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Without a doubt Beyonce Knowles gave it her all when she sang the National Anthem at President Obama's inauguration yesterday.
Perhaps there were a few too many embellishments for some, perhaps it was a little over the top, but all in all it was a good performance.
A quick survey of YouTube, however, reveals some slightly more horrendous renditions of the Star Spangled Banner.
While these are funny for the most part, be warned, you're not going to feel good about yourself when you're done laughing.
1. Double Anthem fail at the ice hockey
Let's get the most soul destroying out the way first. This lovely lady was lined up to sing the National Anthem before the start of a hockey game, but forgot to learn the words. This led to her having to rush of the ice after a few lines to grab a lyric sheet. Upon returning she learnt that high heels were perhaps not the best choice for walking on ice, falling flat on her arse before she could sing another word. Apparently after that she just though 'f*ck it' and left. Could not have gone worse.
2. Harper Gruzin's worst anthem ever at MLS game
Many people have picked this performance by 11-year-old 'singer/songwriter' Harper Gruzins as the worst redition ever. Come on, she's only 11, no need to be so harsh. That said, you have over-cooked this one a tad, Harper. Best thing about this video is the WTF expressions on the faces of athletes and spectators alike.
3. Christina Aguilera sees her moment to shine
Most of the people on this list are amateur performers, seizing their moment in the spotlight with both hands. But even though she's a world-famous performer, Christina Aguilera wasn't going to let her moment in the sun pass without making a scene either. Why use one note when several hundred will do, right? She pulls at terrific face at 1.06, which lasts until 1.09 (it feels like it just keeps going), and look out for the girl behind Christina at about 1.50 who's not sure if it's a joke or not.
4. This is not a policeman's job
In all fairness, it's not this guy's job to sing the National Anthem, his job is to fight crime. But you can imagine the organisers of this event frantically asking each other 'did you check he could sing?' about 15 seconds into this performance. From 0.32 onwards the singer's colleague makes a valiant attempt at a straight face, but was ultimately unsuccessful
5. Cuba Gooding Sr. tops them all
This slot was going to be filled by Carl Lewis' incredible attempt at Star Spangled Banner, until we came across this clip of Cuba Gooding Snr. (father of the actor) 'doing a Carl Lewis' before an NBA game. He takes the mic with the utmost confidence and then apparently channels the spirit of Bill Crosby for this performance. Just brilliant.
Below: Beyonce surveys her kingdom at barack Obama's inauguration
