Super Bowl 2011: Christina Aguilera defends national anthem gaffe

 

Christina Aguilera performs during the Super Bowl XLV pre-game Show at Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Photograph: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Christina Aguilera has pleaded for forgiveness after the singer fluffed her performance of the American national anthem at last night's Super Bowl.

Instead of singing "O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?" in the four-versed Star Spangled Banner, the pop star sang "What so proudly we watched at the twilight's last gleaming?", changing "hailed" to "watched" the second time around.

Amid a growing Twitter storm, Aguilera said in a statement: "I can only hope that everyone could feel my love for this country and that the true spirit of its anthem still came through."

According to the Daily Mail, her gaffe matched erroneous lyrics published on Wikipedia, which have since been corrected.

At the Super Bowl in 2004 Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake's half-time show created controversy when Timberlake ripped a piece of Jackson's top, revealing the singer's right breast.

Green Bay won their fourth Super Bowl last night with a thrilling 31-25 win over Pittsburgh at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

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Christina Aguilera - A Voice for the Hungry

One of the biggest names in pop music today, Christina Aguilera is also a WFP Ambassador Against Hunger, lending her voice to WFP and the fight against hunger.

Christina just visited Rwanda where she spent time at a refugee camp. She was deeply moved hearing from the refugees about escaping violence in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.

After the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the five-time Grammy award winner was among artists who headlined for the "Hope for Haiti Now" Telethon, one of the most widely syndicated fundraising events in history, raising over $66 million in relief aid.

As the official spokeswoman for the Yum! Brands World Hunger Relief Campaign, From Hunger to Hope, she has used her fame and success to raise over $148 million for WFP and other hunger relief agencies in 45 countries.

Christina debuted in this role with a moving public service announcement that shows her serenading onlookers at a busy street corner in Los Angeles with her hit ballad Beautiful

Recently in Rawanda, Christina visited one of the schools where children get a daily hot meal - and got a rousing welcome from the children. The school meal programme is one of the best ways of giving kids a chance for the future: combining education and a healthy meal so the children can concentrate and grow up strong and smart.

In May 2010, Christina travelled to quake-stricken Haiti to see how food assistance is helping the nation recover and rebuild. Read about Christina's trip to Haiti >>

In August 2009, Christina caught another glimpse of hunger first hand during a field trip to Guatemala where she met with poor mothers surviving on WFP food aid

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