Things Get Awkward As Black Pumas Vocalist Eric Burton Badly Botches Lyrics To National Anthem Before World Series

The lights were just a little bit too bright for Eric Burton as he sang the national anthem prior to Game 1 of the World Series on Friday night. He got a little mixed up and lost track of the lyrics.

With the Phillies and Astros on the field behind him, Burton took the field in front of a sold-out crowd at Minute Maid Park in Houston to applause. What happened next was something he surely wishes did not.

As Burton got underway, a giant American flag was unfurled in the outfield. He got the first two lines correct, but things went awry during the third.

Burton sang: "What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last streaming" instead of "gleaming."

Whether he knew he made the mistake or not, he quickly got back on track with: "Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight."

But then he got lost again. Instead of "O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming," Burton went backward and sang the third line again.

"What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last..."

In that moment, where he had botched the lyrics the first go around, he did it again. Burton sang "twilight's last streaming" instead of gleaming. He was actually correct about "streaming" the second time around, but the rest of the line was wrong.

Fortunately, Burton picked back up correctly and finished the anthem without further error.

Eric Burton's World Series national anthem performance did not go well.

Burton is the lead singer of the Texas-based Black Pumas. His band has been nominated for six Grammy Awards in the last three years, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year in 2021.

He is an incredibly talented vocalist who began his career as a busker...

... but his botched national anthem on Friday night was cringeworthy and unfortunate.