Ingrid Andress sings the national anthem prior to the 2024 Home Run Derby at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images
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Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images
Ingrid Andress, the country star who went viral Monday night after botching the national anthem during the MLB Home Run Derby, said she was drunk during the performance and is seeking help.
“I’m not kidding you, 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,” she continued. “I apologize to MLB, all the fans and this country that I love for that rendition.”
On most days, Andress has a beautiful singing voice. She gave a charming Tiny Desk concert last year, in case you need proof that Andress can sing. (I was there! She can sing and she was really nice too!) But Ingrid Andress is not a traditional seat belt; her talent lies in observing and conversing, and in discovering subtle truths without exaggerating them.
And unless your name is Whitney Houston, “The Star Spangled Banner” is a famous Difficult song to sing (lots of high and low notes, a melody that is not easy to follow) in a grand, striking setting that invites sublime bombast.
On a normal day, Andress isn’t the singer you go to when you’re in the mood for greatness. Combine that with her state of mind on Monday night, and you can see why her “Star Spangled Banner” quickly went off the rails.
Over there is a way to approach the song without getting too difficult — to keep it subtle and understated — and it seemed for a moment that Andress was following that tradition at the beginning of the performance. But soon she began bending and curling her syllables in a hyper-stylized way, and it seemed to set off a chain reaction as she drifted further and further off-key on her way to the power notes.
Before Andress revealed the reason for the disaster, the viral video seemed like the hilarious distraction many of us needed after a week of terrible news. But at least the singer is keeping her sense of humor about it. She ended her Instagram post with this:
“I’ll let you know how the rehab goes. I hear it’s super fun.”