Faith Hill Lip-Synched Her Way Through Super Bowl Performance
- Faith Hill lip-synched her performance of “America the Beautiful” at the Super Bowl on Sunday, but if you want to blame somebody, blame Garth Brooks.
According to “The Making of the Super Bowl: The Inside Story of the World’s Greatest Sporting Event” by former league executive director Don Weiss, the NFL has required performers to have a backup track since 1993, when country crooner Garth Brooks threatened to leave the stadium minutes before he was scheduled to perform unless NBC played his new video. Brooks had previously refused to prerecord the anthem, which meant the league had nothing to play in his place if he left.
Ultimately the show’s executive producer agreed to play a portion of Brooks’ video if the NFL would agree to roll back the kickoff time by three minutes. Weiss did and Brooks’ performance went on without a hitch. And the league made a backup recording a requirement.
- The lineup for Bonnaroo 2009, with artists like Merle Haggard, The Del McCoury Band, Robert Earl Keen, Todd Snider, Zac Brown Band and The SteelDrivers, doesn’t look too shabby.
- Daryle Singletary has a new album due out on April 21 titled Rockin’ In the Country. (via ggcolumn)
- Want to find out where Dierks Bentley’s new album ranks in his discography? You’re in luck, Country California ranked all of his albums (excluding the hits package).
- Julianne Hough, Kellie Pickler, LeAnn Rimes and Jessica Simpson will announce nominees for this year’s Academy of Country Music Awards on Feb. 11.
- Ken Tucker shared a brief profile on Canadian songwriter Dean Brody.
But after two years with the publishing company, Brody got the news that his contract and U.S. work permit wouldn’t be renewed. He and his family moved back to Canada. But when Brody called friend and producer Matt Rovey to give him the news, Rovey told him that Keith Stegall, who was working at the independent label Broken Bow Records at the time, was interested in signing him. Brody promptly returned to Nashville.
(Read Jim Malec’s review of Brody’s first single, “Brothers.”)
- For his first article as one of the new writers for My Kind of Country, Razor X rediscovers Randy Travis‘ 1994 album This Is Me, and Occasional Hope — the other new writer — wants to know how you got into country music.
- Will a second crop of contestants on CMT’s Can You Duet live up to the first season’s finalists? We’ll find out in June when the second season kicks off. Open auditions are being held at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville on March 7.
- Washington Post staff writer J. Freedom du Lac claims Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel have made one of the first great albums of 2009 with Willie and the Wheel.
A wicked solo seems to lurk around every corner, with steel-guitar ace Eddie Rivers starring repeatedly, as in the frisky closer, “Won’t You Ride in My Little Red Wagon.” Rivers even manages to outshine special guest Vince Gill on an update of the old instrumental “South.” The album’s two-four rhythms are irresistible, and the harmony vocals, which sound like something out of a barbershop, are pure blasts of sunshine on songs such as “Sweet Jennie Lee” and “Oh! You Pretty Woman.”
- Another Wednesday, another edition of “Country Quizzin’.” Today’s topic is classic songs that became hits as contemporary covers, and you know, I think it’s the hardest one yet. You’ll also want to note that monthly winners will receive an Amazon gift certificate.
- Listen to samples from the limited pre-release edition of Wylie & the Wild West’s 14th album, Hang-n-Rattle!. From the liner notes:
“I remember happily singing “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” as we drove 500 head of fresh mother cows through a spring snowstorm. The rollicking rhythms resonated above the remote plains of my northern Montana home with a timeless cadence that forever echoes in my cowboy soul.
“The beat is in me; it’s gotta come out. Hope ya like the new songs.” −Wylie
A handful of the songs definitely have a rock feel while others sound like something you might find on a Tom Russell album.
Popular Stuff
Sponsor
Is Dave Haywood going solo? This and many other of country music's most pressing questions answered in the September edition of The 9513's world famous Mailbag!
Caroline Herring likes to sing songs about life in the South. No, not exactly like Justin Moore and Jason Aldean...
The 9513's resident historian Paul W. Dennis sits down for a chat with country music legend Gene Watson.
As much as we love girl singers, we love songs about girl singers even more. Here's just a few of the many tribute songs out there.
Step away from the river and up to a jukebox, because heartbreak is only temporary, but a good song about drowning yourself—like a diamond—lasts forever.
What do you think about music labels "testing the waters" with a single before providing access to an artist's entire album? 
What country artist, young or old, would you recommend as a must-listen artist to a newcomer on his/her journey through country music, and what would your essential song picks be?Tagged In This Article
Asleep at the Wheel // Can You Duet // Daryle Singletary // Dean Brody // Del McCoury // Dierks Bentley // Faith Hill // Garth Brooks // Jessica Simpson // Julianne Hough // Kellie Pickler // LeAnn Rimes // Merle Haggard // Randy Travis // Robert Earl Keen // The Steeldrivers // Todd Snider // Vince Gill // Willie Nelson // Zac Brown Band
Current Discussion
- Eric Cox: Thanks for recording this song Easton. It sure is nice to hear real country music by a new artist on ...
