Anita Baker Anthem Fail (VIDEO)

This week at the NBA finals, R&B singer Anita Baker became the latest in a long line of stars to get in trouble when they tried to sing the national anthem.

Anita Baker attempted the star-spangled banner before game for of the NBA finals, between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics. Before the Celtics overcame Kobe Bryant and tied the series at two games apiece, Anita Bryant tried to climb an even steeper mountain, starting at the base of the anthem's challenging melody and trying her best to climb up to those high notes, but failing to reach the summit, and tumbling down in a wreck that resembled the "agony of defeat" ski-jumper from Wide World of Sports. See below to judge for yourself, is this the worst anthem ever?

Anita Baker Anthem Fail (VIDEO)
DNews

Francis Scott Key is probably turning in his grave. Anita Baker belted out a rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner" Thursday night before the start of Game 4 of the NBA finals, but the R&B singer fell short of hitting the song's key notes. The 52-year-old throwback singer started off a little shaky before the performance nosedived as Baker sung, " ... And the rocket's red glare." Things only got worse for Baker as she stumbled through the song's closing, failing to nail the finale. The social-networking Web site Twitter lit up after the performance as viewers likened her rendition to a dying cat.

Anita Baker Anthem Fail (VIDEO)

There's a lot of chatter out there this morning that Anita Baker butchered the national anthem last night during Game 4 of the NBA Finals (Celtics won). The buzz started on Twitter as soon as the Grammy-winner finished singing, with one person likening her to a "dying cat."