Singers need to rein in syllables

Published 3:50 pm Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Can we please just have someone sing the national anthem the way it is supposed to be sung? I am so tired of hearing these Broadway Divas and “Hip-Hop Yodelers” (as I fondly refer to them) get up there and slaughter our nation’s song.

Am I the only one who feels this way? Why do they need to take one-syllable words and turn them into some Gospel Spiritual? It’s like every singer tries to outdo the singer of the year before. They stretch out each word so long with their vocal riffs… If I hear “Oh say does that Star Spangled Banner yet WA-Aaa-A- -aaAA-A-AA-A-aa-AAA-aaA-AAAVE” one more time, I am going to swear off watching sporting events forever.

How about giving the job of singing that song back to some people who have not won a gazillion Grammys and haven’t been on every award show on earth. Give it to some unknown, humble person with a beautiful voice who remembers how the song was originally written and meant to be sung.

Susan Martin