- todd: Miranda Lambert, Jamey Johnson, and Ashston Shepherd
- K: Carrie Underwood, Martina McBride, Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban, Miranda Lambert, Darius Rucker, and Little Big Town. I'd love to hear Carrie ...
- Rick: Ashley Monroe, Sunny Sweeney, Elizabeth Cook, Megan Mullins, The Wrights, Amber Dotson, Lane Turner, Amy Dalley, Susan Haynes, The Jenkins, ...
- Jo Jo: Brooks & Dunn, Carrie Underwood, Reba McEntire
- highwayman3: George Strait, Reba, and Lee Ann Womack, oh wait, that's already happening, too bad they aren't coming anywhere near driving ...
- Mayor JoBob: Or Alan Jackson, Rodney Crowell and Marty Stuart with guest appearance by Jimmy Buffett!
- JCH: Jamey Johnson, Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert. No idea where the heck that came from.
- Mayor JoBob: Brad Paisley, David Ball and Highway 101!!!!!!
- Noeller: Jamey Johnson, Randy Houser, Eric Church and Zac Brown Band. It's the Bearded Saviours of Country Tour - would ...
2 Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URI for this postFebruary 7, 2009
[...] one of Brody’s news roundups this week, CMT announced Can You Duet is holding open auditions in Nashville on March 7 for the second season of its popular singing [...]
February 8, 2009
[...] one of Brody’s news roundups this week, CMT announced Can You Duet is holding open auditions in Nashville on March 7 for the second season of its popular singing [...]
29 Comments
RSS for comments on this post | Trackback URI for this post
February 4, 2009 at 11:28 am Permalink
Breaking News Alert! “GRAMMY® Awards Get Bigger With Taylor & Miley Duet – A First-Time Ever Television Event!
The 51st Annual GRAMMY® Awards seems to be pulling out all the stops this year, and one duet is sure to bring the viewers in: Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus.” WOW!!!! (lol)
Wylie and the Wild West are a really fun band to see live, and especially when Wylie starts doing his funky dance moves. His first two albums are a blast and its nice to hear he’s headed back that way musically rather than doing all cowboy songs.
It’s nice to see Willie and the Wheel did a good cover of “…Little Red Wagon” which was a signature hit for Hank Penny. Sounds like my kind of album.
The ACM line up of nomination announcer-ettes is enough to cause me to entirely lose interest already….
February 4, 2009 at 11:53 am Permalink
Sadly Miley and Taylor are doing “Fifteen”, a song I actually like…
Fortunately Adele and Sugarland are performing (Not together, of course!) so I forgive the Grammys for putting Miley and Taylor together.
February 4, 2009 at 11:57 am Permalink
Ugh, a Miley appearance. Miley’s going to butcher Fifteen, I can feel it.
February 4, 2009 at 12:29 pm Permalink
Good to see Daryle Singletary still plugging away. “I Let Her Lie” is one of my all time favorites.
February 4, 2009 at 12:30 pm Permalink
OK, so the NFL requires everyone to have a backup track. Do they also require everyone to use the backup track instead of performing live?
Whitney Houston’s performance of the National Anthem at the 1991 Superbowl was also lip-synched, BTW.
February 4, 2009 at 12:31 pm Permalink
How many blondes does it take to announce a list of award nominees??
February 4, 2009 at 12:37 pm Permalink
I’m excited for the new Singletary album. I’ve heard him do the title track and “Real Estate Hands” on the Opry and thought they were both pretty good.
I wonder if this is the exact same album that was almost released back before the second covers album or if it has changed in the intervening years.
February 4, 2009 at 12:59 pm Permalink
There is no doubt that Singletary is a talented vocalist and provided with the right material (like that on his first covers album (”That’s Why I Sing This Way”) he can be really enjoyable. Let’s hope the material on this new album allows him to show off his vocalist chops.
February 4, 2009 at 1:03 pm Permalink
You subject line is misleading. Your article is about Garth Brooks being a diva, but your subject would lead other to believe Faith was. Besides, pretty much everyone knows those things are pre-taped, and it doesn’t make any difference. Most people are tuning in for a football game, not to hear the national anthem.
February 4, 2009 at 1:14 pm Permalink
The title says “Faith Hill Lip-Synched Her Way Through Super Bowl Performance.” I don’t see how that misleads anyone to believe that she was being a diva.
February 4, 2009 at 2:04 pm Permalink
Who knew Garth Brooks was such a diva?
February 4, 2009 at 2:06 pm Permalink
“The 51st Annual GRAMMY® Awards seems to be pulling out all the stops this year, and one duet is sure to bring the viewers in: Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus.” WOW!!!! (lol)”
All they need now is for the Jonas Brothers to join them for a ass-whipping trifecta!
