Brett Young’s NHL All-Star National Anthem Is Another National Embarrassment for Country
As much of the country music nervous system was affixed to the 60th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday (1-28), another high-profile event was happening down in Tampa, Florida where the NHL was holding their annual All-Star Game. “Country” artist Brett Young is a native of the area and was tapped to sing the National Anthem at the exhibition, and once again it was a moment of embarrassment for country music on a national stage.
There’s a good chance you have no idea who Brett Young is, even as a country fan. You task the average American to pick Brett Young out of a lineup and they wouldn’t have a clue, let alone be able to hum a melody from one of his tunes. He’s yet another one of these nameless, faceless, generic mainstream country males. There’s a few dozen of them with very average skills being pushed by the industry at any given time, and who could probably not win more than polite applause at your local open mic without the aid of studio magic and Auto-tune. Yet somehow this guy has two #1 country hits to his name, another #2 hit, and another song climbing the charts as we speak.
So Brett Young—who might as well be the guy working at your local Home Depot’s lumber department—takes center ice on Sunday, and proceeds to butcher the National Anthem of the United States of America, not only by singing it incredibly slow, but starting terribly off key. We’ve heard and seen worse renditions before unfortunately, and from other mainstream country hacks. But this was still pretty bad; so bad even most Canadians knew to cry foul, and dozens of sports outlets and others flamethrowed the rendition during and after, while social media exploded with criticisms. Once again, country music looked like an ass to the outside world.
It’s been remarked upon many times over the years that a strange kismet exists between the hatred of what country music has become between traditional and independent country fans, and the sports talk and sports blog world, partly because of moments like the Brett Young National Anthem when rational folks who may not even be devout country fans hear that a “country” artist is performing, and then experience something like this.
Same goes for the pretty terrible performance of Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven” on the Grammy Awards Sunday night by Brothers Osborne, Maren Morris, and Eric Church in tribute to the Route 91 Harvest Festival victims. Only Church appeared at least half prepared, and still couldn’t pull it out of a tailspin, while Brothers Osborne wilted, and Maren was mild. It’s worth mentioning that the sound appeared to be off for both the performers and the audience, but even then, from the arrangement, to the song selection, to the performance, it was hardly fitting for the gravity of the moment.
Often during these national events, when the big name from pop or R&B come out to center stage, center ice, or the 50 year line, they turn in performances that inspire. Meanwhile in country it goes off half cocked. It’s another example of the talent discrepancy that is plaguing popular country music. While scores of worthy voices in the genre go unheard, unsigned, and uninvited to major events to be the ambassadors country needs to prove the beauty and virtues of the music, artists like Brett Young squander big opportunities.
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The good news is Lindsay Ell did a good job on the Canadian anthem.
Lord Honky Of Crackersley
January 30, 2018 @ 9:29 am
I don’t know who this douche is, but there ain’t no way he’s packing lumber at Home Depot. I imagine his hands are too soft.
albert
January 30, 2018 @ 9:41 am
as you’ve pointed out , Trigger , I couldn’t name a Brett Young song at gunpoint so I had no preconceived notions about what to expect.
huge NHL fan that I am , though , I was glued to the show from the word go and yes , lindsay did very well I thought ( no Canadian bias here ..lol ) but man …the brett young thing was …..well …..you said it best ….embarrassing to even watch . I felt for him and I can’t believe I’m saying that but that’s how bad the whole experience was .
MH
January 30, 2018 @ 9:56 am
This rendition was waaaaay better than the Brett Young one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJLvCM4j2mg
North Woods Country
January 30, 2018 @ 10:03 am
This is bad. “Sleep Without You” was bad. Thankfully, his album has more to it. Brett Young is one of the good guys on mainstream radio, at this point in time
Summer Jam
February 1, 2018 @ 4:25 am
Are you shitting me?
Biggest Al Downing
January 30, 2018 @ 10:04 am
Holy hell that was bad….
I miss Stevie Gaines
January 30, 2018 @ 10:09 am
Hockey + Brett Young, my tummy aches…
Steve
January 30, 2018 @ 12:52 pm
Brett Young may suck, but hockey rules.
Gina
January 30, 2018 @ 10:15 am
Not the worst version I’ve ever heard, but not great either. The Grammy tribute is still a disappointment. It really had a lot of promise, and Brothers Osbourne are great, but that was a bad intro to a wider audience. Thank God Chris and Sturgill nailed it this weekend.
Trigger
January 30, 2018 @ 10:33 am
I root for Brothers Osborne because they’re helping to shade out Florida Georgia Line, but they were clearly not ready for that moment, which is disappointing.
