Singer accused of ‘butchering’ God Save The King in England’s victory over Italy APOLOGISES
Singer Ellynora has apologized to fans after technical problems meant she “killed” God Save The King ahead of England’s 2-1 Euro qualifier win over Italy.
Millions on television, and players and fans at the Naples stadium, grimaced and cringed when Ellynora, 28, stumbled and lost herself while singing the national anthem before the game.
He seemed to miss the initial note before a panicked look crossed his face as he fiddled with his earpiece, trying to regain his composure but was left unsteady.
Speaking exclusively after the game, Ellynora broke down in tears as she apologized for the performance, before giving a flawless rendition of the perfect note for MailOnline.
Italian-American Ellynora said: “I’m so mad at what happened because I wanted it to be perfect, but what happened wasn’t my fault.”
Singer Ellynora has apologized to fans after technical problems meant she “killed” God Save The King ahead of England’s 2-1 Euro 2024 qualifying win over Italy.
Holding her earpiece, Ellynora had trouble singing in time before the game in Naples.
“I want to apologize to all the England fans who were in the stadium and watching TV. I am mortified by what happened and I want people to know that I was not disrespectful.”
‘It was a great honor to be asked to sing the national anthem and I was very excited about it. I had never sung something like this before.
I’m more of a pop artist, but deep down there was a sound problem.
“I had rehearsed the anthem twice the day before the game and then at night three times, but when it came to the actual performance, I had a problem with my earpiece.
“I had the music in my ear and then it stopped and started again, and I was listening to it twice, so it meant it was out of sync and it was hard for me to catch up.
“I really tried my best to solve the problem, but there was nothing I could do and I am very angry about it.
“I was trying to adjust my singing to catch up with the stadium anthem, but it was too late.”
Gareth Southgate and his staff were equally baffled during the cringe-worthy moment.
The England stars looked up and down the line in confusion as the song played.
As Ellynora desperately fought to correct the mistake, TV cameras panned over the England line-up and players could be seen staring in disbelief.
Jude Bellingham, looking puzzled, looked at his teammates as he sang, while the players and staff on the edge of the pitch on the bench also exchanged confused glances.
Seconds after finishing her performance, Ellynora posted a photo of herself on Instagram telling fans “England, I hope you enjoyed my gift” before quickly deleting it after realizing her performance was being criticized.
On social media, fans mocked the singer, with some calling it the “worst” rendition of the national anthem they had ever heard at a game.
Former Tottenham defender and now pundit Jamie O’Hara said: ‘Wow, the national anthem was a disaster.’
An irate fan posted a photo of Ellynora on social media singing, adding: “Wanted for crimes against the national anthem.”
While another said: ‘Whoever is singing England’s national anthem is disgraceful. Shameful.’
Ellynora explained: ‘This was very upsetting and upsetting to me, the fans are right to be angry and I’m so sorry, but like I said before, I wasn’t being disrespectful. He was completely out of my hands.
“I’ve seen the reports and that makes it even worse for me because it was a great honor to sing England’s national anthem because it’s a part of history.”
I had geared up in my outfit and even had England flag shoes because I wanted to do my best and make England proud.
“Instead, because of this mistake, everything went wrong and I want to apologize again to the fans for what happened, but it really wasn’t my fault, it was problems with the headset that caused the problems.”
The bug meant Ellynora joined a list of other artists, including Adele, Beyonce and Taylor Swift, who have had headphone issues while performing live in concert.
But unlike them, Ellynora couldn’t stop her performance as she had a tight schedule to keep to make sure the game started on time.
Ellynora also revealed that she had not been paid for the performance and that she had traveled from the United States at her own expense and was returning directly.
She told MailOnline: ‘It was all last minute; I was in Miami on Saturday for music week when I got a call asking if I could sing the national anthem.
“I said I could because it was a great honor, so I took a plane back to Italy and then drove from Rome to Naples. I financed everything myself and didn’t get a penny.”
“It cost me more than 3,000 euros and now that this has happened, I am going to ask my manager to write to the organizers to explain how disappointed and angry he was with what happened.”
Ellynora added: “I’m planning on recording a version and posting it on my social media so the fans can see that I get to sing the national anthem and I can only apologize again because I really put a lot of love and hard work into this.”
“I hope that the version that the fans, the country and maybe King Charles see and hear shows that I did know what I was singing and that it was totally out of my hands.”