Rachel Platten Breaks Silence After National Anthem Mishap

Rachel Platten is apologizing for forgetting the lyrics to the National Anthem twice over the weekend while singing at an MLS soccer game.

“I feel really embarrassed, honestly. I’m having a hard time forgiving myself, but I’m working on it. It was incredibly, incredibly embarrassing,” the 36-year-old “Fight Song” singer told People. “I’ve been trying to retrace steps of what happened … it has just been hanging over me.”

“I was so nervous going into it. The anthem is such a big deal; it’s probably the most important song for our country. I always get nervous because it means so much because it is so powerful. I always want to do it justice, do a good job and give people the exact version they expect and they want,” she continued.

Rachel added, “I have done it a bunch of times, but I stepped in front of the people and I felt the expectation. I was ready to open up and do it, and my mind just went blank. I was trying to explain it to my husband: It was like a test that you know all the material to, you study so much and you get in there, and your mind doesn’t cooperate.”

“I was proud that I was able to finish … I actually can’t believe I didn’t forget more words and that I was able to complete the song. So I’m kind of shocked…What I’m not going to do is run away. I really want to run out of the stadium right now, but I’m not going to do that. I’m going to finish this song,’” she added. “None of us are perfect; I’m not perfect. I really understand how it feels to not like something about yourself or have a big flaw. This is an opportunity to own that message more and hopefully share it more powerfully.”