Ingrid Andress, whose national anthem went viral, says she was drunk : NPR

Ingrid Andress sings the national anthem prior to the 2024 Home Run Derby at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on Monday.

Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images

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Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images

Ingrid Andress, the country music star who went viral on Monday night after flubbing the national anthem at MLB’s Home Run Derby, said she was drunk during the performance and is seeking help.

“I’m not gonna bull**** y’all, I was drunk last night,” Andress posted on Instagram. “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.”

On most days, Andress has a lovely singing voice. She performed a charming Tiny Desk concert just last year, in case you’d like to see evidence that Andress can sing. (I was in the room! She can sing and was also very nice!) But Andress is not a traditional belter; her gifts lie in observation and conversation, and in getting at subtle truths without overstating them.

Plus, unless your name is Whitney Houston“The Star-Spangled Banner” is a famously tough song to sing (lots of high and low notes, a melody that doesn’t glide easily) in a grand, high-profile setting that incentivizes soaring bombast.

On a normal day, Andress is not the singer you turn to if you’re in the mood for grandiosity. Combine that with her state of mind Monday night, and you can see why her “Star-Spangled Banner” went off the rails quickly.

There is a way to tackle the song without getting too tricksy — to keep it subtle and contained — and it seemed for a second in the beginning of the performance like Andress was following in that tradition. But she soon began bending and curling her syllables in a hyperstylized way, and that seemed to set off a chain reaction as she wandered further and further off pitch on her way into the power notes.

Before Andress revealed the reason for the disaster, the viral video appeared to be the hilarious distraction many of us needed after a week of awful news. But at least the singer is maintaining a sense of humor about it. She ended her Instagram post with this:

“I’ll let y’all know how rehab is[.] I hear it’s super fun.”