Fuzzy TwoShirts
January 30, 2018 @ 12:34 pm
I hate Brothers Osborne on principle.
Its the OSBORNE BROTHERS dammit and they recorded “Rocky Top” and “Cincinnati Ohio” not this stupid bro stuff.
and this goofy bro duo is ruining the image and distracting from the original group.
Jared S.
January 30, 2018 @ 10:18 am
Oh, it wasn’t that bad. Singing that song a capella is gonna be difficult for a lot of singers, even good ones. It took him a bit to find his key, and the pauses throughout were a little uncomfortable, especially the one before “banner.”
If you want to argue that guys like this should not be scoring #1 hits on country radio, I’m completely on board.
But he’s not the first person to try and fail to put a signature on the anthem, and many have done much worse. Overall, I just don’t see why this merits an article – a no-name mainstream country singer has a mediocre-to-poor performance of the anthem for a moderate-sized audience. *shrugs*
Trigger
January 30, 2018 @ 10:29 am
I thought it was pretty bad, but I agree there have been many worse, and it is a big challenge to sing.
The bigger, underlying problem is that it created a national uproar with a “country” music artist in the middle. One of the reasons Brett Young’s version was so conspicuous is because national audiences are used to watching pop stars sing this and hit it out of the park. Then when someone who really shouldn’t be singing it in the first place gets up there and hits some flat notes right at the beginning, and sings it in a weird time that throws everybody off, it might as well be Rosanne Barr singing.
Brett Young cannot sing the National Anthem. There are other videos out there of him butchering it. And it’s because he can’t sing without the crutch of technology to begin with. To the audience of something like the NHL All Star game, they’re not going to remember Brett Young’s name specifically. He’s too generic. They’ll just remember that country guy that butchered the anthem.
Erik North
January 30, 2018 @ 11:23 am
Yes, and those who remember what Rosanne Barr did with it at the 1990 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in San Diego still have that terrible taste in their mouths even now, close to 28 years later (!).
Then again, I think country artists may be held to something of a higher standard because of the genre’s frequent paens to patriotism and such. But a butcher job is a butcher job, regardless of music genre.
And then there are arguably transcendent performances like this one by Linda Ronstadt at Game 3 of the 1977 World Series here in L.A.:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MbkSrK5spM
Scotty J
January 30, 2018 @ 12:27 pm
The Roseanne Barr fiasco was not an All Star game it was just a regular season Padres game. If I remember correctly Tom Werner who was an executive producer of the ‘Roseanne’ show was an owner of the Padres at the time and that is how that disaster came to be.
Corncaster
January 30, 2018 @ 1:48 pm
It’s perilous “fight,” not “night.” Other than that, Ronstadt did a great job.
It’s good that the national anthem is a challenge to sing. The whole idea of the anthem is to pose its challenging question to every generation.
By definition, pop music is not about quality. It’s about popularity first, and then other things. And aside from that, music education in the USA is in the toilet.
Splitear
January 30, 2018 @ 11:14 am
Oh, come on, I’ve heard that “you know, the National Anthem is a lot harder to sing than you would think” comment a million times. Sure, it requires some range, but like anything else, as long as you don’t try to outperform your skills (which Brett Young obviously did) it’s easy enough. I think what we saw here is a good studio singer show his lack of natural ability. If you listen to a Brett Young song you think, “man, this guy has some good control”, but on this performance he couldn’t hold a note long enough to run it. Worst version ever, no, but certainly not a good one for “one of the hottest names in ‘country’ music”.
Jared S.
January 30, 2018 @ 11:37 am
That’s the thing, I don’t think this is “one of the hottest names in Country music.” #1 hits or not, I don’t think very many people would recognize him at all. Therefore, I don’t think it reflects much on Country music. Maybe I’m wrong about that.
If it was a bigger star butchering the anthem, I wouldn’t complain about the article. But I think this story should just be ignored and fade away, just like Brett Young’s career.
Trigger
January 30, 2018 @ 12:24 pm
Some of the headlines from the sports world said, “Country Star Butchers National Anthem” or “Country Star Brett Young Butchers National Anthem.” The reason is because Brett Young is so generic, the writers needed to set some context.
As for the Star Spangled Banner being a difficult song to sing, of course it is. BUT YOU’RE A SINGER. That is your job, and your sole purpose in life, and if you’re Brett Young, you’re getting paid millions to do it.
