LISTEN: Kurt Darren responds to national anthem backlash: Is it really news?

Kurt Darren. Picture: Supplied

Kurt Darren. Picture: Supplied

Published Apr 16, 2019

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“Why on earth am I trending?” asked Kurt Darren during the Eusebius McKaiser show on talk radio 702 on Tuesday morning. “I’m not going to disrespect our anthem, I love singing it. It is always an honour to sing our anthem. I woke up to this massive storm, and it's so funny to me... is it really news? 

The Afrikaans singer landed himself in hot water after wrecking the national anthem during the Varsity Cup finals between Maties and Tuks at the Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch on Monday night.

In a video clip that went viral, the "Kaptein" hitmaker is heard stumbling over the isiZulu and Sesotho part of the anthem.

He sang: “Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso”  instead of continuing with “O fedise dintwa le matshwenyeho”, then he quickly reverted back to the end of the first stanza, singing: “Yizwa imithandazo, yethu”, getting everyone confused even the spectators and the players were kept looking at each other with puzzled looks.

Twitter started bashing the singer for not knowing the national anthem: “You could have practiced. You could have. You could have asked someone to help you. You could have refused to stand there and insult us. But no…”tweeted @AnalysisPirates.

“Kurt Darren proudly & confidently belting out made-up lyrics to the national anthem in a packed stadium is the best example of the kind of peak mediocrity nurtured by a corrupt racist state (& its continued legacy),” commented another Twitter user @MaS1banda.

Responding to the backlash, Darren told McKaiser: "Yes I messed up one line in the anthem but singing in front of 20 000 students at the Varsity Cup final is a completely different animal to singing to a test or super 15, it’s just crazy….I know the anthem, I know I was there to sing it and do it properly and it’s weird that it erupted this way.

McKaiser then asked "Why did you not know why lines though, it’s the national you had 25 years to learn it. To which Darren responded: "Are you carrying on with it now?"

But McKaiser pressed on, saying: "You are a professional singer, 25 years later, you had only one job to do." Darren sighed then said: anyway, alright have a lekker day” before dropping the line. 

[SHORT AUDIO] Listen to Kurt Darren defending himself, and expressing shock that he is trending .... it got uhm awkward. Have a listen @Radio702---> https://t.co/myRJswuQJp

— Eusebius McKaiser (@Eusebius) April 16, 2019

Darren is not the only singer who has come under fire for messing up the national anthem, Reggae artist Ras Dumisani did it twice already, and Twitter dragged Ras yet again.

Kurt Darren pulled a Ras Dumisani 2.0 right there with the national anthem pic.twitter.com/VKzJhPZk5l

— Nolz_maMlangeni_Gasela😉 (@Nolz_ml) April 16, 2019

 Kurt Darren and Ras Dumisani same WhatsApp group 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/GNSs5GjBSe

— Menzi Mabunda (@rapdoubleohbaby) April 15, 2019

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