Christina Aguilera botched the words to the national anthem Sunday on the biggest stage of her career -- the Super Bowl.

ADVERTISEMENT

Less than a minute into the song -- widely recognized as a tough one to sing -- Aguilera stumbled over the verse, "O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming."

Instead, she sang, "What so proudly we watched at the twilight's last reaming." That line repeated one she had sung moments earlier, with "gleaming" replaced by "reaming."

Not only was her miscue heard by 103,219 fans who had crammed into Cowboys Stadium for Super Bowl XLV between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers, but by tens of millions of people watching on television worldwide.

At least listeners knew the 30-year-old entertainer wasn't lip-syncing.