Entertainment Music Fergie Speaks Out About Controversial National Anthem Performance: I 'Honestly Tried My Best' After causing controversy at the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday with a slowed-down jazzy rendition of the National Anthem, Fergie has issued a formal apology for her divisive performance By Jordan Runtagh Jordan Runtagh Twitter Jordan Runtagh is an Executive Podcast Producer at iHeartRadio, where he hosts a slate of pop culture shows including Too Much Information, Inside the Studio, Off the Record and Rivals: Music's Greatest Feuds. Previously, he served as a Music Editor at PEOPLE and VH1.com. He's written about art and entertainment for more than a decade, regularly contributing to outlets like Rolling Stone and Entertainment Weekly, and appearing as a guest on radio and television. Over the course of his career, he's profiled the surviving Beatles, Brian Wilson, Aretha Franklin, Roger Waters, David Byrne, Pete Townshend, Debbie Harry, Quincy Jones, Brian May, Jerry Lee Lewis, James Taylor and many more. A graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, he lives in Brooklyn, where he can be found DJing '60s soul records. People Editorial Guidelines Published on February 19, 2018 04:05 PM Share Tweet Pin Email After causing controversy at the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday with a slowed-down jazzy rendition of the National Anthem, Fergie has issued a formal apology for her divisive 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 in a statement acquired by PEOPLE. “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.” Taking the court at Los Angeles’ Staples Center in a formfitting black dress, the 42-year-old “A Little Work” singer performed a sultry rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” reworking the tune to more of a jazzy beat. “It actually didn’t sound so bad at first,” one attendee tells PEOPLE. “Everyone was just trying to figure out what was going on. Like, was she about to break out into a different song? Then she started doing all those ranges and it just went downhill.” At points, the star appeared to struggle to hit notes, though she closed out the tune with some impressive vibrato, telling the arena, “Let’s play some basketball!” Throughout the performance, the camera caught an array of expressions of those on the court and in the crowd at the game. “Players and celebs seemed surprised by her rendition of the anthem,” says another source who was present. “After the performance she didn’t seem fazed.” Reporting by JEFF NELSON