Country artist Chris Stapleton gave a moving rendition of the national anthem to open Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12 that brought players, coaches and fans to tears.
Wearing all black, Stapleton performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” to kick off the game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs. Just over a minute into his performance, the cameras showed Nick Sirianni, head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, with tears in his eyes. Some players, including Jason Kelce, were also shown getting emotional during the song.
Here’s a post from NBC Sports capturing these moments for posterity:
.@Eagles coach Nick Sirianni and lineman Jason Kelce got emotional during Chris Stapleton's National Anthem.
pic.twitter.com/IVuhIH0KWr
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) February 12, 2023
Fans at home were brought to tears as well. Many took to Twitter to share how much they loved the performance. Here’s a post from @SymbioticEgo, calling the song “heartfelt” and “beautiful.”
Not too many things make me cry, but Chris Stapleton's rendition brought me to tears, it was so heartfelt! Beautiful!
— JustAnother Person (@SymbioticEgo) February 13, 2023
One fan posted that they don’t even live in the United States and Stapleton’s version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” still made them cry.
Only Chris Stapleton could have me crying to the national anthem of a country I don’t even live in
— maddie (@maddiecorinne13) February 13, 2023
Troy Kotsur, Oscar-winning star of the film “Coda,” stood alongside Stapleton, performing the song in American Sign Language. You can watch the full performance below from Fox, which broadcast the Super Bowl this year:
Stapleton is a Grammy winner who has also taken home a Country Music Association Award for Male Vocalist of the Year and more than a dozen other CMA awards, plus 10 Academy of Country Music Awards. He was also named ACM’s artist songwriter of the decade.
Along with performing his own music, Stapleton has also written and co-written many hit songs, including No. 1 country songs such as George Strait’s “Love’s Gonna Make It Alright” and “Drink a Beer” by Luke Bryan. He has co-written and performed with artists outside of the country music world as well, including Ed Sheeran, Adele, Kelly Clarkson and Taylor Swift.
Other performances during the 2023 Super Bowl included Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, who sang “America the Beautiful” and “Abbott Elementary” actor Sheryl Lee Ralph, who sang “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” which is known as the the Black national anthem.
Ralph wrote on Twitter that Feb. 12 was also the anniversary of the song, which was first performed in public 123 years ago, on Feb. 12, 1900.
It is no coincidence that I will be singing the Black National Anthem, Lift Every Voice and Sing at the Super Bowl on the same date it was first publicly performed 123 years ago (February 12, 1900). Happy Black History Month! @nfl @rocnation @SavageXFenty
Tune in at 3pm/6pmEST. pic.twitter.com/1rPopQ9jtV
— sheryl lee ralph (@thesherylralph) February 12, 2023
Rihanna headlined the halftime show, in which she also revealed that she is expecting her second child.
What were your favorite moments from Super Bowl LVII?
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Check out Simplemost for additional stories.
