Backstreet Boys to Sing National Anthem at Super Bowl

The Backstreet Boys have been tapped to sing the national anthem as part of the pre-game ceremonies at Super Bowl XXXV on Jan. 28, the National Football League announced today.

The upcoming Super Bowl will be the first ever with two songs performed prior to the first quarter. Ray Charles will also make an appearance at the game, singing "America the Beautiful" before the boys offer their rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner."

"We are thrilled to have the Backstreet Boys perform the national anthem and Ray Charles sing 'America the Beautiful' on Super Sunday," said NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue. "The Backstreet Boys and Ray Charles' popularity and great musical talents are recognized across the country and around the world, and we are pleased that they will be part of our Super Bowl XXXV lineup."

The soundtrack to the BSB's "The Star Spangled Banner" will be produced by Rickey Minor, who produced Whitney Houston's version of the song ten years ago at the Super Bowl, also in Tampa, Fla.

CBS will air Super Bowl XXXV, and the pre-game entertainment, live. The game is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. (EST).

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Song Stories

“The A Team”

Ed Sheeran | 2011

This debut track from the then-20-year-old British singer-songwriter has a dark story behind it. Sheeran says he culls songwriting inspiration from "viewing other people's situations," which, for the heroine in "The A Team," involves drug addiction and prostitution that began as a teen. Sheeran paints the woman's trials with haunting imagery such as "But lately her face seems/Slowly sinking, wasting/Crumbling like pastries." "I did a gig at a homeless shelter, [and the song] is about one of the women there. It's her story," he said.

More Song Stories entries »

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