Cyndi Lauper National Anthem

Cyndi Lauper National Anthem

Cyndi Lauper National Anthem. Cyndi Lauper's tribute to 9/11 before the U.S. Open semifinal between Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki started out with far greater gravity than you'd expect from the singer of the theme song to "The Goonies." The former pop star called for a moment of silence before breaking into an understated rendition of "The Spar Spangled Banner." It was all going well.

Then she pulled a Christina Aguilera and messed up the words. I'd tell you when the flub comes in but, don't worry, you'll know. (Fine, it's at the 0:48 mark of this clip.)

The biggest difference between Cyndi and Christina, besides relevance, is that Cyndi didn't cover her flub very well. If you watched the Super Bowl anthem and didn't know the words, you wouldn't have been able to tell Aguilera botched it. She covered it up like a pro. Lauper, on the other hand, mumbled her way through the line she messed up, like an elementary school student who forgets the lyrics to "Tomorrow."

Let's not be too hard on her for this, namely because the far greater patriotic insult was that Statue of Liberty dress.