Reba McEntire was hit with some criticism yesterday (Image: GETTY)

NBC’s annual Christmas in Rockefeller Center broadcast attracted a substantial audience on Wednesday night, but the tree lighting ceremony wasn’t the only thing that captured viewers’ focus.

Audiences were taken aback by something unexpected when the event’s host consistently mispronounced singer Laufey’s name.

Throughout the live broadcast in Midtown Manhattan, host Reba McEntire introduced Laufey, 26, but appeared to have difficulty with the pronunciation of her name.

Each time she said the name during the program, it sounded slightly different, and the gaffe didn’t escape the notice of home viewers.

Social media users were quick to highlight the moment, discovering the correct pronunciation in the process.

Reba McEntire mispronounced Laufey’s name (Image: undefined)

“Watching the tree lighting and I never would have guessed that’s how you pronounce Laufey,” one viewer commented.

Another questioned, “That’s how you say Laufey???”.

“Reba fighting for her life trying to pronounce ‘Laufey’ correctly during the Christmas Tree Lighting is cracking me up,” remarked another.

Laufey has been taking thje world by storm in recent years (Image: GETTY)

A third observer noted, “Listening to Reba pronounce Laufey’s name a different way each time she has to pronounce it.”

Laufey, who hails from Iceland and whose name is pronounced “Lay-vay,” has encountered this confusion previously.

In a 2023 interview on the Zach Sang Show, she clarified, “It’s a common Icelandic female name, actually, but you know it’s two vowels that just don’t exist in English. The English version is ‘Lay-vay.’”

She further explained that the name has roots in Norse mythology, as it is the moniker of Loki’s mother.

Laufey has been gradually amassing a worldwide fan base with her distinctive jazz-pop sound. A former cello soloist with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, she first caught attention in talent competitions before kick-starting her music career.

Her debut EP, “Typical of Me,” was released in 2021.

She then released Bewitched, her second full-length album, which bagged her a Grammy in 2024 for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. Its lead single, From the Start, solidified her position as one of the genre’s emerging voices.

Since then, she has made appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and The Kelly Clarkson Show, where she once tutored Clarkson on how to pronounce both her name and Björk’s.

In August 2025, she confessed to The Guardian that fame came quickly after her Grammy win. “I was a little bit scared. I had a more shocking kind of success than I thought I would ever have,” she admitted.

“It got a bit hard for me to keep up mentally.”

The NBC broadcast also showcased performances by Gwen Stefani, Marc Anthony, Michael Bublé, Kristin Chenoweth, Brad Paisley, Carly Pearce, New Edition, Halle Bailey, and the Rockettes.

This news follows the resurfacing of Melania Trump’s surprising 8-word grievance about Christmas at the White House.