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15-year-old Kyra Daniel, who was booed while singing the United States national anthem prior to Sunday’s Toronto Raptors game, has spoken out in a new interview. She was just one of multiple singers who saw their efforts diminished prior to professional sports games in Canada over the weekend.
The American national anthem was also booed by fans at the Senators game in Ottawa and the Canucks game in Vancouver. The rare display of animosity towards the United States by Canadians was a result of President Donald Trump’s plan to impose increased tariffs on their country, as well as his recent suggestions Canada should become America’s 51st state.
Kyra Daniel, who has sung both the Canadian and American national anthems prior to nearly 20 Raptors games, actually took the booing rather well, all things considered. It helps that she was forewarned that it could happen as it had already occurred that day at the country’s two NHL games. It also helped that she received a whole lot of applause after she sang the Canadian national anthem.
“I had to go into this mode like, Okay, you got a job to do,” she told the Toronto Star.
“The booing started right away, which I wasn’t expecting,” Daniel continued. “As soon as I started singing, I could definitely hear them over me. It was to the point where I couldn’t even hear myself singing over the systems, just because it was so loud.”
As one can imagine, especially for a 15-year-old, it was a little jarring.
“I’m not going to say that it was easy to do, it was very difficult to get through,” she admitted. “Especially since The Star-Spangled Banner is a bigger song with a lot more high notes, a lot more dynamics to it.”
Kyra Daniel also admitted that being booed while singing, even if the boos weren’t directed at her, left her a little shook.
“My dad goes to all those games with me when I sing, so I got to hug him and have my little vulnerable moment,” she said. “I know people weren’t booing my singing or my performance, but it was definitely just a moment of me having to realize that it wasn’t me, that I wasn’t the reason that they were booing.”
Writing on Instagram with the hashtag #15yearoldsinger, Daniel said, “Yesterday I performed the American and Canadian anthems at the Scotiabank Arena for both the Raptors and the Los Angeles Clippers. I’ve had the opportunity to sing at the Raptors games in Toronto more than a dozen times now since I was 12-years-old.
“Last night was pretty difficult for me and though I had been warned that this reaction was a possibility, it was still very challenging to sing over. I was there to do a job, to sing for the teams, to honour them and the countries that they are proud to represent- while staying professional and making sure I kept my focus with my performance. I definitely had an emotional moment after it was over, but I know the reaction wasn’t because of me or my peformance [sic]. I was very happy to get big love during the Canadian anthem though, it definitely helped.
“Thank you to the @raptors for being so supportive, and for @insideedition and @thetorontostar for taking time to interview me today. Forever grateful for all the love.”