It might have been Bad Bunny’s impressive Half Time Show that made the biggest headlines at the Super Bowl earlier this month, but it was Charlie Puth’s reharmonised version of the US National Anthem that got music theory nerds talking.
Reacting on YouTube, music educator Charles Cornell called it “one of the greatest national anthems ever,” while jazz pianist Aimee Nolte described it as “pretty much a masterpiece,” comparing it to Whitney Houston’s rendition of The Star Spangled Banner at Super Bowl XXV in 1991.
There were plenty of other dissections, too, and Pianote created a handy chord-by-chord guide for anyone who wants to unpick and emulate Puth’s performance.
Prior to the Super Bowl, Puth discussed his plans for the anthem with Armchair Expert Dax Shephard, telling him that “I have the whole arrangement in my head… I musically know where I’m going with it.”
He also revealed the instrumentation he had in mind: an orchestra, a choir and “a really warm Rhodes sound - like a Rhodes from the 1970s,” (all of these boxes were ticked) and mentioned that he planned to sing the anthem in D Major (he did).
In fact, Puth could visualise everything that was going to happen: “We can play this back after I do it and see if it was all right,” he said, adding that “I got goosebumps just thinking of it now because it feels like I already did it.”
As far as we can tell, all of Puth’s wishes came true, though perhaps he didn’t anticipate just how much discussion his performance - which also featured his new friend Kenny G, let’s not forget - would generate.
He certainly seemed happy when he stepped off stage, telling a reporter: “I think we pulled something off pretty spectacular, musically.”
It seems that this wasn’t something that came together overnight, though, as footage has resurfaced of Puth playing a similar arrangement on his Rhodes as long ago as 2021. All he needed was a platform for the rest of the world to hear it, too.
