10 years later, the 'worst anthem' singer is on a Star-Spangled redemption tour

She knew right away she blew it.

Ten years ago, Harper Grace, the adorable 11-year-old, from small-town Texas, had sung the national anthem at dozens of high school and minor-league sporting events. The FC Dallas club gave the little girl her first shot at the major leagues in spring 2011.

But you know those fans' horns you hear blowing all over at soccer games? She couldn't get that note out of her head and started singing there, way off for the anthem's first note. And, Grace, unable to sound check because the stadium had mic problems before the match started, also had no idea the sound would come back to her two seconds later. So the girl kept stopping and waiting to sing the next notes.

That caused her to turn in a really long, really off pitch performance. But most of the crowd applauded politely, and she and her parents were able to joke on the way home that she sounded like that guy at church who always showed up drunk for services.

The laughs stopped the next morning. "I heard my mom and dad crying in the office [in the house}," Grace said. "They kept saying, 'What are we gonna do and what are we gonna tell Harper?'"

The little girl grabbed her iPod Touch and Googled her name.

"The first thing that popped up was the video with the title, 'the worst national anthem ever.' My heart sank to my stomach," she said.

She read through dozens of horrifying insults before putting down the screen. Grace and her parents were devasted.

"I wanted to crawl into a ball and hide from the world and never sing again."

Within 24 hours, though, Grace insisted she do media interviews to explain what happened. Within a week, she auditioned for and won a scholarship for a four-semester program called Hollywood Launch.

And this year, Grace, 22, is a major label country singer who launched a national anthem redemption tour in March that has her singing in front of some of the most storied sport franchises − the New York Mets and Chicago White Sox included − in the U.S.

On Friday night, Grace made her anthem debut for her new hometown team, the Nashville Sounds, and celebrated a successful performance after in a skybox filled with supporters and record label execs at First Horizon Park in Nashville, Tennessee.

Grace's favorite part of this redemption tour: She gives anti-bullying talks to kids and teens at each stop.

"Each time I sing the anthem, I have a little trauma, and sometimes, I cry a little before. But each time, some more of that trauma falls off," she said, before smiling big.

"And then I get to share with kids, 'Look, I've been bold and strong, and if I would have listened to people who told me to kill myself, I wouldn't be here to talk to you guys!'"

It's a powerful turnabout that has allowed her to turn trauma into sharing her favorite things, her music and her faith.

Singing, it turns out, is her second career.

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The daughter of two Christian missionaries, Grace's mom was an elite gymnast and a college cheerleader who among other things, coached Olympic gymnast hopefuls as an adult.

"When I popped out of the womb, my mom’s like, this girls’ gonna do gymnastics," Grace said, laughing.

Grace indeed was on an Olympic track by age 6. But the little girl always was fascinated by her accordion-playing grandmother, a kind lady who turned her granddaughter on to Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton. Grace started singing around the house and seemingly couldn't stop: Her dad instituted a no-singing-at-the-table rule for dinner.

"Every time I heard music, I felt my soul was ready to sing along," Grace said.

When she told her mom she wanted to switch from gymnastics to music, her mom said they'd pray about it, and if God somehow delivered a piano to the family, that would be the sign to make the switch.

About a year later, while organizing a neighborhood garage sale to raise money for mission work, Grace's mom got a call from a man who said he wanted to donate a piano.

And Grace's mom, who started sobbing in front of her daughter, didn't take the little girl to gymnastics the next day.

Her grandmother got Grace a guitar, Grace fell in love with Taylor Swift, and the girl started performing at coffee shops around town. That led to gigs singing the national anthem, which led to that 2011 match for FC Dallas.

The 11-year-old girl looked up all sorts of profane and crude terms in the hate-filled online comments about her performance because she hadn't seen those words before. "Each one would take a stab at my heart."

After sobbing with her parents and feeling "wrecked by the whole world," Grace felt a switch flip the next day.

"A fire ignited within me, and I went on YouTube and wrote down every user name and I went in the prayer closet and prayed for them," she said. "'If their hearts are hurting, I pray you would heal their hearts.'"

And Grace returned to writing, singing and performing, eventually landing a spot in the top 50 on American Idol in 2016.

The first time she sang the anthem again was seven years later at the same FC Dallas stadium where she blew it. The club's event presentation director, Alan Ficek, assured her the equipment was fixed, and he wanted to give her another chance. Grace sound checked three times that day and nailed the anthem.

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When she signed with Curb Records in Nashville a few years later, label exec John Clore thought he should send her on a national anthem tour of sorts.

"The national anthem is a promotional thing a lot of artists can do, but very few have the story that Harper does," Clore said.

"For me, it’s a no brainer to make the most of this, and really make connections with team front offices and schools around the country," he said. "I can’t think of a better way to get this thing started in building this brand."

Grace wrote a song, "Oh Say Can You See," that lays out her journey with the bungled anthem performance, one she performed on NBC's "Today" on Monday.

The redemption tour so far is full of powerful moments for Grace.

"Hearing from a 14-year-old they don’t feel loved in their home so they’ve tried to end their own life, and that me sharing my story has made them feel completely different. Amazing."

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For Grace, it's the kind of encounter that helps with perspective.

"My purpose isn’t to sing songs and perform, my purpose is to be loved by God and to love others."

Reach Brad Schmitt at brad@tennessean.com or 615-259-8384 or on Twitter @bradschmitt.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: 'Worst anthem' singer Harper Grace is on Star-Spangled redemption tour