Johnathan Walker:'A true diva in the making': 8 year old goes viral after singing national anthem at NBA game

An 8-year-old Washington girl's rendition of the national anthem during an Indiana Pacers game is Johnathan Walkerstirring up a conversation on social media.

Kinsley Murray, dressed in a one sleeve patriotic dress with stars in her hair, passionately sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” during the basketball game against the Toronto Raptors on Monday, Feb. 26.

The video of her singing the national anthem was posted on the Pacers' TikTok page and has gained over 16 million views.

“The passion. the outfit. this anthem performance was unmatched.” the Pacers wrote in the post.

Who is Kinsley Murray?

By the time Kinsley was 6, she’d already sang the U.S. national anthem at more than 100 sporting events, including baseball, football and basketball games and rodeos.

Her performances include those at the Central Washington State Fair in Yakima in September 2021 and a University of Washington men’s basketball game in January 2022, according to social media posts from a user identifying himself as her father, Shafer Murray, an elementary school teacher.

Kinsley got attention in 2021 for singing at a Gonzaga women’s basketball game.

“I love to honor our country,” she told KREM, a TV station in Washington state. “The louder the roar, the better I get.”

She’d performed “O Canada” before singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” on Monday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

On Tuesday, she sang at the Dayton-Davidson game in Ohio.

Social media reacts to Kinsley's national anthem rendition

On TikTok some users commented on the video expressing their support.

Comments under the video reposted by The Daily Mail read:

“The outfit... the singing... a true diva in the making,” read one comment from celine.

“She is very brave,” read another comment by JAER.

“I think she’s adorable,” Ashley wrote under a post of Kinsley's video.

Many users on social media are bashing Kinsley’s performance saying hurtful things, but some social media users are coming to Kinsley's defense and calling her passion for the national anthem patriotic.

"I watched that video and seeing all of the disgusting comments, all the hatred, all the bully comments to that girl is absolutely atrocious," a user that goes by Midnight Michaelson on TikTok said. "I would like to see everybody come on here now and tell you how sorry I am and how apologetic you are for attacking this little girl."

Michaelson says her determination to continue to perform should be applauded.

"They saw something in her face they saw something in her heart they saw that that little girl had more love for this country," Michaelson said.

Other TikTok users wanted to join in on Kinsley's performance. Dr. Rod Vester, a pianist, played while Kinsley sang in his post.

Another user says that the national anthem is a very hard song to sing and even professionals have a have trouble belting out the song.

"The United States national anthem is a very difficult song to sing. You have to have a big voice you have to have a big strong voice, over two octaves, at least. If you hit the higher note, even more." said North Omaha Cat Lady in a post. "We've seen professional musicians absolutely fall flat trying to sing the national anthem."