What happened to Alicia Keys’s voice? Edited Super Bowl voice crack video sparks concern online

During the Super Bowl LVIII Final on Sunday, singer-songwriter Alicia Keys joined R&B icon Usher on stage as his first guest performer during the Halftime Show.

While the 10 million audience (both in the stadium and on television) enjoyed their reunion live, internet sleuths have now discovered that the full video, which has since been posted on the NFL’s official YouTube channel, has an edited version of Alicia Keys’s If I Ain’t Got You.

Major news outlets, including the New York Post, confirmed that the songstress’ voice cracked during one of the opening notes, which was later corrected on the YouTube version.

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“Did you not take a honey and ginger shot”: Netizens raise concern over Alicia Keys’ Super Bowl voice crack

Dressed in a Dolce & Gabbana rhinestone-encrusted red corseted bodysuit, Alicia Keys joined Usher during the Super Bowl Halftime Show at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on February 11, during the final between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs. Gabbana

The singers performed a heartwarming duet of their 2004 hit song My Boo and impressed the audience. However, before that set, Alicia Keys sang a solo of her 2003 famous number If I Ain’t Got You.

As per several media reports, she missed one of the first notes and went off-key while singing the “Some people want it all” portion of the track. However, on the NFL YouTube page, the video has her hitting the right pitch, making netizens question what went wrong with the Fallin’ singer’s voice and why the NFL is trying to pitch-correct it.

Meanwhile, the video of her original performance and the slip has gone viral on all social media platforms, raising concerns among fans. While some demand answers, others defend Alicia for the minor slip and laude YouTube for doing her justice.

Here are some of the comments in this regard from X.

So far, Keys, Usher, or the NFL has not commented on the voice crack. However, Alicia's record producer, rapper, DJ, and songwriter husband, Swizz Beatz, stepped up on Monday to defend his wife via an Instagram post.

He responded to the trollers by saying they were “talking about the wrong damn thing" and was missing out on his wife's "amazing dress covering the entire stadium."

He added, "Tonight's performance was nothing but amazing with 2 amazing Giants!” and congratulated Usher and his “love” Alicia for the lovely rendition of the classic song.

He added that they don't indulge in "negative vibes" but instead focus on making history and urged people to see GIANTS at the Brooklyn Museum, which is open until July.

Beatz' post was accompanied by three images, the first with Alicia sitting at the red piano wearing her iconic red gown, the second with Keys and Usher smiling after finishing their rendition of My Boo, and the third with the Diary singer posing against the stadium backdrop.

Notably, Alicia’s cameo during the Super Bowl Halftime Show came around the one-third mark. Besides the opening vocal flub, Keys remained unaffected and ended the song flawlessly, with Usher later joining her to finish it as a duet.