, likewise Jordin's.
I liked Carrie's, even though it was clear she had an off day because her voice was grating at times. Still better than those mentioned before.
Christina's rendition of it wasn't as bad as people make it out to be, it was definitely better than Beyoncé's to me.

So, my ranking would be something like:

1. Kelly
2. Mariah
3. Carrie
4. Christina
5. Jordin
6. Hudson



7. Beyoncé.

[Deleted]

I understand what you guys are saying, but I still prefer Christina's voice over say Jennifer's or Beyonce's. Jordin has a beautiful voice, but her version was bland to me. I don't care for Hudson's voice at all, and I don't count lipped performances as "great," ever. Christina has done the anthem well before; people need to cut her a break and stop acting like she gave the worst damn performance in the world.

And I still think she has a great tone to her voice and I love it; I guess you could say I'm not voting reasons other people might, but I love Christina's voice, and I'd easily support her over people with lesser voices who I don't like at all.

And before y'all say anything, I was NOT the one person who voted for Christina; I voted for Kelly. :)

[Deleted]

Kelly

[Focus]

1. Kelly

2. Jordin

3. Beyonce

4 Jennifer

5. Carrie

6. Christina

[Jay]

This is basically separated in three tiers for me.

Kelly Clarkson



Jordin Sparks
Jennifer Hudson
Beyoncé



Carrie Underwood
Christina Aguilera


Christina was horrendous, and Carrie was surprisingly terrible. It was hard just sitting through their performances. I thought Jordin, Jennifer, and Beyoncé were great, but I would've preferred to hear them sing it live. Kelly did a flawless job, and I honestly expected no less from her. It's funny, because watching Carrie and Christina and then Kelly back-to-back is like NIGHT and DAY.

[Deleted]

Feb 5, 2012 18:59:24 GMT -5 neally said:

Please vote for your favourite performance of this generation's big-voiced gals (Top 5 vocalists of the past several years, IMO).

Top 5 vocalists...6 voting options. Who you snubbin' boo?

Anyway, my ranking:

1. Kelly - managed to add a touch of uniqueness but without trying to make it "her" song. As strikeleo said, I do not really care for it when people get so carried away with the song that they think it's THEIR song. It's not your song. Anyway, the fact that it's live makes it all the more stellar - for the SB I do not take off points for lip-syncing b/c so many people have done it in the past, that it's almost the de facto choice. But the fact that Kelly dared to do it live and made that risk pay off in spades is quite impressive.

2. Jordin - I actually really liked this performance a lot. I thought it was a great arrangement, and although she did go for the big scaling note on the ending 'brave,' she did a good job of not trying to cannibalize the song just to show off.

3. Carrie - this was an off performance for her, true. She has absolutely perfect anthems out there (specifically, 2006 NFC Championship and 2007 World Series, game 3) so it was disappointing to see her not nail it dead-on as she has before. She was visibly nervous and you could hear it in her voice. That said, I will again echo others before me - I would LOVE for my off days to be as good as Carrie's off days. This was a respectable, albeit somewhat forgettable, showing.

4. Jennifer - okay, now we get into the "this isn't your song, dammit!" territory. What some singers don't understand is, the anthem is not your "moment to shine." The anthem, when done properly, should impress people while you're singing it and then quietly fade into the ether after you are done. It is not a manifesto to show off every bit of your vocal power and range and ability to scale mountains made of arpeggios. It is the NATIONAL. ANTHEM. It is the standard of all standards...you aren't supposed to tamper with that. Just the honor of being asked to sing it pretty much validates you more than anything else so there is nothing left for you to prove. We all know and recognize it, many of us mouth along as you are singing, so your insistence on veering off course into some self-indulgent vocal acrobatics is really not welcome. Now I will baldly admit to not being a patriotic person. But our national anthem is inherently flawless...don't tamper with a good thing.

Now Jennifer didn't completely go into self-indulgent territory - the first half is fine - but it's really easy for her to go from 0 to 100 in the blink of an eye so basically she started off with good intentions only to spin out of control. She is not as huge an offender of some others, though, like....

5. Beyonce - in her slight defense, I don't even think Beyonce can help herself. She doesn't know how to be understated and reserved. Even when she attempts it, she makes a big show of "look how reserved I am being right now" through her facial expressions and movements. And really, she is only being soft for these two lines so it will slap you like a frying pan in the face when she hits the big notes 90 seconds later. Not here for that. It's the reason I hate Listen, it's just too calculated and forced. I'd honestly appreciate it more if she just started off in semi-OTT mode b/c that would feel more genuine from her. Also, the escort onto the platform came off just a tad pretentious. Just a tad. Granted, we never see how others get on the field but...well, we never see it. So I'm not sure why we needed to see how Bey got there. I suspect if someone had tried to do that to Kelly she would have pushed them away and jokingly reminded him that Miss Independent never lets a man help her on or off her throne.

I still got a lot of love for Bey, just not in this particular performance. And even she is not THE worst offender of all in this regard (Patti Labelle is).

6. Christina - another frank moment here: Christina forgetting the words might actually be the best thing she did for herself in that anthem. So many people flipped out over her messing up the lyrics that you hardly see anyone (outside of music boards like this, anyway) talk about the fact that she sounded a hot mess anyway. Not many people can get on one of the largest national platforms, take a crap on all sense of pitch and melody, and somehow still manage to find a way to distract people from all that to remain one of our most "talented" current vocalists in the most people's eyes. Without people constantly feeding and buying into the hype of her voice her raison d'etre in this industry would really be over...so consider it a bullet dodged, I guess.

[Oprah]

Jennifer.

[neally]

Feb 5, 2012 21:42:29 GMT -5 @cynthiarose said:

Feb 5, 2012 18:59:24 GMT -5 neally said:

Please vote for your favourite performance of this generation's big-voiced gals (Top 5 vocalists of the past several years, IMO).

Top 5 vocalists...6 voting options. Who you snubbin' boo?

Haha- I was trying to state that although there are 6 voting options, I feel that 5 of them are the best 5 female mainstream vocalists of the past several years- all but Jordin.

[Jay]

Feb 5, 2012 21:51:05 GMT -5 neally said:

Feb 5, 2012 21:42:29 GMT -5 @cynthiarose said:

Top 5 vocalists...6 voting options. Who you snubbin' boo?

Haha- I was trying to state that although there are 6 voting options, I feel that 5 of them are the best 5 female mainstream vocalists of the past several years- all but Jordin.

I usually agree with you, but there is no way Christina is a better vocalist than Jordin. Like, not even close.

[🅳🅸🆂🅲🅾]

I really liked Kelly's. Very beautifully done. Jennifer Hudson and Jordin Sparks are close seconds.