It’s the national anthem – Honor your country

I am amazed at the singers I come across that almost expect, if not demand, to be paid to sing the national anthem.

I guess it’s because they’re too busy looking around for who’s going to pay them that they don’t notice the long line of people behind them waiting for the opportunity to gladly hold the mic and belt out “and the rockets’ red glare” simply for the exposure.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m the one of the first ones to tell you that exposure doesn’t pay the bills, but having worked in both sports and entertainment for a long time, I know what a lot of sporting events are willing to offer instead of pay for the anthem singer.

If you had the chance to perform in front of 1,000 people in a formal atmosphere while getting to spend a nice Friday night out with up to three guests of your choosing, all getting in thanks to free tickets, plus get professional pictures of you singing, and on top of it get a scripted intro that plugs your website and next performance, are you going to pass because they won’t instead give you cash to sing a two-minute song that certainly Francis Scott Key didn’t write with the idea of it being performed for money?

There’s a client of mine who specifically asked that there be no more national anthem opportunities brought her way.  She felt that the pressure of standing in an arena with 14,000 fans looking down at you as you sing a song that they all know – and whose lyrics are likely being displayed on a huge video board over your head – was too much, knowing that there would be an instant in-arena and social media buzz the minute you flub one lyric.  That I can understand and, to an extent, accept.

But, in this day and age of a country that has grown more and more patriotic since the bicentennial in 1976 to the post 9/11 years, how someone can sing while staring at the U.S. flag and see dollars signs instead of stars and stripes is beyond me.

When these performers were in school, if it was “let’s stand and sing the national anthem” instead of “let’s stand and say the pledge of allegiance,” did they remain seated and say, “I’m sorry, I’m in show choir and I have it in my rider that I don’t sing the anthem unless I get paid”?

While it’s probably the other extreme for all this, the National Football League is rumored to be ready to ask the superstars that sing the “Star Spangled Banner” before the Super Bowl to pay them for such a privilege.

So, the next time you want to tell the AAA baseball team “how much (you) need to get,” do the right thing and honor your country.  The shaking of the bobble head doll, the view from the seats you didn’t pay to sit in, and the coolness of the ice cream cone will be that much more enjoyable.