Who is Ellynora? Know all about Italian-American singer trolled online for God Save The King anthem during England game
Italian-American singer Ellynora has come under criticism for her rendition of England's national anthem ahead of the Three Lions' UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying game against Italy on Thursday (March 24).
The 28-year-old fumbled her words and repeated the first line twice, resulting in fans trolling her for the botch. Born in Rome, Italy, she moved to New York at the age of 19. She has danced at the Broadway Dance Centre and has graduated from the NYFA for becoming an international and multilingual artist.
Ellynora later explained that the botch during the song was not her fault. She claimed that the sound system at the Diego Maradona stadium malfuntioned. She said (via Daily Mail):
"I’m just so angry with what happened because I wanted it to be perfect, but what happened wasn’t my fault. I’m more of a pop artist, but at the ground, there was a sound issue. I had rehearsed the anthem twice the day before the match and then on the night three times but when it came to the actual performance, I had a problem with my earpiece."
She added:
"I had the music in my ear, and then it stopped and started again, and I was hearing it twice, so it meant I was out of sync, and it was hard for me to catch up. I really tried my best to solve the problem, but there was nothing I could do, and I’m so angry about it. I was trying to adjust my singing to catch up with the anthem in the stadium, but it was too late."
Ellynora has around 50,000 followers on Instagram and has posted multiple snaps from the game on her story.
England beat Italy despite Ellynora's botch
While Ellynora was trolled for her performance while singing the national anthem, that didn't affect England's performance against Italy.
Gareth Southgate's team beat the Azzurri 2-1 in Naples. Declan Rice opened the scoring before Harry Kane found the back of the net from the spot on the cusp of half time. That strike took Kane past Wayne Rooney (53) to become England's all-time top scorer.
Debutant Mateo Retegui pulled one back for Roberto Mancini's team in the second half, but ten-man England held on despite Manchester United's Luke Shaw sent off with ten minutes to go. It was the Three Lions' first win against the Azzurri in Italy since 1961.