Super Bowl LIX: Jon Batiste sings National Anthem

We knew heading into the start of Super Bowl LIX that Jon Batiste was going to be singing the National Anthem, and that had us hopeful. Why? Well, there have been a number of high-profile botched performances over the years, but here, we had someone who was going to do a genuinely great job with it and we were not worried in the last. He’s just such an accomplished musician!

Also, there is another important thing to remember along the way here. Batiste is a native son of Louisiana! This opportunity means more to him than it would almost any other person under the sun.

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So, how did he do? Well, first and foremost, we loved the minimized set and also how it was really just him accompanied by a drum and him on a piano. It felt like he wanted to do with every single note, and he gave the Anthem a signature New Orleans flair.

Are there going to be some who probably wanted a less jazzy rendition of the song? Probably, but from our vantage point, this is one of the better takes on “The Star-Spangled Banner” that we’ve heard. It allowed the area to really represent and have an identity worth celebrating — and we do tend to think that a lot of that is worth celebrating.

Of course, Batiste is far from the only notable artist performing during the festivities at this point — after all, you are going to be seeing a performance later on from Kendrick Lamar during the halftime show. We’ll be back with some more commentary on that a little bit later on during the game. We already know that’s going to be memorable…

What did you think about Jon Batiste singing the National Anthem before Super Bowl LIX?

Also, how do you think it compared to some of the other ones we’ve heard over the years? Be sure to share right now in the attached comments! Once you do just that, remember to also come back for some additional updates.