Finally addressing the national anthem incident.
Ingrid Andress has stepped back into the limelight after her trainwreck of a national anthem performance at last year’s MLB Home Run Derby. While she was admittedly drunk, most called the performance worse than Fergie, and perhaps even the worst national anthem performance of all time.
It was brutal…
This was quite the national anthem performed by Ingrid Andress 😅 pic.twitter.com/i6Diwe9DYW
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) July 16, 2024
After the fact, the Grammy-nominated artist admitted that she hit rock bottom that night and would be receiving help after the disastrous performance.
“I’m not gonna bullsh*t y’all, I was drunk last night. I’m checking myself into a facility today to get the help I need. That was not me last night. I apologize to MLB, all the fans, and this country I love so much for that rendition. I’ll let y’all know how rehab is. I hear it’s super fun.”
After taking some time away from the spotlight, she returned triumphantly, redeeming herself with another national anthem performance at the Colorado Avalanche/Minnesota Wild hockey game. While this was redeeming for her, and the performance was just… fine… the public still was not in love with her second go at “The Star Spangled Banner.” Safe to say she’ll probably retire this one for good… but props to her for having the guts to get back out there and face it.
Check it out:
Ingrid Andress fumbled another anthem. pic.twitter.com/oVKxMoQaGo
— Avalanche Forever (@citchmook) March 1, 2025
However, seven months after her initial national anthem train wreck, Andress is now speaking on the matter. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, she spoke on the performance.
“I am sorry you had to witness that horrific rendition of our nation’s anthem. Whoever that was is not an accurate representation of who I am at all. You got to see me in my worst moment, so now, everything from here will be great.”
While she has admitted that she was battling an unhealthy relationship with alcohol at that moment, looking back, she did feel like her performance was at least a way to bring America together.
“I felt like America’s punching bag. I became a way to unite America. It was like, ‘At least we can all agree that this girl botched the anthem.’ I’ll be the punching bag for sure, but I didn’t commit a crime. It felt very extreme for what the situation was.”
We love the self-awareness that she was a hot conversation point for a minute after that performance.
Now that Andress is back in the limelight, she’s released her first single since the incident, “Footprints,” which serves as a reminder that she’s trying her best and is on a new path to get back to herself. During her time away, Andress told Rolling Stone that she felt like she was back to feeling like herself and that she had learned from her mistakes. Andress has lived through the tough times, so hopefully, she’s on the uphill climb back to the top.
Check out her latest single before you go.
