Ginnie Graham
In celebrating the Oklahoma City Thunder’s first NBA championship, of course there would be the haters.
There are those still bemoaning the move from Seattle nearly 20 years ago. Some try to dismiss All-Star guard and team captain Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as a “boring superstar” or free throw merchant. Whatever. He brought the receipts to earn the trophy.
But picking on Kristin Chenoweth’s performance of the national anthem hits pretty thin and petty. She brought the receipts, too.
The Broken Arrow native — and winner of Tony and Emmy awards — sang an a cappella rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” before Game 7 of the series.
Chenoweth nailed this famously difficult song that requires a crazy wide vocal range, spanning one and half octaves with twisting melodic leaps. Her version sounded like a Broadway star singing it on Broadway, meaning amazing.
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It was impressive and beautiful, holding out the “free” in the lyric “land of the free” to hit a high C, known as one of the most difficult notes to master. It takes exceptional vocal power and control to get right.
Simply, she nailed the national anthem with wicked brilliance.
She wasn’t drunk like country singer Ingrid Andress at last year’s Home Run Derby and didn’t do a weird jazz experiment like Fergie at 2018’s NBA All-Star Game and wasn’t disrespectful like Roseanne Barr at a 1990 San Diego Padres game.
Chenoweth brought her A-game and proved why she’s a Broadway queen.
That didn’t stop the meanness that can only come from online comments. A handful just couldn’t resist tearing down the performance. Some comments were so ridiculous that national media picked up on the haters, giving them too much of a platform.
Chenoweth told The Oklahoman that she takes the responsibility of singing the national anthem seriously and wanted to make Oklahoma proud in this moment.
“I’m an Okie. The Thunder is my favorite team. It’s the very final game; we’re at home; we want this championship. We’ve never been there. It’s our turn. All of those things are going through my mind. So, that’s the time to really sing it.”
Most Americans cannot sing the national anthem well. It’s why the idea of changing the official national anthem is intriguing.
The song was written by lawyer Francis Scott Key as a poem on Sept. 14, 1814, inspired by the British bombardment of Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. The words were set to the music of an 18th century British social club song.
“The Star-Spangled Banner” was popularized in the Civil War, and President Woodrow Wilson issued an executive order in 1916 to recognize it as the national anthem. It was officially adopted by Congress in 1931.
And Americans have struggled to hit all the notes ever since. So, considering another anthem isn’t too far fetched.
The patriotic “America the Beautiful” from the turn of the 20th century comes up as a top contender, as does Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America.” My choice is Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land” because of those sneaky, little-known last verses. Oklahoma’s original troubadour wrote it as a response to Berlin’s saccharine song.
Singer Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” has been politicized but also has that cynical lyric of “where at least I know I’m free.” Or, what about James Brown’s “Living in America”? The part listing a bunch of cities has that party feel all Americans enjoy.
Until then, the national anthem is best left to the vocal prowess of stars like Chenoweth. So the haters need to back off.
ginnie.graham@tulsaworld.com
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