Fergie is no one-hit wonder, but her rendition of the national anthem during the 2018 NBA All-Star Game is one hit everyone wants to forget.
The clip still does the rounds six years later, despite Fergie apologizing for her take on the national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner. It seems whenever another music star or singer is hitting the notes in the anthem, people will look back at her attempted at the game. Despite the celebrity having a successful solo career as well as being a member of the six-time Grammy-winning Black Eyed Peas, it seems she was trying something that didn’t take off.
Fergie’s version of the national anthem is tough to watch
The singer admitted she is known for taking risks, but perhaps this one was a step too far for fans.
In the video, we see celebrities in the crowd and players on the court look away from the camera as they listen to Fergie singing the national anthem in the middle of the floor. It’s definitely made its way into the book of meme legends.
At the time, Turner Sports said 7.7 million people tuned into TNT to watch the game, but millions more have watched and re-watched her performance.
One video clip on YouTube has been watched 27 million times, so even people who aren’t fans of sport came looking for it. Or the live viewers wanted to come back and re-watch it four more times, it’s probably a bit of both.
And the comments aren’t exactly singing Fergie’s praises, either.
One person joked: “Five years later and I’m still waiting for the English version.”
A second added: “This was a test of self-control for everybody in that arena.”
And a third wrote: “As an American, I feel like it’s my duty to watch this at least once a year to remind myself of my country’s patriotism”.
While a fourth penned: “Simon Cowell: That’s a no from me, sweetheart”.
Singer apologizes
The star did release a statement after, apologizing. It could have been one of the players at around 1 minute 45 seconds laughing that pushed her to speak out.
Fergie said she tried something special for the national anthem, and said she ‘tried her best’.
She said: “I’ve always been honored and proud to perform the national anthem, and last night I wanted to try something special for the NBA.
“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.”
But other stars did come to her defense, including Wiz Khalifa.
He said: “I liked Fergie’s national anthem. It was original and fun just like her. People didn’t like Jimi Hendrix’s version of the anthem at the time he did it but it later became legendary.
“Takes guts to be yourself.”
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