The National Anthem will get a country twist at this year’s Super Bowl thanks to Chris Stapleton. The “Starting Over” singer is among the acts revealed for the pre-game segment of Super Bowl LVII, which will take place on Feb. 12 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
In addition to Stapleton singing “The Star-Spangled Banner,” R&B legend Babyface will do the honors on “America the Beautiful” and actress/singer Sheryl Lee Ralph will sing the Black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
Country singer Mickey Guyton sang the Anthem last year, with Jhené Aiko taking on “America the Beautiful” and gospel duo Mary Mary singing “Life Every Voice” with the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles.
The just-announced trio join a roster of A-list names on tap for 2023’s championship game, including Rihanna, who will be headlining the halftime show being produced by DPS with Rock Nation.
RihRih previewed her performance in a new 30-second spot earlier this month, in which she twirled and snaked to a montage of broadcasters commenting on her lengthy absence from the spotlight. As the voices overlap and form a cacophony there is a dramatic pause and Rihanna gets her close-up as she stares down the barrel of the camera and gives universal sign for “shush.”
The promo closes out with a snippet of “Needed Me,” lifted from the singer’s eighth studio album, Anti — a possible nod to her setlist for the newly rebranded Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show.
This year’s SB showdown will be decided next weekend when the Philadelphia Eagles play the San Francisco 49ers at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday (Jan. 29), followed by the Cincinnati Bengals tackling the Kansas City Chiefs at 6:30 p.m. ET.
