Alicia Keys' Voice Crack Apparently Edited Out Of Super Bowl Performance On YouTube

Kelby Vera
·2-min read

Fix it in post!

People watching the Super Bowl live may have noticed Alicia Keys’ halftime appearance start on a sour note: The star’s voice cracked, just for a moment, when she began singing “If I Ain’t Got You” as part of Usher’s star-studded show.

So when the NFL posted a video of Keys’ performance to YouTube on Monday ― and her vocal blip seemed to be absent ― people wondered if the league, or maybe halftime sponsor Apple Music, had done any sneaky editing.

In footage from Sunday’s CBS broadcast, Keys can be heard flubbing her first vocal cue.

But in the video posted by the NFL, the 16-time Grammy winner’s voice sounded smooth as silk.

Alicia Keys performs during the halftime show at the 2024 Super Bowl in Las Vegas on Sunday.
Alicia Keys performs during the halftime show at the 2024 Super Bowl in Las Vegas on Sunday.

Alicia Keys performs during the halftime show at the 2024 Super Bowl in Las Vegas on Sunday.

Some people rewatching Keys’ performance on YouTube thought their ears may have deceived them. But one person on X, the former Twitter, broke down the differences in side-by-side clips.

Representatives for Keys and the NFL did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s requests for comment.

A record number of people watched the Super Bowl live this year. In America, the game averaged 123.4 million viewers across television and streaming.

Below, you can see how some music fans felt about the apparent YouTube edit, as well as the original performance. (Not everyone was a fan of Keys hitting the sour note, though others defended it as one of those authentic moments you only get during a live show.)

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