Whitney Houston sings National Anthem
This is largely regarded as the best vocal rendition of our National Anthem. Houston sang this at the beginning of Super Bowl XXV in 1991, shortly after the beginning of the first Gulf War.
It has been stated and verified by Whitney's publicist, Regina Brown, the NFL and Larry Estrin, the Super Bowl XXV Engineer, that she sang LIVE. Estrin added: "She sang the melody and words the same way (as the studio version), but she sang her heart out." They had a recorded copy just in case Whitney came down with laryngitis. Since it has always been customary for the NFL to use pre-recorded performances, everyone automatically assumed she lip sync'd. Well, she didn't. Look it up online. Once again, be aware a good number of news sources released incorrect information. Look for the ones that actually did their homework.
I use to be a musician and performed behind many singers and I can tell you the trick they used when doing voice-overs is to put a big mike in front of the person's mouth so that you can't see if they make a mistake. Whitney's mouth is totally unblocked. There were way too many vocal nuances and details for it to be lip sync'd. You can see every word articulated, every volume drop or rise, each and every energy burst, every vocal vibrato and absolutely every vocal nuance and detail. This would make the lip sync'ing much more difficult than a live performance.
In her prime (around 1991) I've heard her live. She was one of the few singers who could sound just as good live and so I can tell you she doesn't need to lip sync and If this is lip sync'd (which it most definitely isn't), it would be the absolutely greatest lip sync'ing performance ever seen.
Someone stated that her performance was too effortless. If you've ever seen one of her earlier concerts you would know that's the norm and as for the video itself, it should go without stating that many times online videos are out of sync with the audios.
This was made during a time when sons and daughters were away at war. She’s given her monetary proceeds from her Super Bowl performance and the re-release of the “Nation Anthem” during “911” to aid the military men and women overseas. I've heard people say that they've gained strength and mustered hope when they hear this rendition of the national anthem, even to this very day, so I for one believe she deserves every bit of credit for her performance (NO MATTER WHAT THE SITUATION WAS) and every time I look at this video, I look at it with pride. It very much pains me to see those who would diminish her accomplishment.
Hard to believe this happened almost 2 decades ago, isn't it?