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Singer Loomis flubs national anthem performance, asks for do-over

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Another day, another botched attempt at a national anthem performance.

Loomis, a singer with 78 monthly listeners on Spotify, was invited to belt “The Star Spangled Banner” at a presidential debate for third-party candidates on Thursday night. The event, hosted by the Free & Equal Election Foundation, got off to a rocky start with a series of unfortunate technical difficulties.

Loomis performing the national anthem at the Free & Equal 2024 presidential debate.

The Free and Equal Elections Foundation/YouTube


At the start of the two-and-a-half-hour livestream, Loomis can be seen awkwardly dancing in front of the three debaters — Chase Oliver of the Libertarian Party, Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party, and Randall Terry of the Constitution Party — seemingly unaware that the broadcast had begun. 

Before moderator Christina Tobin had the chance to introduce Loomis, the event broadcasted indecipherable backstage chatter, followed by the singer loudly whispering for her cue: “Tell me when!” Tobin then launched into her introduction, without any lighting or close-ups to accompany her remarks, making it difficult to ascertain where her voice is coming from on stage.

These uncomfortable logistical failures set the stage for Loomis’ performance — which is completely serviceable until hitting the biggest hurdle of Francis Scott Key’s tune, “And the rockets’ red glare.” After failing to hit the usual high note on “red glare,” the singer immediately recognized her mistake, saying, “I f—ed it up. I f—ed it up. Can I go back, can I go back, please?”

Loomis in 2023.

Arnold Turner/Getty 


Unfortunately, Loomis could not go back, as a voice off-screen told her that the event is streaming live. She then launched into “The bombs bursting in air,” interjecting, “I got too nervous!” after missing an ambitious vocal run on “air.” 

The rest of the performance continued without significant problems — aside from a few iffy notes, Loomis maintained her confidence and composure for the remainder of the song. She didn’t quite know how to gracefully exit the stage, though, as she began walking off-camera, then briefly stopped and second-guessed herself before continuing in the same direction.

“Thank you Loomis, that was beautiful,” Tobin said after the performance. “Appreciate you coming here tonight.”

A segment of the performance made the rounds in a viral TikTok, which compared the singer’s rendition to Fergie’s disastrous version of the song from the 2018 NBA All-Star Game. For my money, it’s closer to Carl Lewis’ performance of the national anthem at a 1993 matchup between the Chicago Bulls and the New Jersey Nets — surprisingly solid for most of the song, with a few major whiffs punctuated by the singer’s immediate acknowledgement of their mistake.

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Loomis’ full performance of the national anthem can be viewed at the beginning of the debate video above.

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