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‘It Happens!’: Ashanti Reveals the Technical Difficulties She Faced Singing the National Anthem at the AFC Championship Game After Being Dragged on Social Media

Ashanti took to Instagram on Monday, Feb. 1, to disclose the technical difficulties she endured during her performance of the “Star-Spangled Banner” at the American Football Conference Championship game this past weekend.

This explanation comes days after the singer received negative responses online regarding her rendition of the National Anthem. The matchup, which took place on Jan. 30 at the Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, was between the Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs.

Ashanti reveals the technical difficulties she faced while performing the national anthem during the AFC Championship game on Jan. 30, after receiving flak on social media. Photo:@ashanti/Instagram

The Bengals defeated the Chiefs 27-24 during overtime, and are set to go against the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl in a couple of weeks. In the social media post, Ashanti revealed that before the “mic malfunction,” she did two sound checks during her performance. 

She said while sharing clips of the rehearsals and her performing the national anthem at the game with the crowd following her reported mic issue, “Despite 2 sound checks, mic malfunction and piercing in-ear volume…. I had a blast at the game! Thank you to the entire stadium and both @chiefs and @bengals fans for holding me down and singing along with me! It definitely was a cool moment! Thank you @chiefs for inviting me.” 

The 41-year-old wrapped up the upload by shouting out the the parents of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, for the extended invitation to watch the game and thanking everyone who showed “love” during her performance. 

As Ashanti’s upload began circulating on social media blogs, many praised the star for even completing the performance despite the technical issues.  

“One Thing About It You’re Going To PREVAIL Through Any Circumstance. #TheShowMustGoOn  You Killed It!”

“It happens!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Great job, for carrying through!!!!!!”

“You handled it like a sweet pro!”

“You killed it though regardless of the mic malfunction.”

In addition to the compliments, one individual defended the singer against those who talked down about her performance. That person wrote, “You sing this every year multiple times, and always do a great job! Only the already haters was talking mess. You are a class act.”  


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