Ingrid Andress Slays National Anthem as She Returns to the Stage After Drunk Debacle [Watch]

Ingrid Andress is back!

The country singer returned to the stage on Friday night (Feb. 28) for her first public performance since she butchered the national anthem in an admittedly drunk performance at the 2024 MLB Home Run Derby in July of 2024.

Andress didn't just get back out there ... almost incredibly, she chose to take on the very song that caused her a large dose of public humiliation, performing "The Star-Spangled Banner" before a Colorado Avalanche hockey game on Friday evening.

Andress is confident and sure-footed in a video clip she posted to Instagram, marking her first social media post since the debacle that caused her to head to rehab in 2024.

She handles both the lowest and the highest notes in the notoriously difficult song with aplomb, and the audience is with her every step of the way, bursting into cheers as she soars into the highest parts of the anthem:

It's a far cry from the off-key performance Andress gave on July 15, 2024, when she took the field after drinking too much and gave a widely lampooned rendition of the same song.

Andress was brutally honest about the incident the following day, writing, "I'm not gonna bulls--t y'all, I was drunk last night. I'm checking myself into a facility today to get the help I need. That was not me last night. I apologize to MLB, all the fans, and this country I love so much for that rendition."

That post landed on July 16, 2024, and Andress had been radio silent ever since until her surprise home-run performance on Friday night.

The singer knew she had triumphed in the performance, too. She turned to Instagram to share her performance late Friday night, writing, "We’re back baby. Thank you @coloradoavalanche."

Andress scored a huge hit with "More Hearts Than Mine" in 2019, followed by another hit with "Wishful Drinking," a duet with Sam Hunt in 2021.

She stepped out of the spotlight in 2023, and later told fans that she had been struggling personally and professionally.

"I had to part ways with some people who've helped me make a name for myself," she shared in an email to her mailing list. "It sent me into what my country America calls 'depression,' but I'm not a doctor."

Andress noted that she was "at the lowest point I've ever been," so she decided to return from Nashville to her home state of Colorado to recharge and get a new perspective.

Her disastrous performance of the anthem was her first public appearance since then, and it proved to be her last until Friday's surprise performance.

Andress has not yet announced future career plans, but based on the strength of her performance on Friday, we'd bet the farm that new music and tour dates are coming soon.

Sterling Whitaker is a Senior Writer and Senior Editor for Taste of Country. He focuses on celebrity real estate, as well as coverage of Yellowstone and related shows like 1883 and 1923. He's interviewed cast members including Cole Hauser, Kelly Reilly, Sam Elliott and Harrison Ford, and Whitaker is also known for his in-depth interviews with country legends including Don Henley, Rodney Crowell, Trace Adkins, Ronnie Milsap, Ricky Skaggs and more.