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Tag: America the Beautiful

  • Idina Menzel, John Legend: Super Bowl’s Patriotic Voices

    Idina Menzel and John Legend will serve as the patriotic singing voices of Super Bowl XLIX at Phoenix Stadium on February 1st. Menzel, best known for her vocals behind ‘Let It Go,’ from Disney’s Frozen, will belt out the National Anthem. John Legend will rouse patriotism with his rendition of ‘America the Beautiful.’

    Legend follows in the footsteps of some strong voices with his performance. ‘America the Beautiful’ has been performed at past Super Bowls by the likes of Ray Charles, Alicia Keys, and Jennifer Hudson. While those are big shoes to fill, there’s no doubt that John Legend has what it takes. Anyone who has heard his recent performance of ‘Glory,’ from the Academy Award-nominated film Selma, knows they’re in for a treat when he sings.

    Idina Menzel follows in some pretty amazing footsteps as well, although her spot has occasionally served as an embarrassment for both the singer and everyone at the Super Bowl. Christina Aguilera, for example, blew it big time back in 2011, when she flubbed a few lines of the song most have been singing since childhood.

    In addition to Christina, Idina Menzel succeeds a throng of music greats including Garth Brooks, Diana Ross, and Beyonce in singing ‘The Star Spangled Banner.’ Hopefully, when she is announced, the commentator doesn’t do a ‘John Travola‘ and completely slaughter her name.

    While Katy Perry is the headlining half time act at the Super Bowl, she might not hold a candle to the voices of Idina Menzel and John Legend. Frozen fans–even those who aren’t football fans–will likely tune in to Super Bowl XLIX–simply to hear the voice of their beloved Elsa. Hopefully if Chrissy Teigen (John Legend’s wife) is in the stands, she’ll leave her ‘cry face‘ at home.

    Fans can hear both Idina Menzel and John Legend raise their patriotic voices on Sunday, February 1st on NBC.

  • Coca Cola’s ‘America The Beautiful’ Ad Causes Controversy

    This year Coca Cola ditched its lovable polar bears, opting instead for  for a more arousing Super Bowl commercial.

    Coca Cola chose to go with an ad that they had to have known would spark controversy — but some call that good marketing. After all, the Super Bowl came and went and we’re still talking about the commercial.

    The commercial in question is dubbed “It’s Beautiful”. The ad features a selection of people representing several ethnicities and singing the patriotic song “America the Beautiful” in eight different languages some of which were English, Hindi, Arabic and Tagalog.

    The commercial even show two men rollerskating with their daughter. According to GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), this was the first Super Bowl ad to feature a gay family.

    The ad seemingly attempted to show America as an inclusive and culturally diverse country but many people were not thrilled.

    The main point of contention with the ad, especially among Conservatives,  is that “America the Beautiful” was not sung entirely in English. The view of many is that America is a country routed in its own culture and traditions, part of that culture is the use of English. However, it should be noted that America does not have an official language.

    “If we cannot be proud enough as a country to sing ‘America the Beautiful’ in English in a commercial during the Super Bowl, by a company as American as they come — doggone we are on the road to perdition,” said Allen West, former GOP Rep.

    Many took to social networks like Twitter to express their dissatisfaction with Coca Cola’s ad.

    As you might expect, there were some in favor of the multilinguistic ad.


    Image via YouTube

  • Queen Latifah Talks New Music And Super Bowl Performance

    Queen Latifah has been quite busy over the past couple weeks.

    First, the Queen stepped into the role of officiator, marrying 33 couples live at the 56th annual Grammy Awards last weekend.

    Then yesterday, she ventured back into the world of music, as she sang “America the Beautiful” at Super Bowl XLVIII.

    Right before she took the field, Latifah weighed in sharing her remarks about performing for the biggest NFL game of the year.

    She spoke of the historic values that the song represents.

    “Anybody who takes it as a joke … to me, I don’t know if they really get it,” she said backstage after her performance. “This is moment where for a change we all can … come together and (have) a sense of pride, and not really worry about anything else that goes on Monday morning.”

    Latifah also shared something else that fans can look forward to this year. She revealed that she’s working on new music.

    According to the Associated Press, she’s looking to release the new material later this year. Although the Joyful Noise singer-actress successfully launched The Queen Latifah Show back in September, she still has yet another desire.

    Its no secret that Latifah’s humble beginnings stem from the stage. So, it also comes as no surprise that the 43-year-old former rapper is looking to get back to her roots where it all started, with just a mic and a rhyme.

    “I’m already working on stuff with that,” she said of the new music. “I can kind of interweave that with the talk show. …It’s time to jack another day at the show, give the interviews a break for one day and just perform and rock the crowd. So, I have the best platform to do it.”

    Latifah, widely known for her Grammy Award-winning song “U.N.I.T.Y.,” has not announced any further details about the upcoming project as of yet.

    Image via Facebook | Queen Latifah (1) (2)

  • Queen Latifah Honored By Super Bowl Gig

    Queen Latifah Honored By Super Bowl Gig

    Queen Latifah sang America the Beautiful at the Super Bowl on Sunday and said she was honored to be a part of the biggest football game of the year. She says the history of the game and the responsibility to honor that tradition is a huge undertaking–and one she didn’t take lightly.

    “Anybody who takes it as a joke … to me, I don’t know if they really get it,” she said following her impressive performance. “This is moment where for a change we all can … come together and (have) a sense of pride, and not really worry about anything else that goes on Monday morning.”

    On Monday morning people are talking about little else besides the Super Bowl. Queen Latifah is no doubt back to work, however, as she has new music on her mind. She is using her new show, The Queen Latifah Show as the perfect sounding board for her upcoming tracks.

    “I’m already working on stuff with that,” she said of her new songs. “I can kind of interweave that with the talk show. …It’s time to jack another day at the show, give the interviews a break for one day and just perform and rock the crowd. So, I have the best platform to do it.”

    Queen Latifah is an actor and a singer and now, of course, can add talk show host to her list of successful credits. On Sunday she added Super Bowl performer to her list–but more importantly to her bank of exciting memories. The Super Bowl is an American tradition, and to have sung a song like America the Beautiful to the fans and players there rightly made her proud–of her abilities and no doubt of simply be an American.

    Did you catch Queen Latifah’s performance on Super Bowl Sunday? Will you be checking out her new songs when they are released?

    Image via Wikimedia Commons