South African singer Kurt Darren spoke to Channel24 following public criticism for muddling up the second verse of the national anthem at the FNB Varsity Cup final in Stellenbosch on Monday.
Following a confident start to the opening ceremony, the Oh My Soul singer mixed up the lyrics to the second verse of Nkosi Sikelel’iAfrika. Despite the initial hiccup, the pop artist finished the anthem in acapella with no further incident.
Speaking to Channel24, Kurt started by saying what an honour it was to lead Maties and Tuks in the national anthem. About the fumble, he says: “I have great respect for the national anthem, I know it top to bottom, and I’ve performed our anthem several times at public events. Unfortunately, I got caught up in the moment, singing in front of a packed stadium and sadly, messed up a lyric. When singing a cappella in a big stadium with 20 000 students, there is reverb and a delay which can also lead to losing your place.”
He admits that he has even forgotten, or messed up the words to his own songs like Kaptein, and Loslappie, despite having performed it hundreds of times before.
“It is unfortunate that certain publications are running the story with a politically motivated angle when I merely made a mistake. I would never intentionally mess up the words to the national anthem.”
He adds that he not only “messed up” the Sesotho section, but also made a mistake during the Afrikaans part.
“I’m not just an Afrikaans singer, I am a proudly South African. But at the end of the day, I am not blaming anyone, and I take full responsibility for what happened.”
Despite the fumble, Kurt says that he has received messages of support from his family and friends
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Source: Channel24
