Nenshi sings Frozen's Let It Go in Calgary chambers after losing playoff bet
Mayor pays up with Disney song after Flames go down to the Ducks in Round 2
Naheed Nenshi wore a Ducks jersey in council chambers Monday while he sang a Disney song in order to pay off his debt to the mayor of Anaheim.
Calgary's mayor also donated to an Anaheim youth program called Accelerate Change Together and sang Let It Go from every parent's favourite movie Frozen.
Nenshi said he was "terrified, absolutely panicked" in the lead up to his performance.
"It may surprise you, or maybe not since we couldn't seem to get the lyrics right, to know there was not a lot of rehearsal. In fact, when I got here this morning I was hoping to do one run through and I got to my second of three solos when I suddenly realized I had to come in and bang the gavel."
Nenshi had been tight-lipped on what citizens could expect when he stood in the chambers to belt out his tune, but he had hinted earlier that "it takes a community to embarrass a mayor."
Turns out, he brought in some ringers. The professional a cappella quartet the Heebee-jeebees, old friends of the mayor, helped Nenshi perform the song along with youth singers and even members of the Calgary Stampede Showband.
Change in plans
The original plan was to have Anaheim's mayor sing Alberta Bound if the Flames won, and Nenshi sing California Dreamin' if the Ducks prevailed.
However, Calgary's mayor was double-crossed by a Disney-loving assistant who figured Let It Go was a better choice. It's a touch more technical than a simple rendition of the classic by The Mamas and the Papas.
The mayor says he learned a valuable lesson from this high-stakes wager.
"The Flames should win, I think is what I've learned," he said.
It's fair to say it's one of the most important civic issues of the day, but there are some other issues on the agenda if you want to get all policy wonk about it.