Story highlights
- Furtado performed the Canadian national anthem with flute player Tony Duncan
- Fans praised her performance, but others wanted her mic cut off
(CNN)Perhaps the biggest foul of the record-breaking NBA All-Star Game came before tipoff.
At least that's what critics are saying about singer Nelly Furtado's performance of her national anthem at the game in Toronto on Sunday night.
Seconds after American R&B singer Ne-Yo performed a soulful, well-received rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner," Canadian Furtado stepped onto center court to sing "O Canada."
That's when tweets about the the "I'm Like a Bird" singer started flying.
"On behalf of Canadians everywhere, we'd like to nominate Nelly Furtado's version of our great anthem as the worst play of the day," Ian Esplen tweeted.
"To be such a fine singer and give that performance of such a beautiful, beautiful song ... shocking," tweeted Michael Wilbon, co-host of ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption."
T-Pain sang the national anthem without his trademark Auto-Tune before the San Francisco Giants-Los Angeles Dodgers game Monday, August 31. Fans cheered his rendition. Here are some of the song's highs and lows.
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Motley Crue band member Vince Neil performs the national anthem before an arena football game between the Las Vegas Outlaws and the San Jose SaberCats on Monday, March 30, in Las Vegas.
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Idina Menzel sang the national anthem at Super Bowl XLIX. "The Star-Spangled Banner" has a challenging melody, and not everybody has been able to deliver it effectively.
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Chris Botti's November 3 performance of the national anthem during a "Monday Night Football" game left one Indianapolis Colts player in tears, with viewers at home calling it one of the best they've ever heard.
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At the World Series game on October 24, 2013, it was James Taylor who had the save of the night. The singer was there to lead the stadium in the national anthem, but instead of "The Star-Spangled Banner," he began singing "America the Beautiful."
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Comedian Roseanne Barr's disastrous rendition of the national anthem during a San Diego Padres game in July 1990 drew almost unanimous boos. In a 2012 interview, Barr told CNN's Piers Morgan it was "a huge regret that was hard to come back from."
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But Whitney Houston hit the right notes at Super Bowl XXV in January 1991, stirring Americans' patriotic feelings during the Persian Gulf War. Her version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" reached the Billboard chart's Top 20 that year.
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No stranger to performing the national anthem, Christina Aguilera nevertheless forgot some of the words when she did the song at Super Bowl XLV in February 2011. "I got so lost in the moment of the song that I lost my place," Aguilera told CNN.
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Cyndi Lauper became another singer to flub the national anthem when she performed at the U.S. Open tennis tournament around the 10-year anniversary of 9/11. "The moon shone done on us and I tried to say a prayer at the same time.. I hope I didn't mess up too bad. I wanted it to be comforting," she tweeted afterward.
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Beyonce wowed the nation with a rendition on Inauguration Day in January 2013. The singer later told reporters "she decided to sing along with my prerecorded track," a decision she made in part because she didn't have time to rehearse with the U.S. Marine Band and had had "no proper sound check." But she wowed any doubters in her rehearsals and halftime show at the Super Bowl in February.
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Marvin Gaye, pictured in 1984, sang a memorable but untraditional version during the 1983 NBA All-Star Game.
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Luke Bryan was so nervous about becoming one of the stars famous for messing up the national anthem, he wrote a few lyrics on his palm before singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at a baseball game in July 2012 -- and was swiftly called out for it. "I had a few key words written down to ensure myself that I wouldn't mess up," Bryan later explained. "I just wanted to do my best. I promise it was from the heart. If I offended anyone with my approach I sincerely apologize. Anytime I sing the anthem it is an honor and my heart beats out of my chest."
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Canadian singer Alexis Normand made headlines when she forgot the words to "The Star-Spangled Banner" at a hockey game in May 2013. Normand, pictured performing at a later game, tweeted she was sorry.
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At times, Furtado seemed to be out of sync with Native American flute player Tony Duncan, who accompanied her center court.
But some adored Furtado's performance of "O Canada."
"Loving @NellyFurtado's rendition of our national anthem!" the Canadian entertainment show "etalk" tweeted.
And Duncan got his share of love, too.
"My man Tony Duncan on flute crushing Oh Canada," Aaron Barry wrote.
"Really dug the Canadian anthem by Nelly Furtado with Tony Duncan," Pax Tobi Ogunyemi said.
Furtado herself posted several tweets expressing excitement over the NBA All-Star weekend. But after her national anthem, she has largely stayed mum.
For those more interested in the actual game, the Western Conference All-Stars beat their Eastern Conference counterparts 196-173.