After Sunday's NBA all-star game and that one-word change to the Canadian National Anthem heard around the world, Jully Black has explained why she decided to switch out the lyrics to "O Canada," and how she wants to be a "bridge" between people.
Speaking with CTV's Your Morning, Black shared the thought process behind changing the anthem's lyrics from "Our home and native land" to "Our home on Native land."
"As a songwriter, I didn't want to disrespect the songwriter," Black shared, "but I also realize that we are on the land, we don't own it, it's not ours ... I wish I could kind of sit with the songwriter and say, 'Hey, you might have got the facts wrong. And could we do a bit of a remix?'"
Black's edit has, unsurprisingly, been met with a mix of support and condemnation online, with some people accusing the singer of so-called "woke" politics and others praising her for bringing light to Indigenous issues.
"You can't create the sunshine without the rain," Black said in response to her critics.
"If I have an opportunity to help you amplify a voice, I'm going to, and so that's why I made the decision," she said, reflecting on speaking with her Indigenous friends about her plan to sing the anthem. "I knew this was the biggest stage to sing our anthem."
Black added, "This bridge could start to be built and one by one we could come together and really support each other and show the world what Canada [is] and how we can be a loving nation."
Watch Black perform her remix of "O Canada" below.
Speaking with CTV's Your Morning, Black shared the thought process behind changing the anthem's lyrics from "Our home and native land" to "Our home on Native land."
"As a songwriter, I didn't want to disrespect the songwriter," Black shared, "but I also realize that we are on the land, we don't own it, it's not ours ... I wish I could kind of sit with the songwriter and say, 'Hey, you might have got the facts wrong. And could we do a bit of a remix?'"
Black's edit has, unsurprisingly, been met with a mix of support and condemnation online, with some people accusing the singer of so-called "woke" politics and others praising her for bringing light to Indigenous issues.
"You can't create the sunshine without the rain," Black said in response to her critics.
"If I have an opportunity to help you amplify a voice, I'm going to, and so that's why I made the decision," she said, reflecting on speaking with her Indigenous friends about her plan to sing the anthem. "I knew this was the biggest stage to sing our anthem."
Black added, "This bridge could start to be built and one by one we could come together and really support each other and show the world what Canada [is] and how we can be a loving nation."
Watch Black perform her remix of "O Canada" below.