AFC Championship Game: Melissa Etheridge performs National Anthem

Earlier today, Jimmy Buffett received some reviews for a performance of the National Anthem at the NFC Championship Game. How where those? Let’s just say that they were questionable at best.

Well, for the AFC Championship Game between the Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots, Melissa Etheridge had a chance to perform “The Star-Spangled Banner.” By and large, we’ll say that this performance during the CBS broadcast was a major step up. Is it going to be the most memorable performance in the history of the Anthem? Hardly, but she carried the tune and stayed on pitch throughout.

We also should point out that there was a much higher degree of difficulty to what Etheridge did as opposed to Buffett’s performance earlier in the day. Think in terms of the climate. It was 19 degrees Fahrenheit in Kansas City at the time of the Anthem, and she had to contend with both the cold and the wind. Buffett performed indoors in New Orleans, a city that has a far warmer climate to begin with than Kansas City.

We do think that the CBS broadcast also gave Etheridge a little bit of the short end of the stick. After all, they didn’t really give her much of an introduction. Then, the sound crew at the stadium couldn’t pick up her singing the end of the song over the military flyover that took place near the very end. This was still at least a worthy performance and we don’t think that Melissa has anything to be embarrassed about after the fact — as we’ve said already, we do still think that this is one of the most-challenging gigs for anyone to do given the scrutiny that falls around it at all times.

For those wondering why in the world Etheridge was chosen to perform this in the first place, it’s because she’s a bit of a hometown hero — she’s originally from Leavenworth, Kansas, a which is just across state lines. It’s a tradition to either bring in performers from the area to do the Anthem or celebrities that are big fans of the respective teams. Given the Chiefs regalia that Melissa had on during her performance, it feels fairly safe to say what her rooting interest is for the game as a whole.

IF you haven’t had a chance to see the full performance featuring Etheridge just yet, you can do that at the bottom of this article.

What did you think about the AFC Championship Game National Anthem performance? Be sure to share now in the comments! (Photo: CBS.)