In a true reflection of the high standards North American audiences hold, Bebe Rexha and Alessia Cara found themselves at the center of a social media storm following their performances at Game 2 of the World Series on Saturday night. Rexha, who kicked off the evening with “The Star-Spangled Banner,” faced mixed reviews from the baseball fans in attendance.

The award-winning Los Angeles-based artist was met with criticism, as one disgruntled fan took to X to label her rendition as “the worst I’ve ever heard.” The 36-year-old singer was not spared from further critique, as others on the platform echoed similar sentiments.

One particularly vocal American fan expressed their frustration more pointedly, questioning the need for artistic reinterpretations of the national anthem. “Why can’t anyone just sing the anthem the way it was written?” they lamented. They added, “You don’t hear Canada turning their anthem into a blues song! #PetPeeve.”

Another American was more specific.

‘Why can’t anyone just sing the damn anthem the way it was written?’ they asked on X. ‘You don’t hear Canada turning their anthem into a blues song! #PetPeeve’

Bebe Rexha ‘s rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner got mixed reviews on Saturday 

Alessia Cara’s performance of O Canada split baseball fans at Game 2 of the World Series

The Toronto Blue Jays line up during the national anthem before Game 2 on Saturday

And one person just tried to crack a joke about Rexha’s name: ‘That National Anthem was just sung by Bebe Wrecks-a-song.’

But not everyone was so negative. Others thought she should be proud of the effort.

‘Bebe Rexha performs a stunning performance of the US national anthem at the #WorldSeries,’ read a somewhat repetitive post.

Another left little doubt: ‘She was an absolute queen and smashed this song right out of the park.’

Canadians were, likewise, split.

While some felt Cara, a local artist, did a ‘great’ or ‘incredible’ job, others argued she was ‘outperformed by the American Anthem singer.’

Bebe Rexha is seen leaving Los Angeles for Toronto on Friday ahead of Game 2  

Bebe Rexha is Brooklyn-born, multi-platinum singer who now lives in Los Angeles 

Similarly, fans were left divided over an unorthodox rendition of the national anthem prior to Game 1 on Friday night.

Before the game at Rogers Centre, gospel choir group The Voices of Fire, featuring singer-songwriter Pharrell Williams, took to the field for their performance.

The choir group delivered a stirring rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner before then performing the Canadian national anthem in a unique move ahead of the game. The group was also assisted by members of a local Toronto orchestra as they performed O Canada in front of the packed-out stadium.

Footage of the performance – which showed the entire choir on the field as they performed – quickly began circulating social media, with opinions clearly split.

Some fans were full of praise, with one writing: ‘Pharrell and Voices of Fire just set the tone absolutely electric national anthem before Game 1! The #WorldSeries energy is unmatched.’

Another, clearly emotional, fan wrote: ‘This is the best national anthem performance I’ve seen for the longest time throughout my sports watching life.

‘The choir was excellent — omg… the arrangement when it dipped a bit to minor for the US the harmonies. Honestly choirs should be doing national anthems more.’

Another said: ‘Is this #WorldSeries National Anthem in the conversation for best anthem performance ever? It has to be right? That was Incredible! #Dodgers #Jays.’

Gospel choir group The Voices of Fire performed both the American and Canadian national anthems prior to Game 1 of the MLB World Series on Friday evening

However, others were not so convinced. One disgruntled fan wrote: ‘Biggest waste of time ever.’

In a series of blunt posts on X, fans wrote: ‘This was embarrassing.’

Others said: ‘Worst pregame gimmick ive ever seen’ and ‘Just muted it.’

Despite some of those being underwhelmed by the display, others were simply pleased that neither anthem was boo’d by fans in attendance.

There was at least one major surprise before Game 2 as Toronto infielder Bo Bichette was scratched from the starting lineup.

A two-time All-Star shortstop and two-time AL hits leader, Bichette went 1 for 2 with a walk in his return to the lineup in Friday’s 11-4 Game 1 win. It was his first action since spraining his left knee in a Sept. 6 collision with New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa started at second base, batting eighth against Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2. Kiner-Falefa replaced Bichette as a pinch-runner in Toronto’s nine-run sixth inning on Friday.

Bo Bichette warms up at second base before playing the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 2

Catcher Alejandro Kirk, who capped the nine-run frame with a two-run homer, took over for Bichette in the cleanup spot in Game 2.

‘I don’t want to say it was part of the plan,’ Blue Jays manager John Schneider said of taking Bichette out of the lineup. ‘Just kind of gauging how he’s feeling. He’ll be ready to play today, for sure. This is stuff we talked about, even leading up to the decision to put him on the roster. I thought he was good yesterday and just want to watch him physically, but he’ll be ready to hit and play whenever.’

Friday’s series opener was Bichette’s first game at second base in six years. 

He saved a run when he ranged to the shortstop side of second to glove Teoscar Hernández’s third-inning grounder and throw him out at first. Will Smith, who had been on second base, had to stop at third.

Bichette finished second in the major leagues to Yankees slugger Aaron Judge with a .311 batting average this season, hitting 18 homers with 94 RBIs in 139 games. The 27-year-old is eligible for free agency following the World Series.