Chris Stapleton Is Singing the National Anthem at Super Bowl LVII
Before the NFL’s top teams kick off at Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12 in Glendale, Arizona, country singer extraordinaire Chris Stapleton will handle the sometimes daunting tradition of singing the national anthem.
Stapleton follows a handful of country singers to get the honor of singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” for football’s biggest night. In 2022, Mickey Guyton gave a stirring, gospel-inflected rendition. A year earlier, superstar Eric Church was joined by R&B singer Jazmine Sullivan, then enjoying the breakout success of her album Heaux Tales. Several more country artists have performed the anthem since 2000: Faith Hill (2000), the Chicks (2003), Carrie Underwood (2010), and Luke Bryan (2017).
Stapleton was named the 2022 CMA Male Vocalist of the Year back in November, but also claimed the night’s standout performance with his haunting rendition of “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive” with Patty Loveless. In May, he’ll kick off a brief stadium tour where he shares billing with the formerly retired-from-touring country giant George Strait.
In addition to Stapleton, other pre-game performances at Super Bowl LVII will include Babyface singing “America the Beautiful.” The R&B singer-producer has had a hand in 44 Number One over the course of his career and most recently released his collaborative album Girls Night Out in October 2022. Tony Award-nominated actress Sheryl Lee Ralph, who currently stars in ABC’s Abbott Elementary, will give a rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
It was announced last September that Rihanna would be performing the game’s signature halftime show. The Barbados-born pop star and entrepreneur released her first new music in nearly seven years in October, dropping “Lift Me Up” from the Wakanda Forever soundtrack.
