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Rene Marie's surprise "switcheroo" at Mayor John Hickenlooper's State of the City address Tuesday left some bewildered when she sang the words to "Lift Every Voice and Sing." Later, City Council President Michael Hancock, who served as the master of ceremonies and introduced Marie, said he'd received "quite a lot" of hate mail and nasty e-mails, The Rocky Mountain Times reported Wednesday.

Hickenlooper tried to downplay the incident.

"She blended the two songs together", Hickenlooper said. "She was trying to make an artistic expression of her love for the country. She did not intend to make a political statement or anything."

But Marie told The Denver Post that she will no longer sing the national anthem and decided months ago to switch the lyrics because as an African-American she often feels like a foreigner in her own country.

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