Fergie’s national anthem performance didn’t go so well at the NBA All-Star Game.

She tried to pull off a slower, bluesy, sexy and seductive Fiona Apple/Amy Winehouse crossover of sorts. Or was this a failed tribute to Marvin Gaye?

Monday, she released a statement addressing the avalanche of criticism:

“I’ve always been honored and proud to perform the National Anthem and last night I wanted to try something special for the NBA. I’m a risk taker artistically, but clearly this rendition didn’t strike the intended tone. I love this country and honestly tried my best.”

It’s all good.

I give her credit for taking a chance, and I certainly can’t sing for shit, but like everything associated with the first hour of the All-Star Game, it just didn’t land:

She slowed it down a bit and tried to put some soul into the performance, a non-traditional take on the country’s most traditional song. The anthem is actually a waltz, written in 3/4 timing, which is rare, since most national anthems are more militaristic, “march” sounding jawns that are written in 4/4. Fergie’s rendition is just that, 4/4, which is incredibly hard to pull off.

Gaye did the national anthem at the 1983 All Star Game, also in Southern California, and while his version was TOTALLY different from a typical rendition, he had people shouting and clapping halfway through the performance:

My grandfather would have disliked both of those renditions, since he was a “just sing the song how it’s supposed to be sung” type of person. He didn’t dislike Marvin Gaye, he just felt like the anthem wasn’t really mean to be tinkered with.

Anyway, The Undefeated did a really cool story on Gaye’s national anthem, an oral history with quotes from the players who took part in the 1983 ASG:

“You knew it was history,” (Julius) Erving said, “but it was also ‘hood.” For a two-minute stretch, the basketball world revolved around Marvin Gaye and within his gravitational pull were MVPs, world champions, former Rookies of the Year, future Hall of Famers and 17,505 people in the stands. “We were two-stepping, listening to the national anthem,” said (Magic) Johnson with a laugh. “We were just bouncing left to right. It blew us away. We just got caught into the moment of this man. People just forgot it was the national anthem.”

Gaye’s rendition hit the mark, but Fergie’s was.. I dunno? It just sort of fell into purgatory I guess. It wasn’t soulful enough but it also wasn’t anywhere close to being “traditional.” That’s why it appealed to nobody in general.

For my money, this is the best rendition I’ve ever heard:

RIP Whitney.

I don’t think Fergie’s version sinks to Carl Lewis or Roseanne Barr levels of ghastliness, and I won’t dare share those abominations on here, but while it’s easy to rip her for missing the mark, I do give her credit for trying something different and difficult.

If anything, it’s confirmation that Marvin Gaye and Whitney Houston were on another level entirely.