You’d think that with twenty-one million monthly Spotify listeners, 23-year-old pop star Conan Gray would be able to sing the Star-Spangled Banner without making any mistakes. Unfortunately, Gray’s version of the song is now being called perhaps the worst singing of the national anthem ever attempted, as his style of singing was “impossibly bad” according to baseball fans who were subjected to it at a recent Home Run Derby in Los Angeles.
The young pop singer is under fire for producing “the worst national anthem rendition” in American history. He was performing the song as part of the Home Run Derby at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Hundreds of Twitter and Instagram users rushed to social media to deride and criticize the artist for his poor performance before so many people.
A Twitter user joked “a Congressional Committee that looks into who chose the singer for the National Anthem at the Home Run Derby,” another person added the following tweet to the discussion about Conan Gray: “There are so many great singers in this country, it’s nearly impossible to have that bad of a national anthem.”
“I don’t know who TF Conan Gray is, but that was top 5 worst national anthem renditions I’ve ever heard,” said one person after watching Gray’s Home Run Derby performance in Los Angeles on Monday.
Another person tweeted, “1.) Who is Conan Gray? 2.) He may very well be the worst national anthem singer of all time. Good lord.”
Gray is a young YouTuber from Texas who skyrocketed to internet stardom after putting out videos on YouTube. He has subsequently built up a large following on Spotify, with millions of monthly listeners that enjoy what he does. His second album, Superache, was published in June and received rave reviews from both critics and fans. Gray’s record reached the top ten charts in both the United States and the United Kingdom.
However, Gray’s performance of the Star-Spangled Banner is regarded as one of the worst performances of the American national anthem in history. Some individuals went so far as to claim that his singing was worse than Fergie of Black Eyed Peas fame, who sang the anthem at this year’s NBA All-Star Game.
“Bro, I think Conan Gray is tone deaf. That national anthem was as bad as Fergie’s,” said another person on Twitter.
Gray’s supporters, despite the negative comments, defended him on social media.
“He’s actually a great performer/singer,” one fan commented on YouTube. “[I don’t know] what happened here, but seeing people bash him sucks.”
Another said, “Go listen to his album or literally any other live performance before you try to tell me this man can’t sing.”
You may listen to Gray sing the National Anthem below. What are your thoughts on his performance in the Home Run Derby?
