10 Country Stars Have Been Honored To Sing The National Anthem At The Super Bowl
The first country artist to ever sing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl did so in 1974. Do you remember that performance?
Over the course of history, ten country artists have performed the National Anthem before the Super Bowl. Relive all of those performances by looking through our list below!
1. Charley Pride: Super Bowl VIII (1974)
A little over a year after snagging the award for CMA Male Vocalist of the year, Charley Pride became the first-ever solo artist, as well as the first country artist, to ever perform the National Anthem at the Super Bowl. Accompanied by the Del Rio High School JROTC Color Guard, Pride also sang “America the Beautiful” prior to the game.
The 1974 Super Bowl wasn’t the last time that Pride would be invited to perform the National Anthem for a major sporting event. Some of his most notable performances were at the 1980 and 2010 World Series games.
2. Garth Brooks: Super Bowl XXVII (1993)
Garth Brooks literally changed the course of history when he became the second country artist to perform the National Anthem at the Super Bowl. According to reports, Brooks walked out shortly before his performance. The reason why? He supposedly wanted to debut the video for his song “We Shall Be Free” during the broadcast, but his request was denied.
Allegedly, Brooks left the stadium with only 45 minutes left until kickoff. Eventually, the game delayed to show Brooks’ video and he performed the National Anthem as planned.
Due to all of this, the Super Bowl changed the way it did the National Anthem. From 1993 on, all National Anthem performances have been pre-recorded.
3. Faith Hill: Super Bowl XXXIV (2000)
Faith Hill sings the National Anthem at the Super Bowl in 2000. (Photo Credit: Doug Pensinger / Staff / Getty Images)
Faith Hill was still riding on the success of her number one single, “Breathe,” when she performed the National Anthem for the Super Bowl in 2000. Her rendition of the National Anthem has appeared on many “bests” lists pertaining to the Super Bowl in the years since.
But Hill’s connection to football doesn’t end there. In 2007, she became the voice of the NFL on NBC’s Sunday Night Football. Until 2013, Hill sang the theme song for Sunday Night Football in a series of commercials and promotional clips. Hill returned to the Super Bowl in 2009, where she sang “America the Beautiful” before the game.
4. The Chicks: Super Bowl XXXVII (2003)
Only one country group has ever performed the National Anthem at the Super Bowl. That group is the The Chicks, who performed during the 2003 Super Bowl in San Diego, California.
The Chicks’ rendition of the National Anthem has also found its way onto many Super Bowl “bests” lists, including one written by The New York Daily News‘ Jim Farber. He ranked the Chicks’ performance at the third spot on his list, praising them for their “fine three-part harmonies.”
5. Carrie Underwood: Super Bowl XLIV (2010)
Carrie Underwood sings the National Anthem at the Super Bowl in 2010. (Photo Credit: Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic / Getty Images)
Carrie Underwood is one of the most recent country artists to perform the National Anthem at the Super Bowl. She received great praise for doing her performance a cappella, which helped her version land on many “bests” lists, including Farber’s.
Underwood replaced Hill as the new voice of Sunday Night Football in 2013. She has performed the theme ever since, which has gone through a few makeovers.
BONUS ANTHEM – Kelly Clarkson: Super Bowl XLVI (2012)
Kelly Clarkson sings the National Anthem at the Super Bowl in 2012.(Photo Credit: Kelly Clarkson Spain / YouTube)
Kelly Clarkson is not a country artist by definition. But she’s often collaborated with country singers and is a dear friend of the community. So we wanted to shine a spotlight on her outstanding rendition of the National Anthem from Super Bowl XLVI in 2012.
As to be expected, Clarkson delivered a powerful version of the anthem that left people in awe. She was joined by the Indianapolis Children’s Choir for the performance.
One video of Clarkson’s Anthem performance has over two million views on YouTube.
6. Luke Bryan: Super Bowl LI (2017)
Luke Bryan got the chance to perform the National Anthem at the Super Bowl in 2017. He announced the news on social media and also spoke about it with various media outlets. In an interview with People, he shared his reaction to being asked to perform. “I said, ‘Hell yes, I’ll do it!’ ” he said.
Like Underwood, Bryan opted to perform the National Anthem a cappella.
7. Eric Church – Super Bowl LV (2021)
Eric Church joined forces with R&B artist Jazmine Sullivan to perform a duet version of the National Anthem at the Super Bowl in 2021. Each artist initially took turns singing solo while Church backed them up on his electric guitar.
They eventually started singing together and continued to do so throughout the rest of the song. You can watch their performance above.
8. Mickey Guyton – Super Bowl LVI (2022)
Mickey Guyton delivered a stunning rendition of the National Anthem prior to the Super Bowl in 2022. She earned tons of praise for her performance, which she delivered a cappella.
Guyton said she was “so honored and grateful” to have the opportunity to sing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl.
9. Chris Stapleton – Super Bowl LVII (2023)
Chris Stapleton delivered what is arguably one of the greatest National Anthem performances of all time at Super Bowl LVII in 2023. His rendition was so powerful, the Philadelphia Eagles’ head coach Nick Sirianni was caught crying during the performance.
Stapleton strengthened his connection to the football community when ESPN tapped him to perform a new theme for Monday Night Football in 2024.
10. Reba McEntire – Super Bowl LVIII (2024)
Reba McEntire became the tenth country star to perform the National Anthem before the Super Bowl. She sang prior to the matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers in 2024.
McEntire delivered a soaring performance that fans and players praised. Much like Stapleton, she brought people to tears with her performance.
McEntire followed in the footsteps of some incredible past Super Bowl performers!
