Did Steven Tyler 'butcher' the National Anthem?

The video: The New England Patriots may have secured their fifth Super Bowl bid in 11 years Sunday with a narrow 23-20 victory over the Baltimore Ravens, but things got off to a sour start when Aerosmith frontman and American Idol judge Steven Tyler howled out one of the most maligned renditions of the National Anthem in recent years. (Watch the video below.) Not only did the 63-year-old singer have trouble screeching the high notes, his performance was riddled with mispronunciations and lyric flubs: "And the rockets' red glare as bombs bursting in air." Did the "Demon of Screamin'" really, as critics allege, "butcher" the National Anthem?

The reaction: What would Tyler's fellow American Idol judges think of his version, asks CBS News. "Let's just say, it probably wouldn't get him to Hollywood." Tyler at least "deserves an A+ for effort," says Bobby Finger at Gawker. "He was clearly giving 110 percent." But attempts to deploy his trademark wail led to an off-pitch performance that will go down as one of the most "horrible celebrity renditions" in history, says Brian Mazique at Bleacher Report. "I was hoping that [Baltimore Ravens linebacker] Ray Lewis would come from off-screen and annihilate the Aerosmith legend mid-song." Have a listen:

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