Lauren Alaina Flubs National Anthem, Criticized on Twitter
American Idol runner-up Lauren Alaina flubbed the National Anthem lyrics at the football game on Thanksgiving between the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers.
The 17-year-old began to sing "through the twilight's last gleaming" where the lyrics should be "at the twilight's last gleaming," catching herself mid-phrase and pausing for a full five seconds before finishing the rest of the song.
The mistake sent Twitter ablaze with criticism, with #anthemfail becoming one of the top trends on Twitter. Though many critics were quick to bash Alaina for the flub, plenty also came to her rescue.
Former American Idol contestant Kellie Pickler tweeted, "HEY DOLL! YOU HANDLED YOURSELF LIKE A PRO! SEND THE BULLIES MY WAY & I'LL TELL EM' WHERE TO GO! XO :)"
"So what if Lauren Alaina forgot national anthem words?" tweeted ResistTyranny. "Congress has forgotten the whole Constitution, and no one complains."
"Lauren Alaina is a beautiful 17-year-old girl who's human and gets nervous," wrote iBelieveInHaley. "When you sing it perfectly for everyone, come talk to me."
The singer also later addressed the flub on Twitter.
"Thank you everyone for the kind words," Alaina wrote. "But the truth is I messed up. I'm gonna spend the rest of the day being thankful for all of my blessings."
Alaina certainly isn't the only singer to be heavily criticized for a botched National Anthem performance. Earlier this year, pop superstar Christina Aguilera was blasted for flubbing the song at the Super Bowl, turning "o'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming" into ""what so proudly we watched at the twilight's last..."
The singer addressed the mistake in a statement saying, "I got so caught up in the moment of the song that I lost my place. I can only hope that everyone could feel my love for this country and that the true spirit of its anthem still came through."
