Sisterly R&B duo Chloe X Halle is set to kick off Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta on Sunday with “America The Beautiful” before the big game.
Sisters and Atlanta natives Chloe and Halle Bailey will take the stage alongside performer and deaf activist Aarron Loggins, who will sign the song in American Sign Language on behalf of the National Association of the Deaf (NAD).
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Chloe X Halle opened for Jay-Z and Beyonce during the couple’s most recent On the Run II tour, and have experience performing at NFL events; they sang the national anthem at the 2017 NFL Draft.
The duo join a list of famous names who have performed “America The Beautiful” at the Super Bowl, like Vicki Carr, Ray Charles, Mary J. Blige, Marc Anthony, Alicia Keys, Faith Hill, Queen Latifah, Lea Michele, Jennifer Hudson and Leslie Odom, Jr.
Chloe X Halle are the third musical act at Super Bowl LIII to hail from Atlanta, alongside halftime show performer Big Boi and national anthem singer Gladys Knight.
Knight announced in January that she’d be singing “The Star-Spangled Banner,” saying that she was “proud” to represent her city in front of the millions watching.
“I am proud to use my voice to unite and represent our country in my hometown of Atlanta,” Knight said when it was announced she would perform, according to CBS Sports. “The NFL recently announced their new social justice platform Inspire Change, and I am honored to be a part of its inaugural year.”
In an extended statement to Variety, Knight spoke about why she decided to sing the anthem in spite of the controversy surrounding Super Bowl music acts and the kneeling protests inspired by Colin Kaepernick.
“I understand that Mr. Kaepernick is protesting two things, and they are police violence and injustice,” she said. “It is unfortunate that our National Anthem has been dragged into this debate when the distinctive senses of the National Anthem and fighting for justice should each stand alone.
“I am here today and on Sunday, Feb. 3 to give the Anthem back its voice, to stand for that historic choice of words, the way it unites us when we hear it and to free it from the same prejudices and struggles I have fought long and hard for all my life, from walking back hallways, from marching with our social leaders, from using my voice for good — I have been in the forefront of this battle longer than most of those voicing their opinions to win the right to sing our country’s Anthem on a stage as large as the Super Bowl LIII.
“No matter who chooses to deflect with this narrative and continue to mix these two in the same message, it is not so and cannot be made so by anyone speaking it. I pray that this National Anthem will bring us all together in a way never before witnessed and we can move forward and untangle these truths which mean so much to all of us.”
While the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams take a much-deserved breather at halftime, Maroon 5, Travis Scott and Big Boi will take the stage for the Pepsi Halftime Show.
Click here for PopCulture.com’s extensive coverage of Super Bowl LIII, which airs Sunday, Feb. 3 on CBS.
