NORTH GREENFIELD, Ind. — Steven Tyler says he meant to sing the national anthem like that.
The Aerosmith frontman and “American Idol” judge endured plenty of jabs after his rendition of the anthem at the AFC Championship game last month, but Tyler says he doesn’t understand what all the fuss was about.
Additional Photos
“I don’t know. As I said before, I put emphasis on, ‘In the land of the free’ and I went up,” Tyler explained. “Oddly enough I hit the note so I don’t know what they are talking about. I emphasized ‘free’ which was for freedom. It was well thought out prior to. I wasn’t messing with American tradition.”
Enduring negative criticism at that football game did not stop Tyler from enjoying pre-Super Bowl festivities with Carrie Underwood. The duo is in Indianapolis for CMT’s “Crossroads,” which brings acts from different genres together to perform. It’s not the first time the two have sung together: They performed a duet at the Academy of Country Music Awards last year.
“I just love to sing and I love her stuff. A good friend of mine writes songs with her. When I heard ‘Undo It,’ I said, ‘What is that?’ That is an Aerosmith song, right? I am going to finish recording that with you. He said, ‘No, I wrote that with Carrie, it is coming out in a week,”‘ he said. “I met her and it was all over after that, once I looked into her eyes. She opened her mouth and sang and she is that good. I loved singing with her.”
The two rehearsed Thursday evening in North Greenfield, just outside of Indianapolis, ahead of their scheduled Saturday show (it will air the same night on the network). The former “Idol” champ says she enjoys working with the lively Tyler because he “makes everybody all warm and fuzzy.”
While Tyler, closely connected to Boston for years, made clear he was rooting for the New England Patriots in Sunday’s game against the New York Giants, Underwood demurred when asked to name her pick. In her house, she says hockey is the main focus, since husband Mike Fisher is a professional hockey player in Nashville. “He is Canadian so I have had to switch his focus from so much hockey to a little football because we watch a lot of hockey,” she said.
Bogart’s son kicks off Mall film festival
WASHINGTON – That famous movie line, “Here’s looking at you, kid,” will have time to echo in the halls of the Smithsonian this weekend. The son of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall opened the first film festival at the National Mall’s new movie theater Friday night.
“Casablanca” was the first film shown at the new Warner Bros. Theater at the National Museum of American History. Other Bogart movies will be shown during the weekend.
Stephen Bogart, 63, said he didn’t really know his famous father because his father died when he was just 8 years old.
“All I knew him as was on celluloid,” said Stephen Bogart, who is now a real estate agent in Naples, Fla. Still, he said his father would have been shocked to find himself featured at the Smithsonian.
“He was not full of himself. He was just an actor and hung around with writers and producers and film people,” Stephen Bogart said.
Griffin O’Neal sentenced to 16 months in prison
SAN DIEGO – A San Diego judge has sentenced the son of actor Ryan O’Neal to 16 months in prison for his involvement in a drug-fueled, head-on car crash last year that left another driver injured.
Griffin O’Neal had faced up to four years in state prison at his sentencing Friday.
O’Neal pleaded guilty to two felony charges of driving under the influence and possession of a firearm by a felon. He was on probation for a 2007 when the crash occurred in August. Prosecutors say he tested positive for several drugs at the time.
O’Neal missed his sentencing hearing last month. His lawyer Heather Boxeth has said O’Neal relapsed by drinking alcohol after five years of sobriety and was in rehab.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.