4 of the worst National Anthem performances ever

Performing the National Anthem is always a privilege. When famous performers take center-stage at the biggest venues, they pull out all the stops and dig deep into the depths their talent to make their country proud. Oftentimes, what follows is something truly amazing. If you look up some past performances from major sports leagues' all-star and championship games, you'll some absolutely fantastic displays of vocal acumen and musical mastery.

Unfortunately, the gravity of such a task can sometimes push performances to the opposite end of the spectrum. Whether it's a good performer taking too many liberties or simply a plain ol' bad singer doing the best they can, these are four of the worst National Anthem performances, ever!

Related: 7 of the best National Anthem performances in Super Bowl history

4. Fergie — 2018 NBA: All-Star Game

Fergie has spent the past few days apologizing for putting on one of the worst National Anthem performances in recent years. Today's microwave culture make 2011 feels like ages ago, but that's exactly how far back you'd have to go to find an anthem of this magnitude delivered this poorly.

Fergie is a decent singer, in most cases, but this was an absolute debacle. No excuses, Fergie. You've got to do better... much, much better.

3. Christina Aguilera — Super Bowl XLV

Christina Aguilera has some of the best pipes in modern music, but she also has a well-earned reputation for going a little over the top.

Normally, her riffs and adlibs sprinkle the perfect amount of X-Tina flair on a recording, but here, almost none of it lands and the anthem ends up muddied and nearly unrecognizable.

2. Carl Lewis — 1993 NBA: Bulls v. Nets

Carl Lewis was once the fastest man in the world and a multi-discipline Olympic medalist. Being that awesome at something has to translate to other areas — just not singing.

Why he felt compelled to do something so far outside of his realm of expertise is beyond me. This is shower singing gone about as bad as you can go.

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1. Rosanne Barr — 1990 MLB: Padres v. Reds

This is, unquestionably, the Whitney Houston of bad National Anthem performances. To be honest, this one's so bad that it's almost good.