Jewel's Unique National Anthem at Indy 500 Leaves Fans Divided

Jewel sang the National Anthem at the Indy 500 this weekend, but there's no consensus for it online ... folks either thought it was the greatest thing ever or straight dog poo.

The singer was tapped as the talent to lead everyone while crooning the "Star Spangled Banner," which she did to kick off the festivities in Indianapolis ... except, she had a very unique take on the classic tune -- and it doesn't sound like everyone enjoyed it.

Check it out for yourself ... Jewel was strumming the guitar and pretty much rearranged the entire song, belting out a slower, more soulful take that had some country twang embedded.

Like we said, it was very ... different. You could argue it was in the same vein as Fergie -- or, on the flip side, maybe Marvin Gaye. Depending on how you interpret it will probably decide which camp you fall in -- as the reactions to Jewel's rendition were very love/hate.

One wrote, "Jewel butchered the national anthem at the Indy 500. People were trying to sing along but couldn't because of the way she sang it. What a shame." Another shared a similar sentiment ... "jewel’s national anthem for indy 500 might be the worst anthem rendition to date." There are tons of other responses like this ... likening it to Roseanne.

Of course, there were just as many who liked it ... with one person praising it mightily, writing ... "Jewel just did the best national anthem I’ve ever heard in my life I’m not exaggerating."

The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Jewel's iteration definitely didn't follow the traditional structure of the Nat'l Anthem, but that's kinda what you want from these ... right? Anybody can come out and belt put the "SSB" right on cue, but that's been done a ton.

Bottom line ... Jewel took a risk and tried something new, and considering how much chatter it's spurred -- you could argue she succeeded. IndyCar Series wants eyeballs on their product, and it sounds like they achieved that with Jewel.