Beyonce or Whitney Houston?

[question everything]

Until today, I considered Houston singing the national anthem at the Super Bowl 1991 the best. Today's Beyonce's may just nudged Houston.

[robinlynne]

1. whitney by 1000

[hlthe2b]

2. Absolutely Whitney.... +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

[panAmerican]

4. Indeed! Whitney's performance still gives me chills

Here's a little reminder:

[link:

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[Jeff In Milwaukee]

34. Have to go with Whitney

Jesus, what talent she had.

[11 Bravo]

42. Beyonce was exceptional ... but Whitney was legendary.

[TTUBatfan2008]

3. Whitney's was a studio version...

lip-synched at the game itself.

[NewJeffCT]

37. Beyonce lip-synched it, too.

http://www.tmz.com/2013/01/22/kelly-clarkson-beyonce-lip-sync-national-anthem/

[question everything]

43. Is this why she threw away something from her ear?

that supposed to have sent her a feedback?

[NewJeffCT]

46. Maybe it distracted her lip synching?

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/beyonce-lip-synced-national-anthem-at-inauguration-20130122

[TTUBatfan2008]

50. Yeah, saw that reported today...

With them on equal footing (both studio versions), I prefer Whitney's version.

[blue_heron]

5. Beyonce

Beautiful!

[MADem]

6. I liked Beyonce's version better.

I thought Houston's was very, very good, but Ms. Knowles' orchestration was superb as was her arrangement. They're close, but BK's edition, to me, seemed to have more depth and control.

[MichiganVote]

7. whitney-her voice was amazing

[okwmember]

8. Got to go with Whitney.

As for Whitney's being a recording that's not that unusual at the Super Bowl. We'll see soon enough how Beyonce handles it next month when she does the halftime for year's game.

[leftynyc]

19. I'm pretty sure Beyonce

is the halftime show. And I'm pretty sure I read Alicia Keyes is doing the anthem.

[sad-cafe]

9. gotta go with Whitney

although the Chicks did an awesome job


Wish they could do it again before President Obama's 2nd term is over

[frazzled]

10. Beyonce

I regret Whitney Houston initiating the kind of over embellished, rococo, over the top approach to the anthem ( and to singing in general). She was good at it, but it spawned a generation of horrendously overdone, shrieking versions.

I appreciated the purity and clarity of Beyonce's rendition today.

[LuvLoogie]

11. Neither

[Evergreen Emerald]

24. ok...that was amazing.

Wow!

[question everything]

44. Very impressive

we are so used to hear the national anthem sung by females - at least, I am - that we don't realize the richness that a male voice can add.

The Howitzer and the over flight certainly added weight (or counter weight the guy holding beer in one hand while the other hand is on his chest...)

Thanks for posting, and welcome to DU.

[LuvLoogie]

55. Thank you. His best was on 9/11/11 at Soldier Field. Check it out.

Somber day of remembrance, and he just rose to the occasion. Very well done and classically heroic.

[Pool Hall Ace]

56. Yes! An actual singer, not a manufactured pop star

can do justice to the anthem.

[KT2000]

12. Whitney Houston

Beyone is sharp and she couldn't hit the low notes.

[Samantha]

13. Whitney hands down nt

[kittykitty]

14. Whitney for sure!

[John2]

15. I could go with

both of them. I just have to say this, Beyonce is very pretty. Just had to say it.

[MzShellG]

16. Whitney, hands down......

Beyonce has a lovely voice & is a great entertainer, but she will never be on Whitneys level, IMO. Whitneys rendition still sends chills down my spine whenever I hear it.

[tnvoter]

17. whitney at the super bowl by a long stretch

I think her rendition was later sold as a single. Whitney sung it live, folks. To this day, I still remember how moved I was when I heard it first.

[leftynyc]

18. By a hair - Whitney

But that could be because my beloved NY Giants won that Super Bowl. They both have/had amazing voices.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

20. Bouncey's yodeling typically grates my nerves, but she did a fine job today.

No one can touch Whitney's performance, though.

[cherish44]

21. All I know is they're both stunningly beautiful and awesomely talented

and it's SO UNFAIR! Gotta to with Whitney, her rendition gave me goosebumps (RIP)

[Filibuster Harry]

22. Both were great performances. Period..

[kjackson227]

23. Whitney.

[Evergreen Emerald]

25. I don't want to minimize how great both versions are

But, Whitney's brings me to tears every time.

[Mdterp01]

26. Whitney all day!!!

Granted it was lip synched at the game, but the arrangement was still better. I hear that and still get shivers.

[Shadowflash]

28. Neither

Last edited Tue Jan 22, 2013, 02:57 PM - Edit history (1)

There isn't a so called 'diva', in pop music today, that can hold a candle to the voice of Linda Ronstadt.

