Watch Singer's Controversial 'God Bless America' Performance at the SF Giants' Game

If you are going to wear a model of San Francisco on your hat while singing "God Bless America" before a national TV audience, you'd better perform flawlessly.

Misa Malone learned that lesson on Sunday when a moment's hesitation in her rendition of the Irving Berlin tune during a San Francisco Giants National League Championship Series game against the St. Louis Cardinals sent ripples of derision through the Twitterverse.

Appearing during the seventh inning stretch, Malone sported a hat in the style of those she wears as a cast member of the long-running, over-the-top musical revue Beach Blanket Babylon.

Listen closely around the 40th second as the camera leaves Malone's face, and you'll hear her stammer:

It was a touch of San Francisco irreverence that many viewers didn't appreciate.https://twitter.com/k_aubuchon/status/260198248789209089

But not everyone panned the performance.

Malone's rendition could provide more fodder in a debate over the decision by many baseball teams in the wake of the the 9/11 terrorist attack to offer "God Bless America" in place of the traditional seventh-inning stretch "Take Me Out to the Ball Game."

Of course it's not the first time a song at a ball game has sparked criticism. There was the time The Fray tried a hip version of the Star Spangled Banner.

Christian Aguilera also got angry comments when she forgot some words of the national anthem.

And of course, there was Roseanne Barr's famous screeching performance at a 1990 San Diego Padre's game.

In fact, there are so many bad performances of "The Star Spangled Banner" that Time magazine has made a list.

No word yet on whether the magazine has started a file for "God Bless America" flubs. It's a little harder to mess up, though, considering it fits more comfortably within a standard vocal range and most performers skip the first 37 of the song's 84 words.

Then again, singing while wearing a city can't be easy, no matter what the song.