Rocker Steven Tyler 'Murders,' Slightly Changes National Anthem

Steven Tyler, the legendary front man of the band Aerosmith, just started his second season as a judge on the popular talent show "American Idol." But he might have a hard time defending that role after his rendition of the National Anthem from Sunday's AFC Championship Game goes viral. And trust me, it will go viral. As SportsGrid puts it, he didn't really sing it, but rather "screeched" and "murdered" it. (Its headline: "Steven Tyler Sings/Screeches/Murders The National Anthem.")

"You have to believe that if 'judge' Steven Tyler saw 'singer' Steven Tyler perform this poorly," SportsGrid says, "he probably wouldn’t put him through to "Hollywood week.'"

The website Ultimate Classic Rock compiled just some of the Twittersphere reaction to the performance:

Deadspin panned Tyler's "juxtaposition of screaming and a languid pace" and his "liberal lack of adherence to the actual lyric." That last quote is in reference to Tyler singing "as bomb bursting in air" instead of "the bombs bursting in air."

Watch it, if you dare:

By the way, Deadspin has a poll where you can vote on the worst National Anthem performance, and it includes Roseanne and Carl Lewis.