Just her and an organ, no yodeling or lip-synching required.

[question everything]

29. Stunning! Thank you for posting this

I don't care about spectator sports so really don't follow performances, unless, like Houston's, they make it to the general public.

Singing the national anthem is really beyond most of us with its 3(?) octaves. And Ronsdadt did, indeed, a superb job.

[Shadowflash]

30. Absolutely my pleasure!

[SugarShack]

31. Whitney

[Justice]

32. Beyonce's version was closer to the original version - she was amazing

I never worried if she could hit a note!

Whitney's version took more liberties with the anthem - she was amazing also but not as true to the original.

[bigwillq]

33. Whitney. Hands down. (nt)

[tiffany_willis]

35. Whitney Whitney Whitney!

Beyonce is fabulous but there will never be another Whitney anthem!

[tiffany_willis]

36. But....

Very happy to see Beyonce showing the world her talent, since she's too often criticized as an "entertainer"

[question everything]

49. A generous sentiment

and welcome to DU

[geek tragedy]

38. Whitney's voice, everything else Beyonce. nt

[RedSpartan]

39. Neither. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Mr. Marvin Gaye:

You're welcome.

[question everything]

47. Interesting. Different

a mixture of gospel and blues singing.

[goclark]

58. Thanks for sharing!

Never heard that one --- he rocked it.

[Little Star]

40. Beyonce is a truly nice person, she is...

physically beautiful and she is a great singer.

However, she is no Whitney who is one of the all time best vocalists. It's unfair to Beyonce to try and compare her voice to Whitney's voice. That's a pretty steep hill for anyone to climb.

[markpkessinger]

41. Count me among the "neither" votes...

Last year I posted this about these pop star renditions of the national anthem, originally posted as the Facebook status update of a college (Westminster Choir College) classmate:

"So, with all the kindness I can muster, I give this one piece of advice to the next pop star who is asked to sing the national anthem at a sporting event: save the vocal gymnastics and the physical gyrations for your concerts. Just sing this song the way you were taught to sing it in kindergarten — straight up, no styling. Sing it with the constant awareness that there are soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines watching you from bases and outposts all over the world. Don’t make them cringe with your self-centered ego gratification. Sing it as if you are standing before a row of 86-year-old WWII vets wearing their Purple Hearts, Silver Stars and flag pins on their cardigans and you want them to be proud of you for honoring them and the country they love — not because you want them to think you are a superstar musician. They could see that from the costumes, the makeup and the entourages. Sing 'The Star Spangled Banner' with the courtesy and humility that tells the audience that it is about America , not you."

It occurs to me that if the discussion afterwards has turned to whose "version" of the National Anthem is better, then it is pretty clear that it has become all about the performers themselves, rather than the song and what it stands for. In that case, why sing it at all?

[question everything]

51. I think that Linda Ronstadt version

post 28, above, fills your wishes.

As for "version" - the national anthem is not easy to sing. It stretches over more than one octave, perhaps 2.

Thus, when you hear Whitney Houston, or Beyonce, or Ronstadt, or Cornelison sing it in a way that makes you feel your heart is overflowing, that your eyes fill with tears - instead of cringe, then yes, the version is important.

[ohheckyeah]

45. Whitney -

her voice had a richness and depth that Beyonce's doesn't have. Beyonce did a great job but Whitney was phenomenal.

[Myrina]

48. Neither - don't yell it, don't howl it ... you don't get points for decibel level.

Damn, just sing the song already & be done with it.

Jennifer Hudson absolutely ruined the Inaugural dances, too, IMO.

[graham4anything]

52. Marvin Gaye, hands down.

[Evergreen Emerald]

53. Loved it!

I could listen to that all night.

[Pool Hall Ace]

57. Never heard this version. Absolutely beautiful.

I remember what a sad day it was when I heard that he had been murdered; that beautiful voice, silenced.

[DollarBillHines]

54. Stevie Ray, 1985, Astrodome

The worst version, ever.

Stevie didn't know the melody, so he had his wife hum it off-mic. Played slide with a Budweiser can. He was totally whacked.

Hilarity ensued.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&cad=rja&sqi=2&ved=0CEIQtwIwBA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dqa2K2nFR0tE&ei=ZQn_ULLAKIjPiwK71YDIBA&usg=AFQjCNEAcEHFFeuhfbn0vuWyJzosv0912Q&sig2=Ry8JClWL_1Cmtdui89Fr7Q&bvm=bv.41248874,d.cGE

[MuttLikeMe]

59. Jimi Hendrix, ladies and gentlemen.

Your arguments are invalid.

[Bob Sacamano]

60. Whitney and its not even close!