{"id":2086053,"date":"2026-08-10T09:11:46","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T06:11:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2086053"},"modified":"2026-08-10T09:11:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T06:11:46","slug":"martha-reeves-blames-viral-botched-us-national-anthem-performance-on-backing-singers-attempts-it-again-on-live-tv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2086053","title":{"rendered":"Martha Reeves blames viral botched US National Anthem performance on backing singers, attempts it again on live TV"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026_marthareeves_getty_2000x1270.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article id=\"template-id-2749694\" class=\"post-2749694 tdb_templates type-tdb_templates status-publish post\">\n<div id=\"tdi_65\" class=\"tdc-zone\">\n<div class=\"tdc_zone tdi_66  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div id=\"tdi_67\" class=\"tdc-row stretch_row_1400 td-stretch-content\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_68  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_70  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_breadcrumbs tdi_71 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-breadcrumbs \" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_71\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span>News<\/span><i class=\"tdb-bread-sep td-icon-right\"><\/i><span>Music News<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_title tdi_72 tdb-single-title td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_72\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Martha Reeves blames viral botched US National Anthem performance on backing singers, attempts it again on live TV<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_subtitle tdi_73 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_73\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>&#8220;They were trying to make some money. I didn&#8217;t have a chance to rehearse with them&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_author tdi_75 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_75\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-author-name-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-author-by\">By<\/span> Damian Jones<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_date tdi_76 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_76\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><time class=\"entry-date updated td-module-date\" datetime=\"2026-08-10T10:11:46+01:00\">10th August 2026<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <!-- .\/block --><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_77\" class=\"tdc-row stretch_row_1400 td-stretch-content\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_78  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_80  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span8\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_featured_image tdi_81 tdb-content-horiz-left td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_81\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<figure>\n                                    <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"696\" height=\"442\" class=\"entry-thumb\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026_marthareeves_getty_2000x1270-696x442.jpg\" alt=\"Martha Reeves\" title=\"Women&apos;s Pro Baseball League Opening Day - Los Angeles v New York\"><figcaption class=\"tdb-caption-text\">Martha Reeves sings the National Anthem before the Women&#8217;s Pro Baseball League Opening Day at Robin Roberts Stadium on August 1, 2026 in Springfield CREDIT: Jessie Alcheh\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"vc_row_inner tdi_83 article-content-row vc_row vc_inner wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column_inner tdi_85  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-inner-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"vc_column-inner\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_content tdi_86 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 td-post-content tagdiv-type\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_86\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>Martha Reeves has blamed a recent botched performance of the US National Anthem on her backing singers.<\/p>\n<p>The Motown legend performed \u2018The Star Spangled Banner\u2019 at the inaugural Women\u2019s Professional Baseball League game at the Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois, earlier this month.<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad0 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\">Advertisement<\/span>  <\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-article-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The clip, which you can watch below and here, went viral at the time for all the wrong reasons.<\/p>\n<p>She later shared a statement to <em>TMZ<\/em> saying: \u201cHaving just celebrated my 85th birthday, I\u2019ve learned a great deal over more than 60 years of performing live. It was an incredible honour to be invited to perform at the inaugural Women\u2019s Professional Baseball League event and to help celebrate such a historic moment for women in sports. I wouldn\u2019t have missed it for the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Absolutely nothing could have prepared me for the national anthem at the first Women\u2019s Pro Baseball League tonight pic.twitter.com\/3lEYRYNQTi<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Kendall Baker (@kendallbaker) August 2, 2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThe field conditions were wet and windy, and without stage monitors I wasn\u2019t able to hear myself as I normally would,\u201d she added. \u201cWhile it wasn\u2019t the performance I had hoped for, I\u2019m grateful to have been there in support of these remarkable athletes and this groundbreaking league.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But according to<em> TMZ<\/em>, who obtained a video from a rehearsal, Reeves stopped the backing singers at one point to tell one of them that she was out of tune. Over the stadium microphone, she then said about the backup singers: \u201cI don\u2019t think I need them. I don\u2019t need them.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad1 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\"><\/span><\/p>\n<h5 class=\"taboola-mid-article-title\">Recommended<\/h5>\n<div id=\"taboola-mid-article\">\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Despite that, in a recent interview with <em>Fox 2 Detroit, <\/em>Reeves denied that she rehearsed with the singers and said she didn\u2019t see them \u201cuntil I actually started singing\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>When asked if she wanted to do a redo, she said: \u201cI don\u2019t have to redo anything. I didn\u2019t do that. Those girls were singing, didn\u2019t you know that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She was then asked if the backing singers were off-key. \u201cThey were trying to make some money,\u201d she answered, and added: \u201cI didn\u2019t have a chance to rehearse with them.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad2 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\">Advertisement<\/span>  <\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-article-2\" class=\"lazy-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Reeves continued: \u201cI\u2019m proud [of the performance]. I\u2019m happy. I didn\u2019t take the mic and hit that girl.