The worst Super Bowl national anthem performances

In recent years, the performance of the national anthem at the Super Bowl has been watched closely for a number of reasons.

Prop bets have certainly aided the spiked public interest, but unfortunately, so have a number of performances that haven’t exactly met expectations.

With that in mind, here is a list of the five worst anthem performances in Super Bowl history.

5. Harry Connick Jr. (1992)

Following up the legendary Whitney Houston performance was tough enough. Add a tie-in to one of the biggest blunders in Super Bowl history, and you make this list.

According to the ESPN documentary, “Four Falls of Buffalo,” Buffalo Bills running back Thurman Thomas put his helmet down prior to the anthem. A person associated with the performance moved it, and Thomas returned to the sideline to find it missing. This meant Thomas, one of the best running backs in football, missed the first several plays until someone tracked down the helmet.

4. None (1977)

In 1977, the Super Bowl did not have a national anthem performance, though Vikki Carr sang “America the Beautiful.”

It remains the only time the anthem wasn't performed before a Super Bowl, and that seems like a glaring mistake in hindsight. Clearly, prop bets weren’t a thing in the 1970s!

3. Alicia Keys (2013)

Alicia Keys’ performance itself wasn’t the issue. Her singing was on point, as one would expect from someone of her caliber and status in the music industry.

However, remember those prop bets? Anyone who hammered the Over scored. Keys’ rendition stopped the timer at two minutes and 35 seconds, easily the longest in Super Bowl history.

That’s way too long, and that's why she is on the list.

2. Aaron Neville, Aretha Franklin, and Dr. John (2006)

The thought of putting the "Queen of Soul" on this list seems wrong, but here we are. She took the stage in 2006 with Aaron Neville, Dr. John, and a gospel choir.

The whole proved far, far less than the sum of its parts. There was just too much going on, and it started this Super Bowl off on a sour note (pun absolutely intended).

1. Christina Aguilera (2011)

This one hurts, for a number of reasons. A tremendously talented vocalist, Christina Aguilera took center stage in 2011 with reports swirling that her rehearsals during the week were excellent.

Four lines into her performance, though, the worst fears of every anthem singer came true, as she flubbed the words. Instead of singing the line beginning with, “o’er the ramparts we watched,” she repeated a line from earlier in the song, and social media went berserk.

It was an embarrassing mistake from a brilliant singer who nailed it thousands of times before that moment.