Super Bowl LVIII will be kicking off on Sunday, February 11, and besides the game, one big highlight everyone will be checking in on is the singing of the national anthem. Tasked this year with that duty is Reba McEntire, often styled the Queen of Country.
“The Star-Spangled Banner” was first brought to Super Bowl games in 1967 and has been sung at every game except one. That exception was in 1977 when Vikki Carr sang “America the Beautiful,” though that song, too, will be present this year, the NFL revealed, as the organization announced its entertainment lineup for the big game. Here’s what to look forward to on Super Bowl Sunday.
On Thursday, the NFL confirmed who will be performing what on Super Bowl Sunday next month. While McEntire will sing the national anthem, Post Malone will perform “America the Beautiful” and Andra Day will sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Meanwhile, R&B star Usher will cover the halftime show.
CBS will broadcast the game at 6:30 p.m. ET, which takes place this year at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The NFL shared the announcement to its social media pages and already fans of all artists are excited for the big day. McEntire fans are particularly excited, with one confidently gushing, “@reba is going to SLAY the national Anthem.” Another vowed, “Will watch this Super Bowl just to hear Reba and get goosebumps.” But how does McEntire feel about playing on this kind of turf?
McEntire has performed the national anthem at big events in the past, though this will be her very first time doing so at the Super Bowl. Her first time came in 1974 for the National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma. “I sang the national anthem there for 10 years,” she told CBS News. She explained her preparation process as being “like you do a concert: Sing it about five or six times, and get in there and do it.”
With this in mind, she is excited and ready to perform the anthem at this new venue. “I’m honored to be part of something as big and historic as the Super Bowl coming to Las Vegas for the first time,” she announced on Twitter, celebrating the big news.
If there was room for any doubt, it was her partner Rex Linn who dispelled them all. McEntire shared how she was told about the opportunity by her manager. “He said that they wanted me to sing the national anthem at the Super Bowl, and I said ‘Oh my gosh. Well, let me think about that,'” she shared, “And Rex Linn, my boyfriend, who is a huge football fan, he said, ‘Yes, she’ll do it. Absolutely.’ So that’s where we’re at.”
Will you be tuning in this February?
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