The Star Spangled Banner (Whitney Houston Song) - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

Whitney Houston's rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" has garnered very positive response from almost of all music critics, since 1991 when she performed the song at Super Bowl XXV, being considered one of the best performances ever for the national anthem in music history and the benchmark for singers. Hubert Mizell of St. Petersburg Times lauded her to the skies, saying "Whitney Houston brought down the house as the lady with the super pipes sang the Super Bowl's most meaningful national anthem ever." Liz Smith from Newsday called the performance " magnificent rendition," commenting "Her powerhouse version turned that often impossible-to-sing tune into a hit." Entertainment Weekly's Jess Cagle noted the specific circumstances, particularly a patriotic mood at the time, rather than the performance itself, stating that "Her timing couldn't be better: patriotism, thanks to the Iraqi war, is high, and Francis Scott Key's 1814 ode to the flag is about to celebrate its 60th anniversary as our national anthem. The Gulf war fervor has turned Houston's performance into an unlikely, overnight pop hit." Jon Pareles of The New York Times said that Houston's rendition represented the image which the war was recast as sexy and exhilarating in the 1990s, becoming a counterpart to Jimi Hendrix's at Woodstock in 1969, with screaming siren notes and blasts of feedback that suggested the chaos and carnage of Vietnam bombing raids. He was critical of the media which used Houston's performance as a means of allowing the public to forget the violence of war, and the public's unquestioning acceptance of that, stating "'The Star-Spangled Banner' memorializes 'bombs bursting in air,' and the quiver in Ms. Houston's voice finds seductiveness in the rockets' red glare. But so far, despite the gleaming high-tech weapons paraded on the nightly news, the pop public hasn't joined her. For the moment, it is keeping its distance and hoping the worst will be over soon."

Deborah Wilker of South Florida Sun-Sentinel commented that Houston's version was a "moving rendition" and "imaginative arrangement" of the national anthem, adding "The rare moment on the football field showed her to be much more than a hit machine." Jim Farber, a music critic of New York Daily News, in his review of Houston's 2000 album Whitney: The Greatest Hits, said the song was "bold enough to launch a thousand ships." Sportswriter Dave Anderson of The New York Times commented that "When Whitney Houston belted out the national anthem with the nation at war, she reminded everybody that there was a much more important world out there beyond the Super Bowl, a much more important world beyond even the Giants' hold-your-breath triumph when Bills kicker Scott Norwood's 47-yard field goal try sailed wide right." Los Angeles Times's J.A. Adande, a sports columnist, commented that "It dripped red, white and blue," placing Houston's Super Bowl performance at number three on his list for the best renditions of "The Star-Spangled Banner." In February 2003, Vibe, in a feature article in honor of Super Bowl XXVII, wrote that Houston's performance was "sweet, sweaty and sensational," choosing it as "Most Kleenex-Worthy Performance." In 2005, Orlando Sentinel's Emily Badger, in her articles of the national anthem, picked Houston's rendition of the song as the first of the three good performances along with Marvin Gaye's at the 1983 NBA All-Star Game, and Natalie Gilbert and Maurice Cheeks's in 2003 NBA playoffs, saying a word of praise: "Whitney Houston was so good it sold successfully as a single." Janet Mock of People magazine extolled her performance that "Houston gave one of the most iconic interpretations of the National Anthem in history." Writing for MTV.com in February 2009, Gil Kaufman said the song is a "legendary take on the National Anthem." Luchina Fisher and Sheila Marikar of ABC News, in their articles of lip-syncing, wrote that "Houston's unforgettable rendition of the anthem set the standard that most singers have tried to top." Jenny Mayo of The Washington Times, in her review of Houston's 2009 album I Look to You, praised the rendition highly: "Miss Houston is an artist who can—or at least used to—make songs untouchable. 'The Star Spangled Banner' will never be the same." Bill Lamb from About.com expressed that " formidable power made her Super Bowl XXV 'Star Spangled Banner' performance a legendary moment," and on her biography by Lamb, also described it "as one of the most stunning televised performances ever." Monica Herrera of Billboard called Houston's performance a "epic take," adding " made it memorable."

Rushelle O'Shea of Yahoo! Sports called it "the most beautiful and most moving to have ever been performed at a sporting event" and recalled then "Leaving the crowd with tears in their eyes, she moved the hearts of many and received a well-earned standing ovation for this beautiful performance," choosing the performance as one of 'The Top 10 Greatest Sports Songs of All Time'. While commenting on Christina Aguilera's performance of the National Anthem at Super Bowl XLV, The Christian Science Monitor's Peter Grier drew comparisons between Houston's version and Aguilera's, writing "One thing is sure: She was no Whitney Houston. Remember Ms. Houston’s performance of 'The Star-Spangled Banner' at the Super Bowl in 1991? Houston gave an emotional rendition of the song, and it remains one of her career highlights." The Oxford Student's Abbas Panjwani wrote that "Houston’s version is totally euphoric and boundless in energy. Nothing overly fancy. Just immense vocal talent." Chris Willman from Yahoo! Music complimented on Houston's version of the song that it "hasn't aged" and "may remain the most highly regarded version of our lifetimes," ranked second in his 'The 10 Best National Anthems Ever' list. Mike Vaccaro of New York Post recalled the performance that "Not only because she was at her peak that January of 1991, not only because we were at war, but she hits the final note ('brave') in a different way than almost anyone else who’s ever tried to sing it, and it is unforgettable," choosing it as his all time number-one favorite among the national anthems. Both Jack Yacks and Gary Mills of The Florida Times-Union described the song as "the gold standard for national anthem performances." In March 2011, St. Petersburg Times' Tom Jones, in his article of memorable sporting events in Tampa Bay Area, recalled the Super Bowl XXV as follows: "the game was about more than football. The United States was embroiled in the first Gulf War, and Whitney Houston, right, backed by the Florida Orchestra, produced goose bumps and tears with a powerful rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner. It is one of the great Super Bowl moments."