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« Cheers & Jeers
Jeers: American Idol Fumbles the Super Bowl
Jordin Sparks, Alicia Keys and Ryan Seacrest by Frank Micelotta/Getty Images
Jeers to Fox for allowing American Idol to tarnish its Super Bowl pre-game show. The network enlisted Ryan Seacrest to emcee insipid red-carpet coverage of celebrities arriving at the big game. He annoyingly referred to Hugh Laurie (who looked like he was being held at gunpoint to promote House's supercool post-Super Bowl episode) as "Dr. House." Have a little respect, Ryan — the guy's an award-winning actor, not Urkel! Then Paula Abdul debuted her new single, "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow" (if only that were true for her career) with a pre-taped performance so listless, it made Britney's VMA sleepwalk look like Michael Jackson at Motown 25. (Watch video here.) Randy Jackson, whose new album (!) includes the song, stood off to the side and played bass, despite earlier threats that he, too, would dance. And last season's Idol champ, Jordin Sparks, "sang" the national anthem (though it looked suspiciously like lip-syncing). They all could learn a lesson from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, whose rockin' halftime show was refreshingly free of gimmickry.
More Super Bowl coverage:
• Watch and discuss Paula Abdul's pre-game performance.
• We list the Super Bowl telecast's highs and lows.
• Which Ads Scored, and Which Snored?
• News: New York Giants Upset Patriots to Win Super Bowl XLII
• Cheers & Jeers tackles Ryan Seacrest's pre-game show.
• Matt Roush reviews the game and the ads.
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Feb 3, 2008 4:42 PM
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Jordin looked be-a-you-tiful!
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Feb 3, 2008 6:40 PM
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Come on, when has FOX done ANYTHING with class? How about...never! I didn't even see Jordin Sparks, I only heard her sing on Sirius and I said to my husband, That girl is lip synching. It sounded taped. Way to go FOX, stop thinking that Ryan Seascrest can do anything other than Host AI.
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Feb 3, 2008 8:47 PM
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Hey Bruce, I'm sure you realize that the Super Bowl National Anthem is almost ALWAYS a lip-sync. But I think she did a pretty amazing job of making it look real.
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Feb 3, 2008 10:24 PM
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Tom Petty rocked...Thank goodness they didn't try to put on a big light show around them!!!
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Feb 3, 2008 10:49 PM
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The National Anthem is always done by lip sync. The performer records the song live, and then it's played back and they lip sync. Even Whitney Houston did this. There are several reasons: the show is not set up for a concert at that point (it's converted into a live concert venue for the half time show only the singer cannot hear the music while on the field, so they'd always be a little off...it's actually happened before; and the singer does not want to be embarrassed by flubbing the lyrics, so a live recording solves that problem.
It's entirely different than Paula Abdul lip syncing to a record, at least Jordin actually did perform it live...at some point.
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Feb 3, 2008 10:56 PM
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I love Tom Petty, it's a shame that he was only able to play 4 songs. Seacrest should stick to AI and the radio.
I think Jordan Sparks was teriffic even if it was pretaped, she looked amazing.
Did that girl with the heart song win the doritos band contest? I wasn't too crazy about her.
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Feb 3, 2008 11:16 PM
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I'm aware that the National Anthem is usually lip-synced at the Super Bowl. But that doesn't make it right...
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Feb 4, 2008 12:16 AM
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Au contraire Bruce. I think it does make it right. If the song is recorded faithfully without enhancement or gimmick then it avoids the possibility of our National Anthem being subject to techinical or natural foul-up. At such events it is the one song performed for deeper reasons than mere entertainment. And Matt's right-Jordin, coming into her adulthood, looked (and sounded) great. And this comes from someone who has absolutely no use at all for AI or almost anyone associated with it. And, pre-game, Alicia Keys was absolutely gorgeous.
I'm not a big Petty fan but I like him okay. It was good idea to open with his first and possibly best hit-"American Girl" and his guitarist Mike Campbell was brilliant as always.
I do agree that the whole Idol gang (save Jordin) should have been kept out of it. You'd think the one place you'd never have to see the unctuous Seacrest is at a sporting event-except, of course, for men's figure skating.
Am I the only one who thought it disgusting that Suzanne Pleshette only received her star on the Walk Of Fame after her death but that talentless dope got his two years ago? And for what? If Seacrest has one then doesn't that render the others meaningless? Sidney Poitier, Cary Grant, Jimmy Cagney, Bette Davis, John Wayne, Ryan Seacrest. Yeah his name belongs with those like ketchup on ice cream.
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Feb 4, 2008 2:55 AM
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They all could learn a lesson from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, whose rockin' halftime show was refreshingly free of gimmickry.
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Ha! Give me a break; Tom Petty is the last person anyone should take any advice from as far as performing. He was just as nasally sounding and boring during his half-time show as he was in the seventies.
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Feb 4, 2008 8:04 AM
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Let me preface this by saying I'm not an AI fan nor particularly a Jordin Sparks fan, but I have no problem with the anthem being lip synced--provided it is by someone who has the chops to actually sing the song in the first place. I mean, it's not as if they put Ashlee Simpson out there and the voice coming out of her mouth sounded like Aretha Franklin.
I'd much rather hear a well done pre-taped version of the anthem than be subjected to a horrific to mediocre live performance when not only is the singer completely wracked with nerves, but also unable to hear themselves and sing the song properly.
But yes, the rest of the AI crap could have been done away with.
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Feb 4, 2008 10:11 AM
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While it did sound beautiful, did anyone else hear "through the perilous FIRES"? If you're taping a performance, you should definitely get the lyrics right. And nitpicking: we "hailed", past tense, long ago.
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Feb 4, 2008 10:59 AM
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Um, Foxy1, it is hail'd, not hail. Don't feel bad - when I read your post I actually had to look it up myself!
And as good as it was, i really, REALLY am tired of the national anthem being sung as a pop ballad. I know for some people (including me) it's an emotional experience it to sing it, but instead of the little vocal acrobatics coming from the heart, it fells more like they are all trying to one-up each other or show off their voice with a song that isn't meant to be used as a show piece. Beyonce Knowles to me is one of the few who has gotten it right in recent memory.
Unless you want the Superbowl to kick-off 10 minutes later or have the national Anthem sung at another venue and shown on the jumbotron, they have to pre-record it and lip-synch. There isn't enough time to set up and take down the system to properly mic and monitor like you have for half-time or pre-game.
And does anyone else remember pre-Regis Kathie Lee Gifford singing God Bless America at one of the Super Bowls b/c she couldn't remember the lyrics to the Star-Spangled Banner?
I have heard that even when though the national anthem is pre-recorded, most of the singers do sing along not only to make it look authentic, but b/c they really, really do want to sing the national anthem at the game.
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Feb 4, 2008 11:32 AM
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the pre game was long and boring.....too much talk and who cares about American Idol?
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Feb 4, 2008 11:37 AM
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I thought Jordin Sparks did a fantastic job with the National Anthem. I give it two thumbs up!!
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Feb 4, 2008 11:45 AM
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