Alicia Keys' 'Sour' Super Bowl Note Sparks Discussion

Footage of Alicia Keys' performance during Sunday's Super Bowl halftime show has generated discussion online, amid claims that her vocals were edited post-show.

Keys was among a host of stars, including Ludacris, Lil Jon and H.E.R., who joined headline performer Usher onstage at Las Vegas' Allegiant Stadium ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs' victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

As they shared the stage, Keys and Usher performed their 2004 hit "My Boo." Keys was also seen sitting at an eye-catching red piano as she belted out her song "If I Ain't Got You."

But her live performance of that song has now drawn scrutiny, as social media users have shared what has been labeled original footage alongside what is now officially available online.

The Hill columnist T. Becket Adams shared the footage of Keys' performance on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday as he introduced a lengthy thread on the apparent edit.

"This is fascinating," Adams wrote. "Everyone who watched the Superbowl halftime show last night heard Alicia Keys hit a sour note in her opening appearance. Everyone heard it."

In a follow-up post showcasing the newer footage, Adams said: "However, the version of the show hosted on the NFL's official YouTube page has the audio cleaned up to remove Keys's sour notes. Bootleg clips containing the original, authentic audio are being scrubbed from YouTube at a breakneck pace."

Newsweek has contacted representatives of Keys and CBS, which broadcast the Super Bowl, via email for comment.

Adams followed up his viral posts, which have been viewed more than 25 million times, with a discussion on how such a move may affect the sharing of information in the future.

"In 5-10 years, we'll all be fighting over whether [Keys] actually flubbed the opening notes of her Superbowl performance because our memories will be at odds with the 'official' record," he predicted.

"For all the recent discussion re: the post-truth world, we need to talk more about what record-keeping should look like in the Internet era," he went on. "Because things like this audio swap—with no explanation or heads up given—is crazy-making."

He went on: "How are we ever supposed to return to something approximating a consensual reality when even the trivial things we experience as a nation undergo stealth edits?"

While Adams commended Keys for "going live" with her performance, he stressed that the "point is that the CONSTANT unannounced tweaks and edits are an unnecessary strain on our memories & recollections. Keep it up and soon people won't trust *anything* they see online."

He continued: "Just throwing this out there, but it seems really bad when any entity, let alone a mega-corporation, gets into the habit of insisting against the factual record that the thing you saw and heard didn't actually happen the way you saw and heard it. If they'll do it for something as trivial as one sour note during a halftime show, they'll do it for the really consequential stuff."

He added: "For it to become a matter of routine that our collective memories enter into direct conflict with the 'official record'—that's one way to accelerate the demolition of a high-trust society."

The thread sparked a spirited discussion among X users, some of whom echoed the view that this could be a sign of more cynical factors at play.

"This is a small modification but it shows just how complete and meticulous their control really is," one user wrote. "Just a few years from now no one will ever know there was a mistake in Alicia's performance. The ministry of truth has already begun to successfully re-write Super Bowl history."

Another said: "While cleaning up a note seems relatively harmless, the line can quickly be blurred into something more nefarious."

"UGH! Why would they fix it?" another X user responded. "I hope it wasn't her request. She should be proud that we could hear her voice crack. It was LIVE. REAL. [It's] proof she's for real a singer. Put it back @CBS."

Others insisted that they saw nothing wrong with the original version of Keys' vocals.

"Is it weird that I prefer the original version? The imperfections prove she isn't lip syncing (unlike many MANY singers commonly do at large events like this)," one commented. "In a world of artificiality, a little authenticity is refreshing. It's a shame they 'airbrushed' her performance."

Another said: "Alicia Keys hitting a sour note just proves she's human like the rest of us. Makes those flawless performances even more impressive, knowing there's still unpredictability in live events."

One user said: "There is absolutely nothing wrong with this happening during a live performance. It's sad, because it's like they are erasing the brushstrokes from a painting."

Following the halftime show, Usher told Newsweek in a statement that he was glad the performance went down so well with viewers.

"I was not exaggerating when I shared with the world that my performance would be a celebration of the past 30 years of my career," he said. "I will never forget the energy from the cast and crew, the fans in the stadium, the guest performers and the adrenaline from this monumental milestone in my career.

"I'm so happy everyone enjoyed it, my goal always is to bring people together and feel good through my music and performance," he added.