Perhaps because “The Star-Spangled Banner” is so meandering, it happens to be the perfect platform for singers to display their full, jaw-dropping range. Add that to the fact that it’s often sung to stadiums full of people being particularly reverent, and it’s hard for it not to resonate as an echoing beacon of hope for what our dysfunctional country could be, coupled even with some sadness for what it currently may be. (Obviously the more jingoistic among us might have other interpretations of its tone.) And yesterday, it was T-Pain wowing the Dodger Stadium — and then the Internet — with his rendition of the song.
The visceral performance is especially noteworthy in juxtaposition T-Pain’s pioneering efforts in auto-tuning, and the fact that he’s become very much affiliated with the inorganic sound. But last night, opening the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants, his gorgeous voice reminded people that the aforementioned style was a choice rather than a necessity. T-Pain seemed to throw himself into the performance — to the point that the couple of moments he’d seem to veer off key were, themselves, still pretty poignant.
As was announced just before the performance, T-Pain’s upcoming album, Stoicville: The Phoenix, will be released in November.
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