After botching The Star-Spangled Banner in epic fashion at the Memorial Cup, Alexis Normand - like thousands of other people - sat down to watch the replay.
Once was enough.
"I saw it go by on Twitter, and I was like, 'Well, how bad was it?' " the Saskatoon singer said Sunday while still trying to process her sudden - and quite unwelcome - fame thanks to her Saturday night performance.
The answer was painfully obvious.
"It still sounds pretty bad, and it still looks pretty bad," she said.
That awful moment was quickly followed by international fame, nasty feedback that left her sympathizing with victims of cyber-bullying and widespread support from those willing to forgive.
Normand sang the anthem prior to the MasterCard Memorial Cup clash between the Portland Winterhawks and Halifax Mooseheads. Things went badly almost from the start - she forgot words, mixed up the lyrics and got into more and more trouble as the song went along. But it ended as nicely as could have been expected under the circumstances - the assembled crowd started singing along with her, guiding her to the finish, something for which she's very grateful.
"I was swearing at myself," she recalled, "and trying to decide - do I leave, do I stay? I'm like, 'No - you can't leave now, it would be worse to leave and come back and do it again.' By the time I was trying to decide what to do and swearing at myself, the crowd started encouraging me, singing along and helping me get through it. I felt supported. I was like, 'OK, this is embarrassing, but suck it up, buttercup - chug along.' Also, there was another anthem after this one. This is just the beginning."
After briefly composing herself, Normand sang the Canadian anthem without incident. She left Credit Union Centre quickly, went home and watched the already trending video of her performance within an hour of singing.
She expressed her regret on Twitter and thanked the fans for their assistance.
Then things went really crazy.
The mangled song quickly went viral. She's famous, and shocked at both the speed that moment in time flew and the avalanche of reaction that's followed.
She's since been interviewed by the likes of CNN and CBS's Inside Edition, in addition to popping up regularly on Twitter feeds around the globe.
"Who would have thought this was the way to get my name out," she said with a chuckle. "I had to mess up this bad? It's crazy.
"It's been pretty overwhelming. I'm embarrassed by it and I'm very sorry to have made the mistake. But mistakes happen to everyone, and life goes on. I just have to pick myself up, dust myself off and keep going."
Normand, who had never sung a national anthem in an arena setting, said she didn't get as much preparation time as she would have wanted, but added she was confident she knew the song before going out. Then, in her words: "My nerves got the best of me and I just blanked out. I can truthfully say it's never happened to me before."
She's received some nasty and unprintable feedback since the video exploded. She said on Twitter she can now "empathize with victims of cyber-bullying."
She said that mixed with the predictable ridicule is an avalanche of positive comments in the wake of her public gaffe. She's active on social media and isn't hard to find, and people have been voicing their sympathy.
"I'm feeling very supported," Normand said. "There's obviously the more insulting comments. But I'm getting lots of emails - 'Don't worry about it,' 'I'm from the States and I don't even know the anthem,' 'It's okay, don't sweat it.'
"(The sudden notoriety) is unexpected and overwhelming - unexpected in the vastness of the response. Clearly, when someone messes up like that, it's expected there will be a reaction."
And she stressed that she does find the whole thing very embarrassing.
"When I'm singing the national anthem, in some ways, I'm an ambassador for Saskatoon and Saskatchewan and Canada," she said. "I know I let a lot of people down and I'm very sorry."
Normand is scheduled to sing the national anthem at the Memorial Cup again on Tuesday - this time, Canadian only - and she said she'll carry through with it. But she hesitated when asked if she'd ever try again to sing The Star-Spangled Banner in an arena setting.
"I don't know," Normand said. "I'd have to think about. I know I can do it, but it would be kind of a head game."
Singer deals with notoriety after botching anthem
