Super Bowl National Anthem 2012: Kelly Clarkson Has an Easy Act to Follow

Not many people are aware of this, but did you know that Super Bowl XLV was actually a crime scene?

The crime, in case you're wondering, was murder.

The culprit, in case you're wondering about that too, was Christina Aguilera.

The victim, in case you haven't gotten my drift by now, was the national anthem.

Aguilera didn't just murder the national anthem. She butchered it. It was coldblooded, merciless and ultimately, horribly embarrassing. 

You can re-live it if you want, but do so at your own peril:

Aguilera's rendition of the national anthem was nothing special from the start, but things started to fall apart as soon as she flubbed the line “O’er the ramparts we watch’d, were so gallantly streaming." She clearly noticed that she had, and she tried to cover her tracks by turning her volume up to 11 and by holding notes much longer than she should have.

Was it the worst national anthem ever? No. That honor goes to Carl Lewis.

But was it the worst national anthem ever sung by a professional singer? Yes. Not even close.

All of this brings us, in a roundabout way, to Kelly Clarkson. She has the honor of following Aguilera's act, as Clarkson has been tabbed to sing the national anthem before the start of Super Bowl XLVI between the New York Giants and New England Patriots.

I'll be honest about my knowledge of Clarkson's music: I don't have any. I know who she is, but I have no idea what kind of singer she is, and I certainly have no idea if she's any good. I Google'd her and found out that she won the first season of American Idol, and I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing.

To put it bluntly, I just don't care.

This may sound mean, but the quality of Clarkson's music and her career accomplishments are not going to matter on Sunday. All that matters is that she's going to be alone on a stage in front of tens of thousands of fans at Lucas Oil Stadium, and a hundred-odd million more watching at home. To avoid their ridicule, all she has to do is sing and sing well.

That's not asking a lot. Clarkson is, after all, a professional singer. Aguilera was (and still is) too, but she set the bar remarkably low. Singing "well" is totally relative. In this case, Clarkson merely needs to sing better than Aguilera.

I don't know her work, but I have complete faith in Clarkson. If one good thing can be said about her stint on American Idol, it's that she no doubt proved she can sing when the pressure is on. She's going to need to do so again on Super Sunday.

I would rather not see the national anthem murdered on live TV again. I've got my fingers crossed. 

Don't let me down, Kelly.