List of national anthem performers at the Super Bowl

The following is a list of performers who have performed the U.S. national anthem at the Super Bowl.

"The Star-Spangled Banner" has been performed at every Super Bowl except for XI, when Vikki Carr sang "America the Beautiful" instead. In some recent years, the national anthem has been preceded by "America the Beautiful," and in very early years, the Pledge of Allegiance.

Whitney Houston's performance at Super Bowl XXV in 1991, during the Gulf War, is largely regarded as one of the best renditions of the U.S. national anthem in history. The performance was released as a single on February 12, 1991, appeared on the album Whitney: The Greatest Hits, and was re-released as a single shortly after 9/11.

Faith Hill's XXXIV rendition proved popular in country radio. Following 9/11, her version entered the Country singles chart at number 35, despite not being released as an official single. It re-entered the same chart at number 49 in July 2002, and enjoys recurrent since then.

Performer list

Source: http://www.nfl.com/superbowl/history/entertainment

Super Bowl	Year	Venue	Performer(s)
I	1967	Los Angeles Coliseum	University of Arizona & University of Michigan Marching Bands
II	1968	Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida	Grambling State University Marching Band
III	1969	Orange Bowl, Miami	Anita Bryant
IV	1970	Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, Louisiana	Al Hirt
V	1971	Orange Bowl, Miami	Tommy Loy (Trumpeter)
VI	1972	Tulane Stadium, New Orleans	U.S. Air Force Academy Chorale
VII	1973	L.A. Coliseum	Little Angels (Children's Choir) of Chicago's Holy Angels Church
VIII	1974	Rice Stadium, Houston	Charley Pride
IX	1975	Tulane Stadium, New Orleans	Grambling State University Marching Band (2)
X	1976	Orange Bowl, Miami	Tom Sullivan
XI	1977	Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California	None (Vikki Carr sang “America the Beautiful”)
XII	1978	Superdome, New Orleans	Phyllis Kelly of Northeast Louisiana University
XIII	1979	Orange Bowl, Miami	The Colgate Thirteen
XIV	1980	Rose Bowl, Pasadena	Cheryl Ladd
XV	1981	Superdome, New Orleans	Helen O'Connell
XVI	1982	Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan	Diana Ross
XVII	1983	Rose Bowl, Pasadena	Leslie Easterbrook
XVIII	1984	Tampa Stadium, Tampa, Florida	Barry Manilow
XIX	1985	Stanford Stadium, Stanford, California	San Francisco Boys Chorus and San Francisco Girls Chorus
XX	1986	Superdome, New Orleans	Wynton Marsalis
XXI	1987	Rose Bowl, Pasadena	Neil Diamond
XXII	1988	Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, California	Herb Alpert (trumpet, to date last instrumental performance at the Super Bowl)
XXIII	1989	Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami	Billy Joel
XXIV	1990	Superdome, New Orleans	Aaron Neville
XXV	1991	Tampa Stadium, Tampa	Whitney Houston along with The Florida Orchestra directed by Jahja Ling
XXVI	1992	Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota	Harry Connick, Jr. American Sign Language (ASL) performed by Lori Hilary
XXVII	1993	Rose Bowl, Pasadena	Garth Brooks ASL performed by Marlee Matlin
XXVIII	1994	Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia	Natalie Cole ASL performed by Atlanta Falcons cheerleader Courtney Keel Foley
XXIX	1995	Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami	Kathie Lee Gifford ASL performed by Miss America Heather Whitestone
XXX	1996	Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona	Vanessa L. Williams ASL performed by Mary Kim Titla
XXXI	1997	Superdome, New Orleans	Luther Vandross ASL performed by Erika Rachael Schwarz (Miss Louisiana 1996)
XXXII	1998	Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego	Jewel ASL performed by Phyllis Frelich
XXXIII	1999	Pro Player Stadium, Miami	Cher ASL performed by Speaking Hands
XXXIV	2000	Georgia Dome, Atlanta	Faith Hill ASL performed by Briarlake Elementary School Singing Choir
XXXV	2001	Raymond James Stadium, Tampa	Backstreet Boys ASL performed by Tom Cooney
XXXVI	2002	Superdome, New Orleans	Mariah Carey ASL performed by New Orleans Police Officer Joe Narcisse
XXXVII	2003	Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego	Dixie Chicks ASL performed by Janet Maxwell
XXXVIII	2004	Reliant Stadium, Houston	Beyoncé Knowles ASL performed by Suzanna Christy
XXXIX	2005	ALLTEL Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida	Combined choirs of the U.S. Military Academy, the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Air Force Academy (2), and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and U.S. Army Herald Trumpets. ASL performed by Wesley Tallent
XL	2006	Ford Field, Detroit	Aaron Neville (2) and Aretha Franklin, Piano accompaniment by Dr. John, ASL performed by Angela LaGuardia
XLI	2007	Dolphin Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida	Billy Joel (2) ASL performed by Marlee Matlin (2)
XLII	2008	University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona	Jordin Sparks ASL performed by A Dreamer (of Phoenix College)
XLIII	2009	Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida	Jennifer Hudson ASL performed by Kristen Santos
XLIV	2010	Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens	Carrie Underwood ASL performed by Kinesha Battles
XLV	2011	Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas	Christina Aguilera ASL performed by Candice Villesca
XLVI	2012	Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana	Kelly Clarkson ASL performed by Rachel Mazique
XLVII	2013	Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana	Alicia Keys ASL performed by John Maucere

