Fergie‘s jazz-inspired rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, February 18, had several people scratching their heads.
The former Black-Eyed Peas singer, 42, appeared to be trying to turn the national anthem into a torch song with a sultry performance that had some in the audience, including Jimmy Kimmel and Chance the Rapper, looking a little bemused.
“This All Star opening is confusing me,” Khloé Kardashian tweeted. “WTF is going on? Anyone?”
This All Star opening is confusing me. WTF is going on? Anyone?
— Khloé (@khloekardashian) February 19, 2018
After Fergie finished, a chuckling NBA commentator Charles Barkley asked his fellow panelists if they could talk about what they’d just seen. “Oh, stop, don’t do that. Leave my Fergie alone,” Shaquille O’Neal responded. “Fergie, I love you. It was different, it was sexy.”
“Damn right it was different,” Barkley replied. “I needed a cigarette after that.”
Chuck was not the biggest fan of Fergie’s national anthem 🚬 #Fergie #NBAAllStar2018 #nba #NationalAnthem #AllStarWeekend #AllStarGame pic.twitter.com/r9KIlbuVGw
— Chune (@chunemusicfeed) February 19, 2018
Some pointed out that Beyonce was also in attendance at the game and could, arguably, have done a better job, while singer k.d.lang tweeted, “Would it be so bad if we just dropped the national anthem altogether from sports events. ?”
Others on Twitter compared Fergie’s performance to Jessica Rabbit from the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, while another wrote, “F to the E to the R G I E L I C I O M G W T F was that?” referring to the singer’s hit “Fergalicious.”
“My golly. Fergie needs to be tazed, pepper sprayed and led off in handcuffs for her criminal rendition of the #NationalAnthem! Just awful!” wrote one viewer.
“Yeah, you killed it,” another wrote. “But not in a good way.”
“Give Fergie a break,” another tweeted. “As anyone who has actually sung it to a large audience will tell you, it’s one of the toughest songs to sing. You try it, righteous critics.”
Check out more reactions below.
Fergie singing the #NationalAnthem pic.twitter.com/7XWToW3oQX
— BuckInTennessee (@BuckInTennessee) February 19, 2018
Me listening to #Fergie sing the #NationalAnthem pic.twitter.com/w2pjiONeTI
— Amanda Wierzba (@AmandaWierzba) February 19, 2018
#Fergie hits that HIGH note during #NationalAnthem pic.twitter.com/2NlAOT1vXE
— RrrrK (@soulballet) February 19, 2018
listening to Fergie singing the #NationalAnthem at #NBAAllStar2018 pic.twitter.com/wH3jWmjIHm
— David Ashley (@BFC84Ash) February 19, 2018
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