‘The Star-Spangled Banner:’ Video Of Woman Singing The US National Anthem At Lincoln Memorial Is Going Viral
An amazing impromptu performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” by a woman visiting the Lincoln Memorial in D.C. is getting millions of views.
The singer is Star Genleah Swain, and she performs an incredible a cappella rendition of the National Anthem inside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. which was recorded using Facebook Live.
After Facebook user Nay Nichelle posted the video to the social media platform, it went viral, attracting millions of views. Reportedly prior to this, the video was uploaded to the singer’s YouTube page on June 16.
The video starts with a man encouraging Swain to sing the National Anthem inside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. At first she laughs, feeling a little embarrassed, but eventually, Swain starts to sing, much to the surprise of the surrounding crowd of visitors.
With the camera pointing right at her, she sings her heart out as people gather around to watch and listen. As she concludes her strong and heartfelt performance, the crowd around her bursts into loud applause and cheers.
In related news on the Inquisitr:
- Canadian National Anthem Sexism Rewrite: Why Canadians Aren’t Happy About It
- Apology To Gay Chorus: San Diego’s ‘Homophobic’ National Anthem Sparks Immense Controversy
- Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl National Anthem Called ‘Amazing’ By Fiancé Taylor Kinney, Plus He Shares Their Valentine’s Day Plans
Less than 48 hours after Nichelle posted the video on her Facebook page, it has been viewed more than 6.6 million times at the time of writing and has been shared more than 137,000 times.
Nichelle wrote on her post: “Omg! Look at how everyone stopped what they were doing to listen to this young lady sing the National Anthem at the Lincoln Memorial! AMAZING!”
Video of singer’s impromptu performance of National Anthem at Lincoln Memorial goes viralhttps://t.co/Ph9wyOYQX3 pic.twitter.com/vDYDzVC5qE
— KTLA (@KTLA) June 26, 2016
Among the many thousands of comments underneath the video, many praise Swain’s performance while others suggest she should sing the National Anthem at next year’s Super Bowl.
On the YouTube video, posted by the singer herself, commenters confessed to tears rolling down their faces as they watched and listened to her sing.
Serena Appiah said, “You go, girl! I just shared this on my Facebook page because your voice is amazing! Don’t you love with social media can do to discover talent?! Glad your brother/friend recorded it, because otherwise, your fear may not have ever introduced the world to what you have to offer. Well done!!!”
According to a report by KTLA 5, a Facebook user, Mary Tobin, wrote, “I’m a Combat Veteran and I’ve laid many Soldiers and friends to rest in defense of our nation. Every time I hear the anthem it means the world to me, but when I hear it sung with conviction and strength it makes me even more proud to have served this country because people like you make America worth fighting for…so thank you.”
This wasn’t the only video apparently, as another version has been posted on Kermit Vigil’s Facebook page and is also gaining attention with two million views so far.
While Swain might sound like a professional singer, according to her own Facebook page, she works as an assistant principal at Jefferson County Middle/High School. The kids at that school must be very proud.
[Photo Lincoln Memorial via Flickr by Daniel Mennerich, cropped and resized/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0]
