Sunday, May 27, 2012

Web Redemption for Victoria Zarlenga, Who Sang the National Anthem Before US v. Scotland

My Twitter feed typically blows up whenever the United States National Team is playing, but last night it blew up before the match started as a result of 18 year old Victoria Zarlenga's rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. It's a tough song, and I'd never want to sing it live in front of tens of thousands of people and on national television, that can be disconcerting. In the vein of Tosh 2.0, I'm giving Victoria her own little web redemption. First, last night's version:

Here is a statement that Victoria, a Jacksonville native, posted on her Facebook page:

In response to the comments I have received about tonights National Anthem ... I totally hear you, this was not a good performance and I take full responsibility for it! I did not realize I would need ear buds as monitors to block out the stadium sounds. Therefore, I had to borrow a pair from the sound crew that were too large for my ears and were popping out. Watching this video you can see that I was trying to hold the left ear bud in with my hand. That said, I was unable to hear myself and was only hearing the delay of my voice in the stadium. To add to the challenge, the crowd was singing in sync with my few seconds delay. It was like I was singing the song twice word after word after word. I heard from a few fans that said the view on the Jumbotron was not in sync with what they were hearing. Apparently the TV recording and stadium sound were two separate systems - you had to be present at the stadium to see and hear the delay. I was very disoriented with all these variables!

I would like to share with you a previous rendition and live performance of the National Anthem from about six months ago without the technical challenges!

I for one applaud Ms. Zarlenga for her mature response to last night's song.

2 comments:

Fr. Stephen+ said...

No! The second post was better, but the song is clearly out of her range. Listen to how she chops off phrases/words become she can sustain the higher pitches. The National Anthem is a difficult song to sing, but it can be rekeyed to fit a person's range. Victoria doesn't have it. Related-the National Anthem is not about solo performance. It's about communal singing. It should be played by a marching band or chorus so that the crowd can join in.

leenguyen106 said...

There's alot of pitch bending and intonation issues, to say the least. When she has notes that she is comfortable singing, she belts it. When it gets out of her range she switches to head voice. I suggest she take voice lessons from an opera coach or professional voice teacher, because despite her mature response, I do not hear a mature voice. And on top of it, its televised! You aren't ready for these singing gigs, unless it is your intention to go viral online n make $ for a poor performance. In that case, I put your performance 2nd only to Carl Lewis.