National Anthem: Super Bowl 2021 Garners Praise for Eric Church and Jazmine Sullivan’s Rendition

After H.E.R. performed a stirring rendition of “America The Beautiful,” country music superstar Eric Church and Grammy-nominated singer Jazmine Sullivan sang the National Anthem at Super Bowl LV. It was the first time two singers performed the “Star-Spangled Banner” together since Aaron Neville and Aretha Franklin at the 2006 championship in Detroit. Church and Sullivan sang without a hitch, and their performance was praised on Twitter.

Super Bowl LV will decide the NFL champion for the 2020 season, with the AFC title winners Kansas City Chiefs facing the NFC’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Since the game is being played at Raymond James Stadium, this is the first time a home team is playing in the Super Bowl. The Chiefs are looking for their second consecutive championship, while the Buccaneers are looking for their first since 2003. Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady is looking for his seventh championship and first since leaving the New England Patriots last year.

Sullivan, 33, is a 12-time Grammy nominee, with her latest coming for her song “Built for Love.” Her fourth album, Heaux Tales, was released on Jan. 8 and includes the singles “Lost One,” “Pick Up Your Feelings” and “Girl Like Me.” Coincidentally, “Girl Like Me” features H.E.R. Church, 43, has several Grammy nominations himself. His most recent album is Desperate Man, which came out in 2018. He has a unique project coming out in April. Heart will be released on April 16, and Soul will be released on April 23. His fan club members will get exclusive access to another release, &, on April 20.

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“Now THAT is how you do a National Anthem,” one viewer wrote. “Different artists. Different genres. Different styles. Blended… together to make one unified patriotic performance. (Also, REMARKABLY hard to sing as a duet in a stadium with the audio delay. Big props.)” Another added, “It appeared they actually SUNG it and did not pre-record it as so many others have done before them.  It was interesting and different.”

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“Great to see and hear North Carolina’s own [Church] help perform the National Anthem at the Super Bowl,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper tweeted. “Finally, they got someone good to sing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl! It wasn’t over the top like it usually is in years past! (Though I might be a little biased since [Church] is my favorite Country singer),” another Church fan wrote.

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“Holy…. [Church], that might just be the best rendition of the National Anthem that I’ve ever heard,” another viewer wrote. “Thee JAZMINE SULLIVAN! Whoo, So effortlessly talented! One of the best National Anthem performances ever!” one fan wrote.

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While some viewers enjoyed it, others questioned the pairing of the two performers. “Who in the world thought of that pairing? [Jazmine] by herself would have been perfect,” one fan wrote. “That country guy didn’t need to be here. He added too much so it made it not as good,” another added.

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“They worked hard to coordinate and make that a lovely rendition. Let’s see more of those in [the] future,” one viewer wrote. “Chills! I’d listen to this over and over, Y’all should sing another duet together,” another viewer wrote.

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“Amazing!! Thank you for making our anthem sound so beautiful and proud,” another viewer chimed in. “Thought it was an odd pairing but that was AWESOME!!” another wrote.