“Oh, say can you see, by the dawn’s early light.” Those ten famous words are the opening lyrics to our venerable National Anthem. Written on the 13^th of September 1814, the American National Anthem has a long, troubling history. Sung at a plethora of sporting events, the Star-Spangled Banner is always held with the highest regards and performed by only the best vocalists. However, the experienced officials behind the 2018 NBA All Star Game seem to have made an exception; a horribly misjudged exception.

Fergie Duhamel, a relatively famous American pop-artist, most well known for her success with the band The Black Eyed Peas, performed the National Anthem last Sunday at the annual NBA All Star Game. The Staples Center of Los Angeles, California was packed to the brim with celebrity personalities and performers alike, all anxiously awaiting the start of the highly-anticipated match. Before the game could begin, however, the National Anthem had to be sung in order for the match to commence. As players stood and Fergie walked out onto the stage, no one could have guessed what was going to happen next.

Fergie’s performance of the National Anthem was a gigantic disaster; a ginormous flop, a disgrace, whichever way one labels it, everyone can it agree that it sucked. As Fergie approached the microphone, the audience waited with bated breath. However, as Fergie began her performance of our National Anthem, the trepidation in the atmosphere slowly diminished, until a thick state of awkwardness settled over the stadium. Even the players, with their hands over their hearts, could be seen with unsure looks upon their brows. Confusion and uncertainty were everywhere throughout the stadium, but a new sense of amusement had started to blossom. In the audience, Chance the Rapper was one of the first to break the stuffy-silence with a disbelieving smile that simply said what the absolute f*ck is she doing? With her random pitch changes and misplaced-screeches that resonated terribly with the arbitrary snare-drum playing in the background, it would be no surprise that Fergie’s performance of The Star Spangled Banner goes down in history as one of the worst National Anthem productions ever.