Super Bowl LVII: Chris Stapleton performs National Anthem

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Leading up to the start of Super Bowl LVII on Fox today, Chris Stapleton had the honor of performing the National Anthem.

Of course, we should also go ahead and note that said honor is one of the biggest challenges that any singer can have. This is one of the most scrutinized performances of the year where one bad note or flubbed lyric can leave you subject to extensive online ridicule. It’s not always an easy gig to take, even though with Stapleton you’ve got an extremely seasoned performer used to playing in front of big crowds.

Without even discussing his performance, we will go ahead and note here that he is a somewhat atypical selection for the anthem. After all, remember that the bulk of the people who have sung this over the years have been big-ballad performers; Stapleton, meanwhile, is more of a storyteller. It is the way he sings, with so much soul and emotion, that tends to win people over more so than any individual note.

Now, let’s get into the actual performance. You got some of Stapleton’s signature soul from the moment that he sung the first note. There was also a pretty bluesy take on the acoustic guitar thrown in there. We’d argue that this was a really unique and very-good rendition of the song — and yes, we saw the Eagles coach crying at one point during it. (He had said before the game that this was when he’d probably get emotional reflecting before the start of the game.)

While we don’t know if Stapleton will get enough of the praise he deserves for this performance, here’s the good news — we can’t see anyone giving him a hard time for this after the fact on social media.

Related Get more news now, including our take on the “America the Beautiful” performance tonight from Babyface

What did you think about Chris Stapleton’s take on the National Anthem during Super Bowl LVII?

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