Country Music Singer Joe Nichols Criticized for 'God Bless America' Rendition at MLB All-Star Game
A country music star is receiving criticism on social media for his alleged butchering of "God Bless America" at a recent MLB All-Star game.
Although some fans appeared to applaud country music star Joe Nichols' rendition of "God Bless America" when he performed it on July 15 at the Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota, others took to Twitter to express their displeasure with Nichols' rendition of the well-known patriotic song.
"I Like Joe Nichols' music, but I wasn't a fan of his 'God Bless America' at the All Star Game," tweeted Angela Hesse.
"Joe Nichols sang 'God Bless America' like it was a very long question," added Edmund Hubbard.
Several Twitter users reportedly took issue with the fact that Nichols let his heavy southern accent shine through when singing the patriotic song. Nichols is known for other popular country hits including "Sunny and 75" and "Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off."
Hollywood Life offered its review of Nichols' Tuesday performance, writing that it's possible the 37-year-old, Grammy-nominated music star was having an "off day."
"To Joe's credit, he kind of looked like he was in the weeds, like he knew that he was in a speeding train that was actively derailing off its tracks. His performance was totally passionless, and the only applause that he received was when photos of the troops flashed on the Jumbotron," the media outlet reported.
Although some were dissatisfied with Nichols' performance, others took the Twitter to say that they found the country music star's performance to be unique and moving. "We loved Joe Nichols' rendition of 'God Bless America' during last night's All Star Game!" tweeted the Mohegan Sun.
"I love me some Joe Nichols. So proud of 'God Bless America' at the MLB All-Star game tonight!" added Mike Jocko Jacques, who also tweeted a photo of himself posing with the country music star backstage at Tuesday's game.
Nichols has previously been nominated for three Grammy Awards, and he is the recipient of the Top New Male Vocalist award from the Academy of Country Music Awards, an honor that he received in 2003.
At Tuesday's game, the National League All Star team lost to the American League All Star team with a final score of 3 to 5.