Fergie’s national anthem confuses, amuses...

FERGIE TRIED SOMETHING different with her national anthem at the NBA All-Star Game, and not everybody was cheering. The singer’s slow, bluesy rendition of The Star-Spangled

Banner on Sunday night wasn’t particularly well received.

A low chuckle rumbled through the sold-out arena after Fergie finished the first line of the song with a throaty growl on “the dawn’s early light.”

Fans throughout the starstudded crowd reacted with varying levels of bemusement and enthusiasm while her languid, 2½-minute version of the song continued. Although Fergie was on pitch, her tempo, musical accompaniment and sexy delivery were not exactly typical for a sporting event or a patriotic song.

Golden State All-Star Draymond Green was shown openmouthed on the scoreboard and the television broadcast in apparent confusion over the unique vocal stylings. Green

then chuckled to himself after realising he was on TV.

After a forceful finish, Fergie finally got big cheers when she shouted, “Let’s play some basketball!” Famed basketball commentator Charles Barkley joked that he “needed a cigarette”. Shaquille O’Neal said: “Fergie, I love you. It was different. It was sexy. I liked it. Leave her alone.” Others on social media weren’t as kind, with criticism of the performance outpacing the positive reviews.