Singer-songwriter Jewel took the stage at the Indy 500 this past weekend to perform the National Anthem before the racers started their engines. The Grammy-nominated artist has fans divided over her performance, however, as she put a new spin on The Star-Spangled Banner.
Jewel took to the stage with her acoustic guitar in hand, creating a picked instrumental for the song as she sang. Due to the rhythmic nature of the guitar, Jewel made a few slight rhythmic changes to the anthem, and she added her own flair to the melody, as singers often do.
.@jeweljk sings the national anthem at the greatest spectacle in racing. ?? #Indy500
?: NBC and @peacock pic.twitter.com/rpjuG1o2dk
— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) May 28, 2023
While some viewers enjoyed Jewel's new take on The Star-Spangled Banner, other fans would have preferred if she had left the National Anthem unaltered. The rendition yielded many strong reactions on Twitter, including one user who shared her exasperation about artists changing the anthem.
"For the love of God, STOP CHANGING THE MELODY AND RHYTHM OF THE NATIONAL ANTHEM," wrote the viewer. "Jewel's rendition is now in my top 3 least favorites."
Other viewers called the rendition "sacrilegious" and said that Jewel "butchered" the National Anthem. Another viewer said that people were trying to sing along, but were unable to because of the rhythm change. Others deemed Jewel's performance the "worst anthem rendition to date."
While some were less than enthusiastic about Jewel's performance, other viewers enjoyed the new spin on the anthem. A Twitter user named Scott addressed the fans who didn't like the performance, writing, "Are you drunk? I was at the race today, and it was a total highlight of the pre-race festivities." Another fan who goes by Mr. Bass wrote, "Absolutely beautiful. Had me in tears. Stellar performance!" Many others called the performance "beautiful," saying the modifications of the song were simply "embellishments."
Jewel reportedly sang a similar version of the anthem at the 2023 NBA All-Star Game in February.