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She then attempted to perform the US National Anthem again on air. You can view it here and above.<\/p>\n<p>Former\u00a0Black Eyed Peas\u00a0singer\u00a0Fergie was previously mocked for her rendition of \u2018The Star Spangled Banner\u2019 in 2018.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_tags tdi_87 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_87\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<ul class=\"tdb-tags\">\n<li><span>Related Topics<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Pop<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper td_block_wrap vc_raw_html tdi_89 \">\n<div class=\"td-fix-index\">\n<h3>You May Also Like<\/h3>\n<div id=\"taboola-below-article\">\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_91  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span4 td-is-sticky\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td-a-rec td-a-rec-id-sidebar  tdi_92 td_block_template_2\">\n<p><span class=\"td-adspot-title\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div 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data-img-url=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Joseph_Okpako_Kayla_Bartkowski-400x254.jpg\" data-img-retina-url=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Joseph_Okpako_Kayla_Bartkowski-800x508.jpg\"><\/span><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Watch Charli XCX join The Strokes for \u2018Take It Or Leave It\u2019 at Outside Lands 2026<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-image-container\">\n<div class=\"td-module-thumb\"><span class=\"entry-thumb td-thumb-css\" data-type=\"css_image\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/joe_jonas_2025-400x254.jpg\" data-img-retina-url=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/joe_jonas_2025-800x508.jpg\"><\/span><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Joe Jonas says he sought therapy for his low album sales<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>                    <span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><\/span><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span>                <\/article>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_content tdi_86 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 td-post-content tagdiv-type\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_86\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>Martha Reeves has blamed a recent botched performance of the US National Anthem on her backing singers.<\/p>\n<p>The Motown legend performed \u2018The Star Spangled Banner\u2019 at the inaugural Women\u2019s Professional Baseball League game at the Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois, earlier this month.<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad0 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\">Advertisement<\/span>  <\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-article-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The clip, which you can watch below and here, went viral at the time for all the wrong reasons.<\/p>\n<p>She later shared a statement to <em>TMZ<\/em> saying: \u201cHaving just celebrated my 85th birthday, I\u2019ve learned a great deal over more than 60 years of performing live. It was an incredible honour to be invited to perform at the inaugural Women\u2019s Professional Baseball League event and to help celebrate such a historic moment for women in sports. I wouldn\u2019t have missed it for the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Absolutely nothing could have prepared me for the national anthem at the first Women\u2019s Pro Baseball League tonight pic.twitter.com\/3lEYRYNQTi<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Kendall Baker (@kendallbaker) August 2, 2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThe field conditions were wet and windy, and without stage monitors I wasn\u2019t able to hear myself as I normally would,\u201d she added. \u201cWhile it wasn\u2019t the performance I had hoped for, I\u2019m grateful to have been there in support of these remarkable athletes and this groundbreaking league.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But according to<em> TMZ<\/em>, who obtained a video from a rehearsal, Reeves stopped the backing singers at one point to tell one of them that she was out of tune. Over the stadium microphone, she then said about the backup singers: \u201cI don\u2019t think I need them. I don\u2019t need them.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad1 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\"><\/span><\/p>\n<h5 class=\"taboola-mid-article-title\">Recommended<\/h5>\n<div id=\"taboola-mid-article\">\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Despite that, in a recent interview with <em>Fox 2 Detroit, <\/em>Reeves denied that she rehearsed with the singers and said she didn\u2019t see them \u201cuntil I actually started singing\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>When asked if she wanted to do a redo, she said: \u201cI don\u2019t have to redo anything. I didn\u2019t do that. Those girls were singing, didn\u2019t you know that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She was then asked if the backing singers were off-key. \u201cThey were trying to make some money,\u201d she answered, and added: \u201cI didn\u2019t have a chance to rehearse with them.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad2 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\">Advertisement<\/span>  <\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-article-2\" class=\"lazy-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Reeves continued: \u201cI\u2019m proud [of the performance]. I\u2019m happy. I didn\u2019t take the mic and hit that girl.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She then attempted to perform the US National Anthem again on air. You can view it here and above.<\/p>\n<p>Former\u00a0Black Eyed Peas\u00a0singer\u00a0Fergie was previously mocked for her rendition of \u2018The Star Spangled Banner\u2019 in 2018.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/martha-reeves-blames-viral-botched-us-national-anthem-performance-on-backing-singers-attempts-it-again-on-live-tv-3961671&#8243;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026_marthareeves_getty_2000x1270.jpg&#8221;] NewsMusic News Martha Reeves blames viral botched US National Anthem performance on backing singers, attempts it again on live TV &#8220;They were trying to make some money. I didn&#8217;t have a chance to rehearse with them&#8221; By Damian Jones 10th August 2026 Martha Reeves sings the National Anthem before the Women&#8217;s Pro [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,78],"class_list":["post-2086053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nme-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2086053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2086053"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2086053\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2086053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2086053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2086053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}