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Alicia Keys' run through the national anthem at Super Bowl 47 was certainly something, wasn't it? It was like the best piano recital of "The Star Spangled Banner" ever!
Here's the video:
Keys both sang the anthem and provided her own accompaniment on a white Yamaha piano at midfield on the Superdome turf, singing it relatively straight and without much bombast. There were no Christina Aguilera-esque moments of forgotten lyrics, and no major moments of vocal gymnastics, with just a little extra added on near the end, and a false ending on "home of the brave."
But the distinctive part was Keys' tempo: she sang the anthem very slowly, clocking in well over 2:30 -- two of SB Nation's stopwatches came up with 2:35 and 2:38. That's well over the 2:10 time set as the over/under for her rendition at Bovada, and well, well over the average for the last 10 years, in which most performers have failed to even eclipse 2:00.
No one's going to be talking about how great Keys' anthem was on Monday morning. If it does get mentioned, though, it'll be mentioned for its speed, or lack thereof.