NFL Gaslights World By Editing Alicia Keys’ Off-Key Super Bowl Hiccup Before Uploading It Online

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Viewers who tuned into Super Bowl LVIII were treated to a pretty solid halftime performance from Usher, who was joined by plenty of notable names. That includes Alicia Keys, who got off to a bit of a rough start—one that the NFL is seemingly trying to cover up based on the official video that was uploaded to YouTube.

Before we dive into this, I’d like to stress it would be foolish to expect a flawless performance from any musician who’s going to be belting out a medley of tunes during a live show that’s blasted out to the more than 100 million viewers who tune into the Super Bowl each year.

It took Usher a few minutes to really find his footing when he took the stage midway through the matchup between the Chiefs and the 49ers on Sunday night, but when you consider he was literally working up a sweat during a performance where he pulled off a choreographed routine while rocking roller skates, it’s pretty hard to hate on him for missing a few notes.

The same can be said for Alicia Keys, who joined the R&B star onstage for an appearance she kicked off with a rendition of “If I Ain’t Got You” before the two of them teamed up to perform “My Boo.”

Keys is obviously an immensely talented artist, but she was unable to avoid the noticeable voice crack that accompanied the first note of the first tune before bouncing back like the pro that she is.

The NFL uploaded the entirety of the halftime show to YouTube after the game and, well, it was pretty hard to ignore the league had given Alicia a very solid assist when you consider the botched note in question was nowhere to be found by the time it surfaced on its official account.

It seems like Usher also got a little bit of help in post-production, and while it’s easy to understand why the NFL may have wanted to clean things up before sharing the halftime show with the world, it’s pretty wild it was essentially able to erase history in the process.