And if you can’t do it, DON’T TAKE THE GIG. There are hundreds of amazing singers out there in country and beyond who can, and will excel in that situation. Why give it to Brett Young?
albert
January 30, 2018 @ 5:19 pm
I’m certain you could pick 10 people out of that hockey crowd and at least 5 would have done a better job than Brett Young . The others may have struggled but qwould have sounded at leas as good . Most people have been singing the anthem since they could crawl …He just can’t sing .
Splitear
January 31, 2018 @ 6:50 am
Exactly, I’m an “okay” singer, and I have done the SSB more times than I care to remember since I was 8 years old. It’s not “Old McDonald” but by God it’s not like your performing an aria out there. This guy embarrassed himself, plain and simple.
Benny Lee
January 30, 2018 @ 10:29 am
That’s probably how bad I’d sound. But I don’t get paid to sing.
Trigger
January 30, 2018 @ 12:24 pm
Exactly.
Rachel
January 30, 2018 @ 11:05 am
It is beyond frustrating to have country music represented so poorly the past couple of days. People talk about “Tears in Heaven” instead of Stapleton/Harris, and now this. Especially after the Preds had country artists last year in the finals who all did a solid to above average job on the anthem if I remember correctly correctly.
Splitear
January 30, 2018 @ 11:08 am
Man, he did that song in about half a dozen different keys. Goes to show how much a studio can hide a lack of talent…
BrandonWard
January 30, 2018 @ 11:09 am
The sad thing is, I have no odea who he is but yet I probably COULD pick him out of a lineup of country “stars” (though nobody would know if i was right or wrong since they all look alike) and I probably could hum a tune of his (but only b/c all top 40 “country” tunes sound the same). This crap gives a whole new meaning to cookie cutter pop. Sad musical world we are living in.
MH
January 30, 2018 @ 11:12 am
If this derails his “career,” he’ll be just fine. Per Wiki, he’s from Orange County, CA.
Trigger
January 30, 2018 @ 12:36 pm
Yes but I guess he lives in the Tampa area now, or at least that’s the excuse everyone is giving of why he was booked. At one point he was trying out for the Tampa Bay Rays, so maybe that’s when he moved there. I’ve been working on an article about sports flunkees who turned to mainstream country as a living, and Brett Young is one of the featured artists.
MH
January 30, 2018 @ 1:57 pm
Thank GOD you’re writing about this common thread.
Another article you could write as a follow-up: children from affluent families/backgrounds performing mainstream country as a living.
Corncaster
January 30, 2018 @ 5:49 pm
respectfully, this is an important but slightly less fundamental issue. at bottom, imo, is the word “talent.” in the industry, this just means “whoever is out there on stage.”
itblows my mind that “can’t sing” is NOT part of the job description for on-stage “talent.” other factors are FAR more important, like sex, looks, demographic, etc
we are through the looking-glass. “Brett Young” is a brand, not a singer. he’s a “country singer,” not a country singer. he’s a “candidate for the national anthem in this market area,” not someone who can sing the national anthem and do a good job.
in the mediasphere, we are living in a world of pure illusion.
and that cuts across every political line, too.
Stringbuzz
January 30, 2018 @ 11:16 am
oh well, shyt happens with live performances sometimes.
Nikki
January 30, 2018 @ 11:31 am
Ok after reading the backlash to Brett Young singing the anthem, I finally saw it and it was no way near as bad as I thought it was going to be. It’s obvious he had to pace himself to figure out “how” to sing the next series of notes, ’cause it is a damn hard song to sing. Anyway I thought it was going to be as slow as this hilarious Simpson’s clip. Do you remember when Bleeding Gum sang the anthem and wore everyone out. Bwaaahaahaa! — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4c2KDLWpI0
Trigger
January 30, 2018 @ 12:38 pm
As I was getting hammered by folks about this on Saturday while my hands were tied with Grammy duty, I too was a bit surprised it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. I still think it’s bad, but there is worse.
Scotty J
January 30, 2018 @ 12:47 pm
The all time worst is Carl Lewis at an NBA game many years ago.
MH
January 30, 2018 @ 2:01 pm
Nikki,
It’s not that hard to sing.
However, if you’re trying to do vocal licks/rolls a la soul and r&b singers and have ZERO natural singing ability, you’re going to get Brett Youngs all day long.
albert
January 30, 2018 @ 5:28 pm
”….vocal licks/rolls a la soul and r&b singers..’
that , MH , is a whole other issue worthy of discussion. when you’re making your vocal acrobatics the star of the performance as so many seem to be getting away with these days , you are , in my humble ( but LOUD ) opinion showing a kind of disrespect to the anthem and your country . YOU are not the star in that moment . The anthem ,as it represents the nation, is the star . I don’t think that’s the place to take advantage of an audence’s attention to promote YOURESELF and whatever you perceive to be your unique vocal gifts …..no matter who you are . I think you sing the notes as they’re written . I wouldn’t want vocal acrobatics butchering Alan Jackson’s ” Where Were You ” …..and I doubt that Alan would either .
