Country legends The Chicks came under fire for an off-key and bizarre rendition of the National Anthem at the Democratic National Convention.
The Nashville natives, who created a firestorm of controversy 20 years ago for their criticism of George W. Bush and the Iraq War, were a long-awaited triumph for the Democratic National Convention on its final night.
However, her rendition of the national anthem was almost universally criticized, even by fans of the band formerly known as ‘The Dixie Chicks’ before they dropped the d-word in 2020.
David Knowles wrote: ‘I still marvel at how out of tune the Chicks’ rendition of the national anthem was.’
“That was terrible and I like his music,” added one social media user on X.
Country legends The Chicks sparked a backlash for an off-key rendition of the National Anthem at the Democratic National Convention
Others were a little more agitated: “Wow… Maybe your monitors weren’t working. I don’t know. But that was awful. At least you had the dignity to finish and then smile. I almost feel sorry for you. I almost…”
Another put it more bluntly: “Incredibly out of tune. Good job, Has Beins.”
“They sounded like they were hard of hearing. The Chicks are iconic for their harmonies… something must have gone wrong,” wrote a more sympathetic listener.
The band — Natalie Maines, Martie Maguire and Emily Strayer — made no reference to the audio quality and simply retweeted a video from a pro-Kamala Harris account.
The outspoken country group sparked outrage in 2003 after Maines spoke out against President George W. Bush and the invasion of Iraq during a show in the United Kingdom.
His comments infuriated his mostly conservative fan base, leading to a boycott of his music that devastated album sales and sank his position on the charts.
Maines’ comments even resulted in death threats towards the band, prompting them to beef up security presence during their 2003 Top Of The World Tour.
Feeling rejected by the country’s community, Maguire told the German publication The mirror‘We no longer feel part of the country scene, it can no longer be our home… We now consider ourselves part of the great rock ‘n’ roll family.’
Name change: The Dixie Chicks quietly changed their name, dropping the word Dixie and changing their name to The Chicks on Thursday and released a music video for their anthem March March.
After years of backlash over the comments, the group released the album Taking The Long Way in 2006.
Despite concerns that controversy would continue to plague the stars, the album was both a critical and commercial success.
Taking The Long Way debuted at number one on the US pop and country charts. At the 2007 Grammy Awards, the band won five trophies, including Song of the Year and Record of the Year.
While the group has performed on and off over the years, they have largely been out of the spotlight since Taking The Long Way, save for a few high-profile awards and festival appearances.
Gaslighter, The Chicks’ first album in 14 years, was released in 2020.
The group quietly changed their name, dropping the word Dixie and becoming The Chicks on June 25.
Natalie Maines, Martie Erwin Maguire and Emily Strayer have changed their band’s social media accounts to The Chicks, but have not released any statements about the new moniker.
While the trio did not give a reason for the name change, the band has recently faced increasing pressure to change the name due to the link between the word Dixie and the South’s racial history.
Outspoken: The outspoken country group sparked outrage in 2003 after Maines spoke out against President George W. Bush and the invasion of Iraq during a show in the U.K. Above, in 2003
Angry: Her comments infuriated her largely conservative fan base, leading to a boycott of her music that devastated album sales and sank her chart position. Above are protesters at a May 2003 concert in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Dixie is a term used to refer to parts of the southern United States, particularly the states that formed the Confederacy.
The Confederacy was an area of slave states below the Mason-Dixon Line that seceded from the Union due to the need to maintain slavery, leading to the American Civil War.
Recently, people have taken to social media to pressure the Dixie Chicks to change their name due to the implications of the word Dixie, particularly considering the fact that the trio has established themselves as liberal country stars.
A recent opinion column in Variety He also asked if it was finally time for the Dixie Chicks to change their name and suggested the answer was an obvious “yes.”
Author Jeremy Helligar called the term Dixie “the epitome of white America” and criticized the Dixie Chicks for remaining silent on the Black Lives Matter movement. “Their silence has been deafening,” he wrote.
The group also declared their support for the Black Lives Matter movement by releasing a new music video for their anthem, March March, which features scenes from protests throughout history.
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