Panthers Singer Provides an Excuse for Botching the Canadian National Anthem, Leaves Leafs Fans and Canadians Upset

Before Thursday's game between the Panthers and the Leafs, Ryan Michael James was supposed to sing the Canadian National Anthem, but he botched the words and the tune.

Ryan Michael James Botched the Canadian National Anthem

About an hour before the game, James posted a shirtless selfie stating that he was "still trying to learn the words to O'Canada"





Watch his full performance of O'Canada:

@citynewsto Ryan Michael James appeared to forget some of the words during his rendition of O Canada. He tells Kiss 92.5 he was a last minute replacement and only found out he was singing hours before the puck dropped between the two teams. #news #citynews #leafs #ocanada #canada ♬ original sound - CityNews

On Friday morning, he was interviewed on KISS 92.5's the Roz and Mocha Show, which is an incredibly popular morning radio show in Toronto. He explained why he had trouble with the Canadian National Anthem:


He also explained that he thought that the lyrics would be on the jumbotron, which they were not. He apologized to Canada at the end of the interview, stating:


James' performance of the Anthem had no impact on the Leafs, who crushed the Panthers in a 6-2 win. The Leafs have back-to-back games this weekend against Carolina and Nashville, we hope they can keep the momentum they had against the Panthers.

Some fans wonder how he found the time to post a shirtless selfie, but did not find the time to learn the Canadian National Anthem, if Canadian children can figure the tune out, why couldn't this influencer, who is a professional singer figure out the Anthem?

As seen on Mapleleafsinsider - Panthers anthem singer provides a number of excuses for botching the Canadian National Anthem