Alicia Keys Anthem: Super Bowl Singer Criticized Because She Was Sitting

Alicia Keys’ anthem performance at Super Bowl 2013 has been criticized because she was sitting at the piano during her arrangement of the national anthem “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Critics are saying the Alicia Keys anthem arrangement was disrespectful since the singer did not stand nor did she put her right hand over her heart. The NFL has been busy removing copies of the video because the particular arrangement Alicia Keys wrote for the national anthem is covered by copyright law.

One morning show producer told The Huffington Post that the NFL producers could have made some simple tweaks to their pre-game plans:

“It was disrespectful. They had enough time and manpower to think of this before the performance. They could have had her stand at her piano keyboard and sing. To me and a lot of my friends, she sounded great but the visual was wrong.”

A publicist who has worked with Alicia Keys rushed to defend against the idea that the singer meant any disrespect by her actions at Super Bowl 2013:

“Alicia is a proud American and was honored to perform at the event. Her slow version of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ was her own arrangement, accompanying herself on the piano, adding ‘living in the home of the brave’ at the end of the song. It’s silly to see how that was being disrespectful.”

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, overall the public seems to really like Alicia Keys’ performance, especially how she looked in that red dress. USA Today reports that the Alicia Keys anthem rendition also set records for being the longest version of Francis Scott Key’s lyrics. The previous record was 152 seconds as performed by Natalie Cole in 1994, but the Alicia Keys version of the national anthem went on for 156.4 seconds exactly.

Do you think that the Alicia Keys anthem performance was disrespectful?

Alicia Keys not even standing for the anthem #disrespect

— Michael (@zodalx) February 3, 2013