'I love Chaka Khan but WTH was that?': Icon's national anthem performance at NBA All-Star Game slammed by fans
Chaka Khan sang the national anthem prior to the 2020 NBA All-Star Game and viewers were not pleased about it. Khan was set to follow several stunning performances in tribute to the late Kobe Bryant. While most performers might feel the pressure of having to follow acts like that, it would be no trouble for veteran Chaka Khan to take the stage -- or so most thought.
When Khan did take the stage and began singing the national anthem, it left most viewers, well, confused, disappointed -- and in the mood for a roast.
Now to be clear -- she does sound amazing. Khan's vocals are still strong and gorgeous as ever despite her having been in this industry and hitting some seriously tough notes for decades. Many users highlighted Khan's status as a legend while also talking about their disdain for her performance.
Lawrence B. Jones put is best with this tweet: "I love Chaka Khan but WTH was that?" Another user adds, "Chaka Khan a legend and all but.... that rendition of the anthem was something"
So what went wrong? The issue is probably the same thing that is causing Khan's performance to draw comparisons to Fergie's equally disastrous rendition of the anthem - they're doing too much.
Getting to sing the anthem on stages like these is considered one of the top honours by most performers. It often draws a large number of viewers in, all hoping to see a rendition that lifts their spirits and gets them pumped up for the game. That also means the performers themselves have to do something that really leaves an impact. Unfortunately, some performers take it a little too far. In Khan's case, it sounds a lot like she was trying to emulate Whitney Houston's legendary performance and unfortunately it just didn't go as planned.
Chills. Every single time. It really doesn't get better than that. And the reason is most likely because Houston set the bar higher than anyone could reach, giving us a rendition that was as emotionally raw and honest as it was vocally flawless.
Khan, sadly, is now being brutally attacked and mocked across social media for her performance, and many are using that infamous Billie Eilish face from the Oscars to convey the full range of emotions they are feeling after listening to it.
Some even joked about Khan's elimination from the Masked Singer, tweeting, "So we were all wondering why Mrs. Monster was eliminated when the white tiger should have been. It’s almost like the producers knew Chaka khan was going to butcher the anthem at the 2020 NBA all-star game."
And others joked about what inspired this performance from Khan. "#ChakaKhan is amazing but her interpretation sounded like she watched the ep of Proud Family when Bobby does the national anthem + was like "Yes, this is it! This is my inspiration!"," tweeted another user. Ouch!
Others, however, pointed out that the issue was her choice to go acapella. One user tweeted, "Chaka Khan's anthem was good. People are confused cuz she went a capella. If I laid down a simple beat over that clip, you'd see. I was expecting a disaster when I heard about it, but nope. She's old too she sounds good."
Watch Chaka Khan's performance and let us know what you think: was it just the unfortunate choice to go fully acapella that left us with this performance, or did Khan just not give us the performance we were expecting from her?