Martha Reeves has blamed a recent botched performance of the US National Anthem on her backing singers.
The Motown legend performed ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ at the inaugural Women’s Professional Baseball League game at the Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois, earlier this month.
The clip, which you can watch below and here, went viral at the time for all the wrong reasons.
She later shared a statement to TMZ saying: “Having just celebrated my 85th birthday, I’ve learned a great deal over more than 60 years of performing live. It was an incredible honour to be invited to perform at the inaugural Women’s Professional Baseball League event and to help celebrate such a historic moment for women in sports. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”
Absolutely nothing could have prepared me for the national anthem at the first Women’s Pro Baseball League tonight pic.twitter.com/3lEYRYNQTi
— Kendall Baker (@kendallbaker) August 2, 2026
“The field conditions were wet and windy, and without stage monitors I wasn’t able to hear myself as I normally would,” she added. “While it wasn’t the performance I had hoped for, I’m grateful to have been there in support of these remarkable athletes and this groundbreaking league.”
But according to TMZ, who obtained a video from a rehearsal, Reeves stopped the backing singers at one point to tell one of them that she was out of tune. Over the stadium microphone, she then said about the backup singers: “I don’t think I need them. I don’t need them.”
Despite that, in a recent interview with Fox 2 Detroit, Reeves denied that she rehearsed with the singers and said she didn’t see them “until I actually started singing”.
When asked if she wanted to do a redo, she said: “I don’t have to redo anything. I didn’t do that. Those girls were singing, didn’t you know that?”
She was then asked if the backing singers were off-key. “They were trying to make some money,” she answered, and added: “I didn’t have a chance to rehearse with them.”
Reeves continued: “I’m proud [of the performance]. I’m happy. I didn’t take the mic and hit that girl.”
She then attempted to perform the US National Anthem again on air. You can view it here and above.
Former Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie was previously mocked for her rendition of ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ in 2018.
