Aretha Franklin does an extra-long version of the national anthem for Thanksgiving
DETROIT -- Aretha Franklin’s lengthy version of the national anthem ahead of the Detroit Lions-Minnesota Vikings matchup may have been as much a topic at Thanksgiving dinner as the game itself.
Franklin’s “Star Spangled Banner” clocked in at 4-minutes, 35 seconds on Thursday. That’s compared to about 2-minutes, 20 seconds for Whitney Houston’s iconic rendition of the song ahead of the Super Bowl in 1991.
- TK
Franklin quickly started trending on social media. One Twitter user joked that there was enough time to cook a turkey, eat and do the dishes during the performance. Others opined that the 74-year-old “Queen of Soul” had earned the right to sing the anthem for as long as she wanted.
I cooked my whole turkey, ate and did the dishes during Aretha Franklin's National Anthem performance.
— B. Miller (@BlaiseInKC) November 24, 2016
The CBS production team got in on the fun during the game by including Franklin in a time of possession graphic:
Time of possession battle is crucial. pic.twitter.com/EZVC53fVeD
— NFLonCBS (@NFLonCBS) November 24, 2016