Singer 'breaks down in tears' and apologises to England fans after they accuse her of 'butchering' God Save The King

24 March 2023, 09:29 | Updated: 24 March 2023, 11:42

By Kieran Kelly

@kellyjourno

The singer who performed before England's win over Italy on Thursday night has apologised to fans after they accused her of "butchering" the national anthem.

Ellynora pointed to technical problems after she appeared to miss the opening note of 'God Save The King' before going quiet for several seconds.

The singer also appeared to fiddle with her ear piece on a number of occasions, suggesting she may have struggled to hear the backing track.

Some England players appeared baffled as she continued her performance out of time with the backing track.

Fans watching at home were equally confused about the performance, with one writing on Twitter: "Got to be the worst national anthem performance I’ve ever watched."

Another added: "I'm literally dying of embarrassment on her behalf. That national anthem was awful. Deary me."

The Italian-American singer has since confirmed there was a sound issue on the day, despite multiple rehearsals.

Speaking to the Mail after 'breaking down into tears', Ellynora said: "I’m just so angry with what happened because I wanted it to be perfect but what happened wasn’t my fault.

"It was such an honour to be asked to sing the national anthem and I was so excited about it. I’ve never sung anything like that before.

"I’m more of a pop artist but at the ground there was a sound issue. I had rehearsed the anthem twice the day before the match and then on the night three times but when it came to the actual performance, I had a problem with my earpiece."

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She continued: "I had the music in my ear and then it stopped and started again, and I was hearing it twice, so it meant I was out of synch, and it was hard for me to catch up.

"I really tried my best to solve the problem but there was nothing I could do and I’m so angry about it. I was trying to adjust my singing to catch up with the anthem in the stadium, but it was too late."

The singer added that she performed the national anthem for free and that it cost her "more than 3000 euros" to get to the stadium.

"I’m going to get my manager to write to the organisers to explain how disappointed and angry I was with what happened," she added.