Splitear
January 30, 2018 @ 11:32 am
This dude makes me picture a billy goat trying to sing Backstreet Boys song.
Bo Fiddley
January 30, 2018 @ 11:41 am
“Please welcome one of the hottest names in country music….that you’ve never heard of, Brett Young.”
JB-Chicago
January 30, 2018 @ 12:41 pm
Since I’m probably the only goofball on here that’s seen him live a couple of times I’ll take a swing at this. His album isn’t Country but has a couple of good tunes on it. The first time he played Joe’s Live for a radio station “first listen” thing there was about 2 or 300 people there (the airplay hadn’t kicked in yet) and we caught him lip syncing to his encore hit whatever the fuck it was. He took the mic away from his mouth and put it down for the crowd to sing along but I could him clear as day through the P.A. Not good. Fast forward 10 months and 3 radio hits later. He, along with Carly Pearce sold out the 1800 capacity Joe’s Live to mostly Mom/daughter combos and some people like me that were mainly there to see Carly. He was a little better, no lip syncing at least. He’s not Country and he’s not a great singer, that being said this wasn’t the worst rendition I’ve ever heard by a long shot but like many before him he should of politely taken a pass on the offer. I thought Lindsay did a great job on the Canadian anthem but it is easier to sing.
Cilla
January 30, 2018 @ 12:49 pm
No one has been able to top Whitney Houston when it come to singing the National Anthem.
CountryCharm
January 30, 2018 @ 1:00 pm
Wait hold on Eric Church was by far the worst of the three on Sunday night. He sounded like he had a pinched testicle. He was dragged all over SM. This is the second time he’s flopped on a national stage too.
Trigger
January 30, 2018 @ 1:54 pm
Look, I’m not giving Eric Church a pass. Anybody and everybody involved in that performance, from the decision making, to the audio engineers, to all the performers, deserve a raspberry. But I thought Eric Church did try to pull it out of a tailspin, though he was ultimately unsuccessful. At least Maren Morris can blame the bad audio she had to suffer through. Brothers Osborne were the worst. But hey, lick your wounds and learn.
CountryCharm
January 30, 2018 @ 9:53 pm
I’m not as familiar with Bros Osbourne live but to me they just didn’t seem that bad. Eric being the veteran of the group should’ve done a much better job. I don’t know why he falls flat on big occasions. Let’s face it the glasses in doors does him no good either. I know he has an excuse on tour but one night at the Grammys, don’t look like a tool.
Sob Begar
January 30, 2018 @ 1:01 pm
My fellow bar band/local band people out there can back me up on this one: if you ever have a gig where they bring out a kid to sing the national anthem just before you play, no matter what kind of big intro you got worked up, you’re fucked. They should only let kids sing the national anthem at all events. They always kill!!!!!
CraigR.
January 30, 2018 @ 1:46 pm
Two things: Brett Young really can’t sing- which is very obvious if you have heard any of his songs. Second Church, Morris and the Brothers picked the wrong song. Four country artist couldn’t pick out a country song that defined the same feeling as ” Tears In Heaven”. There are two Carter Family songs that pop to mind, a Patsy Cline song, and a Cash song. Dolly’s “The Grass is Blue” first popped to mind. That was the real problem with their song. That is more embarrassing than Young. He will be gone to tomorrow. But they won’t.And country artist should be singing a country song- sorry but that’s what I believe.
Trigger
January 30, 2018 @ 1:56 pm
No need to apologize. Some theorizing they sung Clapton since he’s having hearing problems. Hopefully he didn’t have to hear it.
Aggc
January 30, 2018 @ 2:28 pm
I hate listening to performers sing the national anthem because they act like it’s all about THEM and its not. So often there’s all kinds of 4 octave, vocal calisthenics going on until you can’t even recognize the song. The song is about our country so just sing it like it was meant to be sung. Save all the screaming and screeching for the album.
And for chrissakes, dress appropriately.
DJ
January 30, 2018 @ 5:21 pm
That’s what I was going to say. They believe the hype that it is about them…..
It reminds me of one of the reasons I stopped listening to radio; DJ’s act like it’s all about their personality….hey, DJ’s, it’s about the music.
