A week ago, not many Canadians had heard of jazz singer Alexis Normand. Today, she’s rather  famous, but perhaps not in the way she had hoped.

Normand is the French-Canadian singer who’s earned a degree of infamy for botching the American national anthem before Saturday's Memorial Cup hockey game in Saskatoon.

Online clips of her stumbling over the lyrics have earned hundreds of thousands of hits, and hockey fans – especially American ones – have not been delicate with their criticism.

In front of thousands, Normand began to sing the "Star-Spangled Banner" and simply drew a blank halfway through. She froze up and panic started to kick in.

“At that point, I was swearing at myself in my head and trying to decide what to do, but at the same time, time was going on,” she told CTV News in Saskatoon.

Much to Normand’s relief, the crowd came to her rescue, piping in loudly with the lyrics so she could finish off the anthem. She says hearing the crowd help her out rather than boo was so encouraging.

“I felt very supported and I thought. ‘OK, they’re there with me, they know that it’s a mistake, that I’m human,” she says.

Normand, who typically sings in French, went on to sing the Canadian anthem without any problems and later took to Twitter to apologize for fumbling the first anthem.

“I'm embarrassed and deeply sorry,” she tweeted Saturday night. ”I wish I'd had more time to learn the American anthem. Thanks so much for the crowd's help!”

She later added: “Thanks to everyone who has sent supportive messages! I also empathize with victims of cyber-bullying.”

Normand says she knows she’s being pilloried by commenters on YouTube, but she says she’s determined not to let the gaffe get her down.

“It’s online and it’s a public forum so people can say what they want to say. But I know where I stand. I know this doesn’t define who I am or the type of performer I am,” she said.

For now, Normand is practising, as she’s due to sing both anthems again before Tuesday night’s game. She’s looking forward to it, she says, and hopes to earn some redemption.

With a report from CTV’s John Baglieri