NFL and Apple Music under fire for editing Alicia Keys vocals following Super Bowl performance

During a career-spanning set which included the likes of "Confessions Part II", featuring Jermaine Dupri, "Burn", "Yeah!", featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris, and "U Got It Bad" featuring H.E.R., Alicia Keys appeared on stage to perform one of her biggest hits, "If I Ain't Got You", before she joined forces with Usher on their 2004 hit, "My Boo".

In the opening seconds of the song, Keys' voice cracked, which led to the moment going viral online. For those who were watching the footage live, they would've noticed it instantly, but in the footage posted by NFL and Apple Music, after the performance, it appears that they have edited her vocals.

Last night Alicia Keys’s voice cracked (first video), and fascinatingly, the official NFL YouTube channel appears to be attempting to erase that little moment, having edited it out in their upload (second video). pic.twitter.com/EM4k8rWT8c

— Robert Komaniecki (@Komaniecki_R) February 12, 2024

Whilst the performance went viral due to some people making fun out of the imperfection at the start of the song, there are also many people coming to the defence of Alicia Keys, noting that it's enjoyable to see an unpolished, live version of a song they all know and love.

"NO. Don’t edit this, nfl. It was human and authentic. Live vocals have cracks sometimes, especially your first note in a very loud space. Let real things be real. Don’t kill authenticity," with another user writing, "When I was watching the halftime show I thought to myself: wow, it's awesome I can hear they're singing live. Imho, such postproduction is dehumanizing. There is beauty in imperfections, because they are truthful and sincere."