NBA Finals: Jordan Smith of The Voice performs National Anthem
Arguably, this is the largest gig that we’ve seen Smith have since winning the NBC show, and we can’t say that it’s altogether a surprise that he came out and completely nailed the Anthem. He’s a sensational singer, and showed it through the bulk of the performance.
What was probably a little bit surprisingly to a lot of people out there was that “The Star-Spangled Banner” was performed first — though that is customary, given that the game was played in Canada. The Canadian National Anthem “O Canada” was performed by the Tenors, who did so to raucous applause from the crowd in attendance. If you didn’t know by now, the Toronto fans are among the most passionate, and patriotic, out there.
Typically, it’s the trend of people on the internet to come out and mock National Anthem performers on the internet — we don’t think that there’s all that much to mock with anyone here. These were two very different iterations of the Anthem, with Jordan Smith opting for more of an acapella approach while The Tenors chose to do something a little more (fittingly for them) operatic. The thing that struck us the most about theirs was the harmonies at the end, where we heard a wide array of keys and a lot of vibrato.
For Smith in particular, this may be the best publicity that we’ve seen The Voice have over the past few weeks. Just think in terms of some of the headlines that have been out there about Adam Levine’s departure at the end of season 16 — coupled, of course, with some of the recent ratings woes that the show has suffered. It hasn’t been a good past week for The Voice, though the good news is that they do have a great coach in Gwen Stefani coming back.
What did you think about the performances of the two National Anthems during the NBA Finals? Be sure to share in the comments. (Photo: ABC.)