Motown legend Martha Reeves was invited to sing the Star Spangled Banner before the first-ever game in the Women’s Professional Baseball League, but her uneven performance made headlines for all the wrong reasons.
“Having just celebrated my 85th birthday, I’ve learned a great deal over more than 60 years of performing live,” Reeves, 85, said in a statement to TMZ Sports. “It was an incredible honor to be invited to perform at the inaugural Women’s Pro Baseball League event and to help celebrate such a historic moment for women in sports. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”
She continued, “The field conditions were wet and windy, and without stage monitors I wasn’t able to hear myself as I normally would. While it wasn’t the performance I had hoped for, I’m grateful to have been there in support of these remarkable athletes and this groundbreaking league.”
Shortly after Reeves finished the anthem on Saturday, August 1, it began making the rounds on social media.
“Nothing will prepare you for the national anthem at the first women’s professional baseball game,” read one post sharing the video via X. “And I mean nothing.”
The video, which has accrued more than three million views as of Monday, August 3, shows players and fans trying to stifle their laughter as Reeves and two other singers deliver an off-key and seemingly disorganized rendition.
Reeves, whose Motown group Martha and the Vandellas was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, is best known for her hits “Heat Wave” and “Dancing in the Street,” both released in the 1960s. In May 2026, she announced that she was preparing to release her first album in 22 years, titled Searching, which is slated to drop on August 14.
Her national anthem blunder, however, continues to draw comments on social media, with some comparing it to Fergie’s disastrous 2018 NBA All-Star game rendition.
After ESPN cameras also showed players trying not to laugh and fans dragged her online, Fergie, 51, released a statement explaining her performance.
“I’ve always been honored and proud to perform the national anthem and last night I wanted to try something special for the NBA,” she said. “I’m a risk taker artistically, but clearly this rendition didn’t strike the intended tone. I love this country and honestly tried my best.”
In 2024, singer Ingrid Andress went viral for her anthem before the MLB Home Run Derby. She said in a statement the next day that she performed it drunk and would check herself into a rehabilitation facility.
“That was not me last night,” she said. “I apologize to MLB, all the fans, and this country I love so much for that rendition. I’ll let y’all know how rehab is I hear it’s super fun.”
