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Before the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs battled it out for the NFL championship at Sunday's Super Bowl, country superstar Chris Stapleton graced the Glendale, Arizona turf for a soulful, stripped-back rendition of the US national anthem.
Anytime ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ rings out, it intensifies the level of emotion and passion across the stadium.
But as Stapleton wrapped his heartfelt, honeyed vocals around the national anthem, he brought an added sense of gravitas fitting for the special occasion. Stapleton's moving version of The Star-Spangled Banner even provoked tears from Eagles coach, Nick Sirianni.
Accompanied solely by Stapleton's acoustic guitar, the anthem served as a welcome moment of quiet reflection, in amongst the histrionics and fireworks traditionally associated with the Super Bowl.
Stapleton joins a stellar cast of past country music performers. In 2022, Mickey Guyton did the honours, while ‘The Chief’, Eric Church, delivered a rousing rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner alongside Jazmine Sullivan in 2021.
Garth Brooks also famously performed the national anthem in 1993 - despite threatening to walk out shortly before the game.
Stapleton was joined by other musical guests, such as Babyface and Sheryl Lee Ralph, for the pre-game suite of performances.
Guyton's moving, gospel-infused performance last year certainly left Chris Stapleton with big shoes to fill.
However, with his instantly recognisable vocals, the Kentucky native's Super Bowl anthem was championed by fans and fellow artists alike as one of the all-time greats.
For more on Chris Stapleton, see below:
