National Anthem controversy: Song is infamously hard to sing

Every so often, a video of a singer delivering the national anthem goes viral, and not for a good reason. It just happened again.

This time, it was country music star Ingrid Andress’ rendition before the Major League Baseball Home Run Derby on Monday. Andress said Tuesday that she was drunk during her performance and would be checking herself into a rehab facility.

Before Andress' announcement, critics flocked to social media to compare Andress to equally memorable “Star-Spangled Banner” performances before big games, including the likes of Fergie’s 2018 NBA All Star game miss. 

"I apologize to MLB, all the fans, and this country I love so much for that rendition," Andress said.

But plenty of singers have struggled with the song before. So why does it keep happening? Well, in part because the song is notoriously difficult to sing.

Why is the ‘Star-Spangled Banner’ so hard to sing?

In short, the national anthem is so hard to sing because of its remarkable range between high and low notes. The song spans one-and-a-half octaves, so singers must carefully choose what key they want to sing it in. Starting wrong can lead to a disastrous finish. 

"It’s difficult for untrained singers and challenging for trained singers because it is long, and it has a wide range and melodic leaps," Christopher Swanson, a music professor who has performed the anthem, said in a Longwood University publication.

Breathing at appropriate places between musical phrases also makes it challenging, according to Duke University music professor Susan Dunn.

Its lyrics can easily trip people up, too. Christina Aguilera famously mixed up lines in the anthem when she sang it in 2011. Eric Burton made a similar error in 2022.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:Watch 5 of the most memorable renditions of the national anthem

What makes the American national anthem unique?

Performances of the “Star-Spangled Banner” are often done by celebrity singers before major sporting events, who often try to put their own unique spin on the song. Some like Idinia Menzel at the 2015 Super Bowl sing it unaccompanied, others like Jennifer Hudson at the 2009 Super Bowl have added a jazz twist, the Washington Post noted.

From different musical styles to different keys, the anthem’s renditions are across the board, and that's unusual for a national anthem. It can also make it difficult for an audience to sing along when it’s sung a way they’re not used to, according to Dunn.

OPINION:It's time to stop playing national anthem at sporting events

What is the 'Star-Spangled Banner' about?

When lawyer and poet Francis Scott Key wrote the “Star-Spangled Banner,” he was inspired by having witnessed the British bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore during the War of 1812. On Sept. 14, 1814, Key saw an American flag still standing. 

Earlier in 1814, Americans had watched as the British torched the White House and other key buildings in a raid on Washington, D.C., a blow to morale, but also a catalyst to fire Americans up for the war effort.

Key witnessed the 25-hourslong bombardment of Fort McHenry from a ship in Baltimore’s harbor, where he had been trying to negotiate the release of Americans, according to the Kennedy Center. As the smoke cleared and daylight broke, he marveled at the sight of the American flag, which U.S. soldiers raised above the fort. He immediately began penning the first verse to the “Star-Spangled Banner.”

How did ‘Star-Spangled Banner’ become the national anthem?

Key set his lyrics to the then popular tune of the “Anacreontic Song,” the song of an 18th-century gentlemen’s club in London.

The song, initially called “Defence of Fort McHenry,” quickly became popular and the lyrics were printed in newspapers, which eventually printed it under the title “Star-Spangled Banner.”

The song was commonly sung patriotically throughout the 1800s and played at military ceremonies, but didn’t officially become the U.S. national anthem until 1931 when Congress passed a bill designating it so and President Herbert Hoover signed it into law.