Fergie admits national anthem performance was kind of a mess

Feb 18, 2018; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Recording artist Fergie performs the national anthem before the 2018 NBA All Star game at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports - 10628566 (USA TODAY Sports)

Fergie opened up Monday about her national anthem performance that caused NBA All-Stars to laugh, and critics on social media to mock the undeniably unusual rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

“I've always been honored and proud to perform the national anthem and last night I wanted to try something special for the NBA. I'm a risk taker artistically, but clearly this rendition didn't strike the intended tone. I love this country and honestly tried my best,” the Black Eyed Peas singer told TMZ.

Still, a source close to the 42-year-old singer told Us Weekly that the star thought everything was alright during Sunday's performance.

“Neither Fergie nor her team thought anything was wrong with her national anthem rendition,” a source told the outlet. “That’s the way she sings a lot of her songs. She loves adding a little sexiness and being different with her riffs. It was meant to be jazz-inspired. She wanted to stand out.”

As previously reported, not everyone was on board with Fergie’s alternate rendition of the national anthem, which opened the big game. Not only did commentators react to the strange performance during halftime, but the players appeared to be giggling at her while she was still in the middle of her performance, which lasted more than two and a half minutes.

While a plethora of detractors took to social media to comment on the performance, even some stars couldn’t resist the urge to bash Fergie’s now-infamous performance. Most notably, Roseanne Barr, who gave her own infamous performance of the national anthem in 1990, called out Fergie’s performance.

“Who saw Fergie’s national anthem performance at the NBA All Star Game? I think mine was better lowkey,” she wrote on Twitter.