The national anthem is a song that’s received many renditions, with a significant majority of them being absolutely unlistenable. I don’t know what it is about the American national anthem that makes singers want to wild out, but it’s rare that you go to a game and simply hear a singer hit the notes on the page.

Recently, this girl took her own crack at it — and users are calling it the, uh, “best” rendition since Fergie.

@pacers the passion. the outfit. this anthem performance was unmatched #nba #pacers #national #anthem #basketball ♬ original sound - Pacers

The kid pours her heart and soul into the performance, taking control of the crowd like Freddie Mercury at Live-Aid. Unfortunately, the 8-year-old singer quickly loses track of the pitch, and though she tries her best to keep the spirit going, the anthem quickly collapses into atonality.

Commenters, being as mean as commenters usually are, were quick to judge and name-call the child. “She’s gonna be shown this for the rest of her life. Every family reunion, every birthday,” said a user. “As a country, we deserve this,” declared another. “Gotta be some type of Make-a-Wish situation,” said a third.

I’ll be honest, I loved it. Sure, her performance was pitchy, overdramatic and not something you’d generally consider “good,” but doesn’t that just keep in the grand tradition of pre-game national anthems? A “fine” national anthem is easily forgettable, but something like this is a good bar story for weeks.

Plus, I found another video of her performing the national anthem at a smaller venue the day after — and, surprise surprise, she genuinely kills it.

Maybe she just had a bad day in the first video. Maybe she was nervous — she’s 8 years old, after all. But no matter what happened, she kept it professional and didn’t let it show. Respect.