o canada leafs game

Singer butchers 'O Canada' lyrics at Toronto Maple Leafs game

The Toronto Maple Leafs were on the road Monday night with a game against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena.

And as is common with every NHL matchup that features both a Canadian and American team, two national anthems were sung before puck drop. Unfortunately, only one of them was up to par.

Despite performing the anthem(s) regularly at Islanders games, singer and Broadway actress Sholanty Taylor's recent rendition of "O Canada" was a little all over the place during the Leafs' latest visit.

Firstly, there was the tempo. Perhaps nervous, Taylor began the Canadian anthem in a rush. Sure, speed will differ from singer to singer, especially with no backing track, but this was unusually fast.

So fast, that it was over in less than 60 seconds

"Our national anthem performed in under a minute. Oh, and it was butchered," X user Steve Woolridge wrote in a post with a clip of the performance attached.

To make matters worse, Taylor forgot to include the entire second verse of the song. As Leafs fans in the crowd sported looks of confusion, she headed back to the refrain before awkwardly concluding it with the usual "we stand on guard for thee."

While she certainly isn't the first (or the last) to botch the national anthem, hockey fans on social media were not very forgiving of the blunder.

One Leafs fan called the moment an "embarrassment" to the Islanders organization and NHL at large.

Meanwhile, an Islanders fan pointed out that this isn't Taylor's first offence.

Another even suggested the league go as far as fining teams when singers mess up the lyrics of a national anthem.

Some came to Taylor's defence, though, chalking up the gaffe to a classic case of nerves.

Luckily, Taylor will have plenty of time to practice ahead of the next time New York hosts a Canadian team when the Edmonton Oilers come to visit next Tuesday.

Lead photo by

@CoachWooly/X


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