Jully Black has got Canada talking.
On Sunday night, the singer performed “O Canada” at the NBA All-Star Game, and she made waves with a subtle but important change to the lyrics of the national anthem.
In place of the line, “Our home and native land,” Black sang, “Out home on native land,” an acknowledgement of Canada’s Indigenous community and history.
Very quickly, the change became a big subject on social media and in the news, with many praising Black’s choice.
READ MORE: Toronto’s Jully Black To Sing ‘O Canada’ At NBA All-Star Game
In a conversation with ET Canada’s Morgan Hoffman, Black reflected on the anthem performance and how she decided to alter the lyrics.
“I’m so happy with my performance. I knew I wanted to add some seasoning to the anthem, a little bit of flavour,” she said, gleefully, “but I also knew I needed to stay true to the melody.
Part of what inspired Black’s choice was the size of the audience for the All-Star Game.
“I knew that this was a moment. There’s no other stage for the Canadian anthem that’s bigger, because we didn’t do the anthem at the Super Bowl,” she said.
As for the impact that her change to the anthem has had, Black was asked if she expected all the attention and discussion in the aftermath.
“I didn’t. I knew it had a strong impact on myself, and that’s what mattered, and my Indigenous friends and those who I consulted with,” she admitted, revealing, “I knew I was going to change the word out the gate as soon as I got the call.”
Black pointed out that changes to the Canadian national anthem are nothing new. In 2018, the lyric, “In all our sons command,” was changed to the gender neutral, “In all of us command.”
“And then it dawned on me, I was like, ‘So we we skipped over whose land it actually is.’ And we’re still saying ‘our’ and it just didn’t feel right in my belly,” Black explained, adding that much like Rihanna feeling the time was right for her to perform at the Super Bowl, the time was also right for a game-changing anthem performance.
As for the response, Black said, “It’s unreal. The support. ‘It’s a Canadian heritage moment.’ ‘Your legacy is cemented.’ Whenever people direct it towards me, the praise, I have to flip it around and deflect. It’s like, less of me, take Jully out of the equation, I was a conduit. I’m a bridge.”
Showing off a tattoo of a bridge on her arm, she added, “today I feel like I’m living out being a bridge.”
READ MORE: Canadian Singer Jully Black’s Subtle Change To National Anthem At NBA All-Star Game Draws Praise
Of course, as with any big change, there has been some negative response, but Black isn’t sweating any of it.
“I wonder if they were thinking about the anthem on Saturday, you know, like, did you even think about the lyrics a day before, moments before?” she said. “I think that for those who are so upset — because there are many more positive than negative — I would say, you’re missing the point. Like, I sang the truth, and the truth need no proof.”
Black continued, “This is not our land, period,” adding that it would be great if Canadians, including Indigenous people, could “come up with an anthem together that is so inclusive and so full of pride and love and connection that we’ll want to sing it when we wake up in the morning as a mantra. You know, that’s what I want to see.”
She added of the conversation that’s been sparked by her performance around the world, “We have an opportunity to impact change globally through this moment. That will feel so good. And it’s for something that’s positive. It’s not negative news.”
For Black, the decision to change the lyric was also about having solidarity with the Indigenous community as a Black woman.
“My good friend and business partner, Roy Perot, is Indigenous and we’ve spoken about that. He was right by my side and still is all through Black Lives Matter,” she said. “Here we are locked. We’re locking elbows together.”