Joe
January 30, 2018 @ 6:01 pm
In case you didn’t know, nobody sings the anthem the way is was originally meant to be sung (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvVtFD9Na0I). However, your point is still well taken in the modern iteration of the anthem.
Aggc
January 30, 2018 @ 9:10 pm
I know you know what I mean. Singing the national anthem should not be akin to auditioning for ‘Star Search’. A little class goes a long way too. There are people that still appreciate that type of thing.
Bill
January 30, 2018 @ 3:53 pm
Good God Almighty…that was just plain awful!
DJ
January 30, 2018 @ 5:22 pm
In front of everybody too.
Kevin
January 30, 2018 @ 6:03 pm
This is how a real country star sings the national anthem.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q0_6G6-ZZI
Kevin Davis
January 30, 2018 @ 8:06 pm
Wow, that’s incredible. I’ve never heard the anthem with a pedal steel guitar — and with Paul Franklin no less!
Lone Wolf
January 30, 2018 @ 6:51 pm
Just hearing Brett Young on the radio gives you the idea he doesn’t seem to sing from his diaphragm. He sounds more like a whisper singer. I have no issue with him or his songs. He is what the industry is pushing. I actually felt a little embarrassed for him, though, but not as embarrassed as I was for Carl Lewis. Live performances will either elevate you or crush you and this is why hearing studio singers live can be hard to stomach.
Josh
January 30, 2018 @ 7:15 pm
As they say in Goon, “that was borderline treasonous!”
Charlie
January 31, 2018 @ 6:19 am
Whenever a generic ‘country star’ does something stupid, then he/she should receive a generic report.
If there is no such thing as bad publicity, then stop giving them publicity!
(Generic country star) was found to be (insert embarrassing act) at location (insert name of latest club or police precinct). (Generic country star)’s Blood Alcohol Content was found to be (insert BAC level) at the time.
(Generic country star)’s role on (insert reality TV series) will be on hiatus until (insert court date or date of apologetic news conference).
Something like that.
Jack Williams
January 31, 2018 @ 6:46 am
Pedestrian. Like something I’d hear at the local Class A minor league park. And he seemed to think he was Christine Aguilera with that attempt at vocal acrobatics at the end.
albert
January 31, 2018 @ 9:10 am
” HELP WANTED”
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A working knowledge of contemporary fashion and hairstyle is a must .
We are an equal opportunity employer but attention will be given to males under 22 with facial hair and no other marketable skills . Please include current head shot with your replies.
No cowboy hats please .
Music City Wants YOU !
Lynne
January 31, 2018 @ 10:50 am
The truest statement here is that a singer should not accept a gig to sing the National Anthem unless he knows in advance he can deliver a great song.
Brett’s version was sluggish, maybe missed a note at the start, and seemed to suffer from lack of consummate preparation and over-practice, a key to success.
At the same time, the song did show toward the end Brett’s signature heartfelt delivery, and, aside from this song, Brett has delivered three consecutive #1 hits with “Sleep Without You” (#1 Mediabase, #2 Billboard), “In Case You Didn’t Know” (#1 BB), and “Like I Love You” (#1 BB).
Summer Jam
February 1, 2018 @ 4:32 am
Young is exactly as trigger described, he is about as generic as it can possibly get. I remember at points and times where the music that Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan was releasing was so boring and incredibly generic that i felt my blood pressure shoot thru the roof at how such crap can sell so well and fly to the top of the charts. Now Shelton and Bryan are putting out decent music and Young has taken over with the ultra generic, boring music. The dude can not sing, PERIOD. He has an incredibly nasely voice, to the point of where it sounds as if hes sucking on a helium tank. The worst of the worst mainstream country artists are always tapped to perform high profile events, and it makes all the people who already hated country music make fun of it even more because they are too stupid to realize that most of the mainstream country artists who are wildly popular are untalented idiots that cannot sing worth shit and do not make real country music (im looking at you Thomas Rhett…). Why not tap somebody great like Josh Thompson, Aaron Watson, Cody Johnson, or shit even sellout-of-the-year Chris Young? I just dont understand who the clowns are that pick clowns like Brett Young to do something this high profile.
Lynne
February 2, 2018 @ 12:44 am
Brett Young is one of the lights in mainstream country music. I have purchased his debut album BRETT YOUNG, which is good and which has produced three consecutive, well earned #1 hits so far, and I attended his sold out December 14 Joe’s Bar, Chicago show.
Brett is a cut above. His songs have unique themes and effective phrasing, and his voice is distinctive and strong.
Lynne
March 27, 2018 @ 4:35 am
March 26, 2018 – Brett Young wins 2018 ACM New Male Vocalist of the Year