--- ---  # Gifted Seven-Year-Old Goes Viral for Demonstrating How the National Anthem Is Done by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Sep 24, 2018 3:22 PM UTC  Fireworks are set off during the National Anthem before the LA Galaxy game against Real Salt Lake at StubHub Center on June 9, 2018 in Carson, California. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images) Fireworks are set off during the National Anthem before the LA Galaxy game against Real Salt Lake at StubHub Center on June 9, 2018 in Carson, California. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)Meg Oliphant—Getty Images by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Sep 24, 2018 3:22 PM UTC The [national anthem](http://time.com/5391018/nfl-national-anthem-2018-season/) of the United States is [not an easy song](http://time.com/2872180/worst-national-anthem-star-spangled-banner/) to perform—unless you’re a seven-year old with an incredible talent. Before the L.A. Galaxy faced off against the Seattle Sounders, Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja, a 7-year-old singer, stepped onto the grass at the StubHub Center in Los Angeles. She proceeded to belt out “[The Star-Spangled Banner](http://time.com/4958174/national-anthem-lyrics/)” in front of a packed crowd of Major League Soccer fans, like it was the easiest thing in the world. The performance was so remarkable that not only did the L.A. Galaxy [describe](https://twitter.com/LAGalaxy/status/1044024920093515776) it as “one of the best national anthem performances in StubHub Center\[‘s\] history,” but she managed to get [soccer](http://time.com/5335799/soccer-word-origin-england/) superstar Zlatan Ibrahimović to cheer for _her_ _._ According[ to the MLS website](https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2018/09/23/7-year-old-belts-out-star-spangled-banner-la-galaxy-match), the small but mighty singer had to fight for her chance to sing the anthem, entering the soccer team’s #GalaxySocial Day Instagram Anthem contest where she resoundingly beat “many other applicants for the right to sing the anthem.” Her victory must have inspired the team, the Galaxy beat the Sounders 3 to 0 in the match. > [](https://twitter.com/MaleaEmma/status/1043976987512131584) Gifted Seven-Year-Old Shows How the National Anthem Is Done ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5404520/malea-emma-tjandrawidjaja-national-anthem/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5404520/malea-emma-tjandrawidjaja-national-anthem/"},"headline":"Gifted Seven-Year-Old Goes Viral for Demonstrating How the National Anthem Is Done","datePublished":"2018-09-24T15:22:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:55:02.249Z","description":"The performance was so good, she got soccer star Zlatan Ibrahimović to cheer for her","url":"https://time.com/5404520/malea-emma-tjandrawidjaja-national-anthem/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","Soccer","National Anthem","Sports"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltffb5de50a556cd74/69893afc22fb85427de26bd5/lagalaxynationalanthem.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltffb5de50a556cd74/69893afc22fb85427de26bd5/lagalaxynationalanthem.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Real Salt Lake v Los Angeles Galaxy","caption":"Los Angeles Galaxy national anthem","creditText":"Meg Oliphant—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5404520/malea-emma-tjandrawidjaja-national-anthem/","name":"Gifted Seven-Year-Old Goes Viral for Demonstrating How the National Anthem Is Done"}}]}] ```