Music superstars Jazmine Sullivan, Eric Church, HER and Alicia Keys, as well as young American poet Amanda Gorman and deaf rapper Warren “WAWA” Snipe, set a lovely tone for Super Bowl Sunday when they performed passionately during the start of the pre-show in Tampa. The genre mix between country star Church and R&B diva Sullivan was especially notable, as they were the first duo to sing “The Star Spangled Banner” at the Super Bowl since Aretha Franklin and Aaron Neville in 2006 – and the impressive combination of Church blues guitar licks and Sullivan’s fiery vocals now seem so likely to go down in NFL history.
Interestingly, Church was reluctant to sing the national anthem at the big game – up until Sullivan signed. He recently confessed to Apple Music Country’s Today’s Country Radio that he always considered himself “a stylist, not a vocalist”, so when he was first invited to perform at the Super Bowl LV, he refused the idea. “I always said that: ‘I will never, ever sing the national anthem,'” he said. “I assumed – I mean, I’m not Chris Stapleton. I assumed they would never ask me. When they asked, I thought, ‘shit’, you know? “
However, after Church heard the arrangement created by Adam Blackstone, an Emmy-nominated producer who worked with Roots and Justin Timberlake and came up with the idea of putting Church and Sullivan together, he was “shocked”. Although Church was not familiar with Sullivan’s music and the two had never met, he immediately realized that Sullivan, whose fourth album Heaux Tales he is already one of the pioneers in the 2021 lists of critics, “may be the best singer” he has ever heard, and he decided that “he was not missing out on the chance to sing with her. And that was it. As soon as I heard her voice, I said, ‘OK, I’m in.’ ”(Sullivan apparently shared his duet partner’s enthusiasm, saying Entertainment Tonight, “I think it will be cool to mix the different sounds of the song and just show some unity.”) Church also described the duet as “a nervous thing we have to do”, but it ended up being a risk that paid off this Sunday.
Jazmine Sullivan and Eric Church perform the national anthem before the Super Bowl LV between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. (Photo: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports)
Earlier in the day, Sullivan’s Grammy challenged ELA, who invited Heaux Tales, also brought rock ‘n’ soul fire to Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium with a powerful and violent version of “America the Beautiful”; Alicia Keys also emotionally sang “Lift Every Voice and Sing”, a hymn widely regarded as the “National Black Anthem”, in a recorded video that originally aired last September with narration by Black Bottom by Ma Rainey actor Anthony Mackie.
The aforementioned Snipe followed Sullivan and Church’s hymn and HER’s performance, becoming an emerging star and MVP in its own right this Sunday. The 50-year-old deaf rapper, who refers to his genre as “dip-hop”, instantly became a trend on Twitter thanks to his high energy and sense of joy.
Overall, however, Sunday’s Super Bowl LV pre-show – taking place in an almost two-thirds empty stadium, with 7,500 vaccinated frontline health professionals attending for free – was a gloomy but hopeful event. In a video message, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden called for “a moment of silence for the more than 440,000 Americans who lost their lives in this pandemic and for their loved ones they left behind”. So Amanda Gorman – the first award-winning poet in the United States, who almost overshadowed two actresses from the Super Bowl halftime show, Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez, in last month’s presidential inauguration – continued to make history as the first poet to perform during a Super Bowl.
Gorman’s brief but beautiful poem was a tribute to the game’s three honorary captains: Los Angeles educator Trimaine Davis, Florida managing nurse Suzie Dorner and Pittsburgh Navy veteran James Martin. “They took the lead, overcoming all expectations and limitations, elevating their communities and nations as leaders, healers and educators. (…) We will walk with these warriors, advance with these champions and carry on the call of our captains. We celebrate them by acting with courage and compassion, doing what is right and just, because while we honor them today, they are the ones who honor us every day, ”said Gorman.
The Super Bowl LV game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with the break’s main show, Weeknd, took place on Sunday, February 7, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.
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