Jhene Aiko, ‘America the Beautiful’ Singer for Super Bowl 2022: What to Know

Singer Jhené Aiko will deliver the 2022 Super Bowl‘s traditional “America the Beautiful” performance and many watchers may be wanting to know about the Grammy nominee. Aiko was born in Los Angeles in 1988. Music runs in her family, being as her older sister is R&B singer Mila J. Aiko got her music industry start by singing on projects from R&B group B2K, and one of her first solo outings was the track “Cherry Pie” for The Master of Disguise soundtrack in 2002.

For the next decade, Aiko was featured on a multitude of projects, eventually releasing her debut solo album, Souled Out, in 2014. Two years later she and rapper Big Sean put out a collaborative EP under the name Twenty88. Aiko then dropped her sophomore album, Trip, in 2017. The singer’s most recent album, Chilombo, was released in 2020. While Aiko’s first two albums were certified Gold with the RIAA, Chilombo was a massive success and ended up being certified Platinum. More recently, Aiko recorded the song “In the Dark,” featuring singer Swae Lee, for the soundtrack to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Aiko’s personal life has made nearly as many headlines as her artistry. In 2008, Aiko gave birth to a daughter, named Namiko Love Browner, whom she shares with her ex, R&B singer O’Ryan. In March 2016 Aiko married record producer Oladipo “Dot da Genius” Omishore. She filed for divorce five months later. She eventually began dating Big Sean, whom she was rumored to be dating after her split from Omishore. The couple dated until 2018. It was revealed in 2019 that they had broken up, and then in 2020 fans noticed that Aiko and Big Sean appeared to be back together.

Following her big Grammy nominations, including one for Album of the Year, Aiko spoke with Entertainment Weekly about the album and what the recording process was like. “When I record songs, I usually do like 10 versions,” she explained. “I keep remixing them because I want to hear it with a different instrument, pace, or whatever, and so a lot of the songs that you hear on Chilombo have about, literally, between six and ten different versions.” Aiko added, “In [a] time that most people perceive as dark or chaotic, that’s where I find my inspiration. That’s when I’m my most creative. So I’m not saying that I’m hoping for another crazy year, but whatever happens, there’s always something to be inspired by.”