Noteworthy

Five performers have rendered the national anthem at two Super Bowls:

• Grambling State University Marching Band (II & IX)
• United States Air Force Academy Chorale (VI & XXXIX)
• Aaron Neville (XXIV & XL)
• Billy Joel (XXIII & XLI)
• Marlee Matlin, ASL rendition (XXVII & XLI)

Performers who had previously performed the national anthem in their hometown area:

• Anita Bryant (Miami, where she lived at the time)
• Aretha Franklin (Detroit)
• Al Hirt (New Orleans)
• Aaron Neville (New Orleans)
• Beyoncé Knowles (Houston)
• Jordin Sparks (Phoenix-area)
• Diana Ross (Detroit-area)
• Piedmont Children's Choir, San Francisco Boys Chorus & San Francisco Girls Chorus (Stanford, California, which is in the San Francisco Bay Area)
• Grambling State University Marching Band at Super Bowl IX (New Orleans; Grambling is located in northern Louisiana)

Controversies

Just days after Super Bowl XXV, a report surfaced that Whitney Houston lip synced her performance. It was confirmed that she was actually singing into a dead mic, but the performance heard in the stadium and on television was prerecorded. The disclosure, however, did not tarnish the performance's critical praise.^{[citation needed]}

Since 1993, the NFL has required performers to supply a backup track. This came after Garth Brooks walked out of the stadium prior to his XXVII performance. Only 45 minutes before kickoff, he refused to take the stage, due to a dispute with NBC. Brooks requested that the network premiere his new music video "We Shall Be Free" during the pregame. The network chose not to air the video, due to content some felt was disturbing imagery. Brooks had also refused to pre-record the anthem, which meant the league had nothing to play if he left. Television producers spotted Jon Bon Jovi in the grandstands, and were prepared to use him as a replacement. After last-minute negotiations, NBC agreed to air a clip of the video during the broadcast of the game, and Brooks was coaxed back into the stadium and sang.

Following the "Wardrobe Malfunction" controversy during Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004, all scheduled performers for Super Bowl XXXIX were chosen under heavy scrutiny. Game organizers decided not to use a popular music vocalist. The combined choirs of the U.S. Military Academy, the Naval Academy, Air Force Academy, Coast Guard Academy, and the U.S. Army Herald Trumpets were invited to perform. This was the first time since the second inauguration of President Richard Nixon in 1973 that all four service academies sang together.

Two days after Super Bowl XLIII, it was revealed that Jennifer Hudson also had lip synced. The revelation garnered little criticism.

At the beginning of Super Bowl XLV, Christina Aguilera sang the lyrics incorrectly. Instead of singing "O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming", the pop star sang "What so proudly we watched at the twilight's last gleaming". According to the New York Times, she also changed "gleaming" to "reaming".

Other patriotic performances

The following Super Bowls have also featured other patriotic performances besides the National Anthem:

Pledge of Allegiance

• 1969: Apollo 8 crew (who were honored during a pregame tribute)
• 1970: Apollo Astronauts (This was the Super Bowl following the Apollo 11 landing)
• 1973: Apollo 17 crew (who were honored during a pregame tribute)

"America the Beautiful"

• 1977: Vikki Carr (in place of the national anthem)
• 2001: Ray Charles
• 2002: Mary J. Blige, Marc Anthony and the Boston Pops Orchestra (this was the first Super Bowl following the September 11 terrorist attacks)
• 2005: Alicia Keys and a video of Ray Charles, as a tribute (this was the first Super Bowl following his death).
• 2009: Faith Hill
• 2010: Queen Latifah
• 2011: Lea Michele
• 2012: Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert
• 2013: Jennifer Hudson with the Sandy Hook Elementary School chorus

"God Bless America"

• 2003: Celine Dion

See also

• Super Bowl
• Super Bowl halftime shows