The singer said he reverse-engineered the “Star-Spangled Banner.”
The National Anthem isn’t an easy song to sing. Vocalists with a wide range have handled it well. Pop singer Charlie Puth is taking on that task this year. He spoke openly about being nervous since Whitney Houston is one of the greatest to ever sing it. However, Puth, 34 revealed how he made the song his own.
Puth revealed that making changes and rehearsing was how he prepared for the big day. “The arrangement is everything for me,” he said at a press conference, according to Movin’92.5. “I always reverse engineer how I hear my own music in my head and then it’s kind of just like pulling it apart and making it a feasible product. … So I’ve been rehearsing this in my head for months, if that makes sense.”
He said the most challenging aspect of the “Star-Spangled Banner” is the “five more notes above the octave.” Puth posted a video walking on the field on Instagram on February 7. “I am singing the national anthem on Sunday, fully knowing that this version exists…” he wrote. The sound was Houston singing, “and the rockets red glare.”
People shared their support in the comments. “It’s not a competition Charlie,” commented director Kenny Ortega. “Just make the words ring out. ‘…the land of the free and the home of the brave’ We need to be reminded how fragile and our freedom is and how brave we must all be in our willing to fight to hold on to it!”
“[You’re] gonna kill it!” David Foster commented. “Don’t forget it wasn’t live.” Producer Rickey Minor addressed the recording Houston used, according to ESPN. “There’s no way to rehearse the sound of the crowd … coming at you,” he said. “You don’t know where the first note begins.”
Puth isn’t the only Super Bowl performer to be inspired by Houston. Coco Jones‘s homage was also teased before game day.
Source: parade.com
