Canadian national anthem descends into chaos as singer forgets the words and starts giggling… before crowd boo her: ‘Should get her passport stripped’
Canadian popstar Alessia Cara had an afternoon to forget in Montreal after a disastrous national anthem performance led to the crowd booing her off.
Canada beat Peru 2-0 in a friendly that won’t last long in the memory on Saturday, but the pre-game antics certainly will after Cara instantly went viral on social media.
With her big moment being broadcast on live TV, the Ontario-born songstress – who has a Grammy Award – appeared to completely forget the words to her own national anthem, even singing out of tune before giving up and giggling on the mic.
With nerves clearly playing a part, the stadium PA attempted to bail her out by instead playing the instrumental version of ‘O Canada’ but the damage was done, with boos coming through loud and clear on the TV broadcast.
While she was trying – and failing – to sing the famous anthem, the camera panned through the Canada soccer lineup, with many of the players looking bemused at what was unfolding in front of them.
In the crowd, some fans were visibly open-mouthed at the stunning turn of events, and on social media there was a ruthless reaction from those watching at home.
Alessia Cara appeared to forget the words to the Canadian national anthem in Montreal
One wrote: ‘A task that school children manage daily is too complex for her. What an embarrassment,’ while a second added: ‘She didn’t just forget the words… that’s not the melody.’
A third even claimed: ‘She should get her passport and citizenship stripped. This is a MAJOR FAUX PAS!!! SHAME!’
Others, though, sided with the singer and cited the 2018 lyric change to make the anthem gender-neutral, insisting that it had made it complex and harder to remember.
Fans took to social media to slam the Grammy Award-winner singer over her anthem faux pas
Cara, pictured performing at the World Cup in the summer, was born in Mississauga, Ontario
One fan wrote: ‘It can happen. Stress can be a big factor sometimes. At the end, the whole stadium started chanting the anthem, it was beautiful.’
Cara has yet to address her very public faux pas, with no posts to her X or Instagram accounts in the wake of the performance.
On the pitch, it was a much more successful day for the national team, with Jacob Shaffelburg scoring twice to seal a 2-0 win for Jesse Marsch’s men.