February 4, 2009 at 2:07 pm Permalink
I’m very disappointed in Faith.
I think she should have refused to perform the moment she was told about this.
February 4, 2009 at 2:17 pm Permalink
Rainbow, if she refused, she’d have lost the fat check she got.
February 4, 2009 at 2:22 pm Permalink
Matt, I know. Sometimes I think my thoughts of Faith as a person are way too high.
February 4, 2009 at 2:32 pm Permalink
Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t really mind lip-synching when it comes to the Super Bowl. There are so many things that could go wrong technically in that particular environment, plus one bum note and the whole thing is totally ruined, you know? I mean, if it’s “The Star-Spangled Banner” or “America the Beautiful,” you can’t really cover up your mistakes like you can with, say, a rockin’ halftime show or an award show performance of a less straightforward song. To me, in the very special case of major sporting events, it’s more important that the singer was able to produce one really terrific performance than it is to know they did it live. I think it’s a rare instance where the song is much more important than the person singing it. The song deserves a good performance, whatever it takes.
Also,
“Today’s topic is classic songs that became hits as contemporary covers, and you know, I think it’s the hardest one yet.”
I have to assume this is friendly sarcasm based on the fact that practically everyone is totally cleaning up this week (so far). I’m going to have to amp it up so hard for next time. Thanks for the plug, as always!
February 4, 2009 at 3:04 pm Permalink
Dan, I totally agree.
Vince Gill told a story about singing the anthem at the World Series a while back. He said that after the “Oh say” the feedback and echo was just so great that it made it very difficult to finish the song, much less stay on key, etc.
It’s not that big of a deal.
February 4, 2009 at 3:10 pm Permalink
@Dan – I really wasn’t being sarcastic. I guess I need to brush up on my Lonestar, Trick Pony, and Jo Dee Messina knowledge. No plugs for you next time if you’re just gonna go around making me feel dumb. ;)
February 4, 2009 at 3:13 pm Permalink
yeah, I didn’t do too well either.
February 4, 2009 at 3:50 pm Permalink
Yeah, I agree with Dan. I don’t have a problem with lip synching for this type of occasion, as long as the track that’s used was specifically recorded for the event.
February 4, 2009 at 6:31 pm Permalink
Some further info on the ACMs…they’ll be consolidating the new artist categories and allowing fan voting.
http://sev.prnewswire.com/entertainment/20090204/LA6652204022009-1.html
From the press release:
February 4, 2009 at 7:03 pm Permalink
“No plugs for you next time if you’re just gonna go around making me feel dumb. ;)”
Hey, if you can’t take the heat…
Nah, you shouldn’t feel dumb about this one. I think it’s easily the most trivial one yet, and in my opinion the least interesting – I don’t even like some of the covers I mentioned. But I was tired, and I had to crank something out before bed, so y’know. There it is.
As an aside, when did this “@Whoever-I’m-Responding-to” business become the new commenting norm? I feel like I missed an Internet memo or something.
February 4, 2009 at 7:07 pm Permalink
here’s a suggestion for next time, what about story details from important classic country songs (read: songs I like, and therefore, would know about, you have a habit of asking me about Eddie Rabbit and 80’s Reba)?
like, where was the red headed stranger from?
What can’t george jones hardly bear the sight of in good year for the roses?
stuff like that.
February 4, 2009 at 7:13 pm Permalink
Julianne Hough, Kellie Pickler, LeAnn Rimes and Jessica Simpson will announce nominees for this year’s Academy of Country Music Awards on Feb. 11.
That’s just cruel.
February 4, 2009 at 7:20 pm Permalink
Hey now, pardner. I don’t believe I have ever asked about 80’s Reba (who I mostly hate, by the way; the 90’s were a much kinder time to her), and the Eddie Rabbitt et al has also been mixed in with George Jones and Townes Van Zandt.
But, very cool suggestion nonetheless. I’m sure I’ll end up swiping it one of these weeks.
February 4, 2009 at 8:12 pm Permalink
We can go with “Yo” if you’re more comfortable with that–for instance, I’d say “Yo Dan” before any reply that I have for you.
The “@” sign is actually carryover from Twitter. When you reply to someone over there, putting “@” in front of their username creates a link.
And that reminds me, Pierce started a Twitter account for The 9513. I’ll have to mention it in tomorrow’s news roundup.
February 5, 2009 at 2:49 pm Permalink
Interesting. I kind of like the @ actually, although I could rock some “Yo.”
February 5, 2009 at 10:28 pm Permalink
wow…*stratches head* never thought that lip-synching could be considered as “insurance”…interesting analogy and yet, it makes me feel sad that it can’t be the real thing.
May 14, 2009 at 10:12 am Permalink
This is one of the many reasons why I dislike Garth Brooks he throws a temper tantrum to get his way.
Leave a Comment