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National Anthem on American Flag

Lady Gaga Delivers Inspiring National Anthem Performance At Inauguration 

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Lady Gaga wowed America with her beautifully inspiring rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” back at Super Bowl 50, so fans were eager to see her performance of the national anthem at President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’s inauguration ceremony that took place this Wednesday morning. 

Gaga’s rendition of the national anthem is already being regarded as one of the most “exuberant renditions of the national anthem in pop music history,” drawing comparisons to Whitney Houston’s iconic performance of the anthem at Super Bowl XXV. 

After her triumphant finish she remained at the podium for a moment, positively beaming as she let the significance of that moment sink in. She took to social media later to explain that she was truly feeling how special of a moment that was, to be performing the national anthem and marking the transition into a new era of unity in politics in America. 

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“Singing our National Anthem for the American People is my honor. I will sing during a ceremony, a transition, a moment of change — between POTUS 45 and 46. For me, this has great meaning,” she tweeted prior to her performance. 

Gaga was rocking a billowing scarlet red ball gown skirt and navy blue turtleneck that was embellished with a huge brooch shaped like a golden dove carrying an olive branch. Fashion blogs immediately took to social media to praise how radiant and distinguished Gaga looked as she sang the anthem for the next administration entering the White House. 

“My intention is to acknowledge our past, be healing for our present, and passionate for a future where we work together lovingly. I will sing to the hearts of all people who live on this land.”

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Gaga and Biden have been working together for quite some time now campaigning within the past year. The same year Gaga sang at the Super Bowl, Biden introduced her for her powerful performance of “Til It Happens To You,” her nominated theme from the campus sexual assault documentary The Hunting Ground.  

One year later at the Academy Awards, Biden and Gaga teamed up yet again for a PSA for It’s On Us, a sexual assault awareness campaing that was founded by Biden and former president Barack Obama. 

Most recently Gaga sang a selection of her greatest hits at Biden’s final presidential campaign rally in Pittsburgh on November 2nd. She changed the lyrics of her hit song “You and I” to “There’s something about Joe, you and I,” later on expressing at the event that Pennsylvania residents need to make their voices heard. 

“This is a big one, Pennsylvania. So if you’re here, you probably already believe in Joe Biden. I know I believe in Joe Biden. You probably already believe he’s the right choice over Donald Trump. You don’t need me to tell you why. Because, like me, you’ve experienced the last four years and have all the evidence you need to look at this choice and know in your heart, without any doubt, that Joe Biden is the right choice.”

The two finalized their year of collaboration with the beautifully cathartic rendition of the anthem from Lady Gaga, officially welcoming Joe Biden as 46th President of the United States.

Football Player

Colin Kaepernick Calls Out NFL’s Black Lives Matter ‘Propaganda’ On Opening Weekend

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Athletes across the US have been protesting against racial inequality for the past month, but many are starting to wonder how genuine these organizations are in their message.

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Football 2

Colin Kaepernick Remains Off The Field After Atlanta Workout

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Colin Kaepernick and the NFL have truly had a tumultuous and complicated past. Kaepernick wasn’t picked up by any national team back in 2017 after he famously kneeled during the National Anthem before multiple games as a means of protesting police brutality and racial injustice in the United States. After a few incidents of this, Donald Trump tweeted that any player who participates in protests such as this one, should be “fired.” While Kaepernick wasn’t technically “fired” but rather released as a free agent, he still up-kept his discontent in the NFL “blackballing” him for performing his first amendment rights, this led to Kaepernick filing an official grievance against the NFL back in 2017, which has since been confidentially settled upon, this past spring. 

Now, Kaepernick has attempted to work his way back into the league, but not without even more hardship and troubles by the NFL. The former quarterback recently performed a workout run and warm up for eight NFL team representatives, however, this workout was set up by Kaepernick himself after the NFL already invited him to the league’s official workout run in which 25 team representatives attended. Kaepernick and his team denied the invitation to attend their official event after they thought it out to be a “publicity stunt destined to fail” according to the Associated Press. 

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“Kaepernick’s side wanted to open the workout to the media to ensure transparency. The NFL said it made clear from the start the workout would be closed to the media. Kaepernick’s camp said the NFL agreed to provide a list of team representatives who committed to coming. The league later shifted and did not share that list,” according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC).

As previously stated instead of attending the NFL’s event, Kaepernick held his own event at a high school field in Riverdale, 60 miles from the leagues event, in front of eight representatives, he as well sent a video from his own event to the 25 representatives who were at the official league workout. Now, over a week later, Kaepernick hasn’t heard back from any representatives in the NFL. 

The lack of response most likely comes from the amount of controversy that surrounded the actual work out itself. Kaepernick and his team were skeptical from the beginning about doing anything that could benefit the NFL and further hurt his own career. According to the AJC, representatives from Kaepernick’s team stated that, in addition to the media shut out from the work out, the NFL made the original offer and stated that the former quarterback only had two hours to accept it, even though the invitation was made days before the actual workout. That quick timing was convincing to the team that the NFL was purely creating a publicity opportunity to make it seem as if they were giving Kaepernick a real opportunity that would end with no real follow through. 

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“Kaepernick’s representatives said the NFL ‘demanded’ as a precondition for the workout that he sign an ‘unusual liability waiver.’ Kaepernick’s side says it was concerned that not only did the NFL document seek to waive employment rights, but it contained a clause that would give the NFL and its teams commercials rights to the workout footage that could be used for what it called ‘phony’ public service announcements,” (AJC). 

The combination of back and forth argument between Kaepernick’s team and the NFL painted two very stark sides to the story, that ultimately ended up hurting Kaepernick yet again in the end. The untrustworthy nature of the NFL that they have embedded into Kaepernick based on their past treatment of the star quarterback, created a narrative around this workout before it even became official. Because of this, Kaepernick stuck to his own terms and showed off his skills in his own way. The clips from his workout ended up going viral online, with a slew of supporters tweeting about how “Kaepernick still got it!” and re opened the debate over why this man was “terminated” in the first place. Regardless, I don’t think we’ve seen the last of Kaepernick on the field, it’s just a matter of time, open conversation, and understanding among player and industry.