July Black is calling attention to a subtle change she made to the lyrics to “O Canada” at the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday.
The Juno Award-winning R&B singer performed the national anthem before the game in Salt Lake City, Utah, changing a line to honor the indigenous peoples who lived on the land before European settlers.
Black swapped the anthem’s usual opening line: “O Canada! Our home and our homeland!” with “O Canada! Our home on native land,” adding a slight emphasis on “on” as she sang.
The new lyrics appeared to garner largely positive reactions on social media, where some viewers praised Black’s revised lyrics.
The singer was initially unavailable for comment.
Rapper Chuck D, a member of the US hip-hop group Public Enemy, praised Black’s performance:
“My girl @JullyBlack just kicked the most soulful O Canada I’ve ever heard at the 2023 #NBAAllStar game,” he tweeted.
Some criticized Black’s revision, although this is not the first time the words in O Canada have been changed.
For example, in 2018, late Liberal MP Mauril Belanger’s years-long efforts to make the anthem more inclusive became official when the second line was rewritten to make it gender neutral.
The new wording of the English version of the anthem was “in all of us command” from “in all thy sons command”.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 20, 2023.
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