My Facebook news feed was blowing up Sunday night.
“What song is Christina Aguilera singing?”
“Who’s idea WAS it to book The Black Eyed Peas?
“Wow, that was actually terrible. And you all know what I’m talking about.”
The focus after Super Bowl XLV seemed not to be on the Green Bay Packers, but rather the performances by Christina Aguilera and The Black Eyed Peas.
As many of you may know, Aguilera made an honest mistake by mixing up two lines in “The Star-Spangled Banner.” I thought it was unfair for many people to criticize her. Everyone makes mistakes! She’s been going through so many things, like her recent divorce and unfortunate low album sales of 2010’s Bionic. At the end of the day, Aguilera is still an amazing singer and it won’t be the last time someone messes up the lyrics of the national anthem.
I’m not a big fan of football, but I do like The Black Eyed Pea’s recent albums “The E.N.D” and “The Beginning.” Naturally, I made sure I was watching their half-time performance.
They worked it out! It was a boisterous performance full of futuristic costumes, energetic beats, and people that lit up full of neon lights. You can tell that the band put a lot into their performance and I think it turned out great.
Apparently the majority of people thought differently.
Not only was my Facebook feed loud about their opinions, but two of my classes the next day brought up the topic of the infamous Christina Aguilera mix up and The Black Eyed Pea’s half-time show. The reaction of my classmates was overwhelmingly negative.
While Aguilera’s backlash is somewhat understandable, The Black Eyed Pea’s reactions were not. The group danced and sang live! Of course Fergie’s voice is going to sound hoarse. Usher (who’s little addition was quite unnecessary) did not even sing live; however, he did manage to receive a lot of praise for his performance. Is that not right?
But in the end, everyone is entitled to his or her own opinions. Since their performance, The Black Eyed Peas scored on their own with their song “The Time (Dirty Bit) rising to #1 on iTunes. Aguilera will be able to redeem herself at the Grammys Sunday when she takes part in a tribute to Aretha Franklin.
Everyone has their bad performances, but in the end the band will play on…
The Black Eyed Pea’s performance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJZUxR_dQz4
Christina Aguilera’s performance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-YwPqJi5bo&feature=related