capitalnewyork:

It wasn’t just what Houston was able to do with her voice. There is a powerful two-way current at work which is one of the reasons for the performance’s great and lasting impact. So many singers make the mistake of thinking that singing the national anthem is somehow about them. They see it as a career moment before a captive audience. Whitney Houston, even down to her choice of outfit, shows that she was there not for herself. She was there to embody not only the spirit of the song, but the spirit of her country, to give voice to the inchoate emotions of patriotism, hope, optimism, and togetherness swirling about in her vast national audience. That is quite a tall order. Only geniuses should apply.

Operation Desert Storm had begun only two weeks earlier. It was a tense and anxious time. Houston knowingly sang into that context; she knew her job, she knew what was needed of her. Show business is, at its best, a service industry.

- Sheila O’Malley on Whitney Houston’s Jan. 1991 performance of the national anthem at the Tampa Stadium

 Know Your Audience - This sentiment is true for both performers and marketers