Who is Nicole Raviv? Islanders fans help singer finish national anthem after mic trouble
Songstress Nicole Raviv, a regular opening act at Islanders games, brought the chills on Wednesday night, June 9, as she invited the sellout crowd of nearly 14,000 fans inside Nassau Coliseum to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” ahead of Game 6 of the Isles-Bruins series, which saw New York win 6-2 over the Bruins.
Raviv's performance went viral on social media. The Montreal-born singer-songwriter wasn't expecting the attention it drew, but she said she could understand why. "Did I expect it? No,’’ Raviv told Newsday on Thursday, June 10. "But feeling what happened in the moment, it felt like something truly special. It felt like a moment that belonged to everyone, so everyone sharing it is… appropriate. Because everyone felt it.’’ After the game, which saw the Islanders advance to the Stanley Cup semifinals, Raviv wrote on Twitter, "My heart is full. The coliseum will forever have the best backup singers in the #NHL. #LGI.’’
My heart is full. The coliseum will forever have the best backup singers in the #NHL.#LGI pic.twitter.com/iOj0KqI3YL
— Nicole Raviv (@thenicoleraviv) June 10, 2021
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"I definitely felt larger than life,’’ she told the outlet on Thursday. "It feels like a memory of a lifetime. It was just a beautiful moment for me as a singer to sing with the Islanders fans, with everyone else in the building. Not everyone gets to experience something like that, especially after a worldwide pandemic where we didn't know when crowds would come back. And last season's playoffs ended virtually, and they were in a bubble with no fans, so really this was the first time I was able to experience something like that. And it really just felt magical.’’
Who is Nicole Raviv?
Raviv was born in Montreal to a Romanian mother and a Moroccan father who emigrated to Canada from Israel. Nine years ago, she moved to New York to pursue music and theater, and went on to graduate from The New School with a degree in musical theatre.
Raviv is an independent recording artist and does vocals for live bands. She began singing the national anthem at professional sporting events, and was invited to sing the anthem at Islanders games at the 2019-20 season. Raviv was performing the Star-Spangled Banner at Game 4 Saturday night when her microphone failed. However, fans at the Coliseum jumped in to help her finish, Newsday reported.
#isles fans are heroes. This is more anthem footage from the most memorable performance. Gona miss this barn… pic.twitter.com/XoN1mUvO1D
— Nicole Raviv (@thenicoleraviv) June 7, 2021
"The crowd came to the rescue,’’ she told the outlet of Saturday’s game. "The fans, they sang with me. And we just kept going together. And as soon as we fixed the technical problem, and you were able to hear me again, everyone even sang louder, and we all really sang it together as a full arena. And so, you know, seeing how that was so great, we thought it would be even greater to continue the tradition and to have the [Game 6 anthem], to make it about everyone.’’ And when she saw the crowd chime in with her in Game 6, Raviv pulled the mic away from herself and extended it out to the crowds, letting the fans in the building take over the performance.
Nicole Raviv was having some mic trouble. Luckily she had some backup #Isles pic.twitter.com/SaMh5AAvHM
— Brian Compton (@BComptonNHL) June 5, 2021
"I thought that it would be something everyone would appreciate, and they did,’’ she said. "And I really just felt the crowd. It's something that happens in the moment. Yeah, we just wanted them to drive the anthem and build momentum.’’
Raviv told Newsday she was grateful to the Islanders for having her as their anthem singer.