{"id":2057858,"date":"2026-07-23T14:10:43","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T11:10:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2057858"},"modified":"2026-07-23T14:10:43","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T11:10:43","slug":"inside-the-art-of-choosing-who-sings-the-national-anthem-at-major-sporting-events","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2057858","title":{"rendered":"Inside the Art of Choosing Who Sings the National Anthem At Major Sporting Events"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/dan-shay-national-anthem-2026-bb8-billboard-1800.jpg?w=1024″]<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tTrending on Billboard\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s a daunting task that takes place at every major U.S. sporting event: Before any athlete hits the field, a performer sings \u201cThe Star-Spangled Banner.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThere have been iconic, inspirational versions of The National Anthem, like Whitney Houston\u2019s soaring rendering at the 1991 Super Bowl, which stands out as the definitive version, followed closely by Lady Gaga\u2019s towering take at the 2016 Super Bowl and Chris Stapleton\u2019s soulful rendition at the 2023 game. There are also ones that didn\u2019t fare as well and show why it can be a risky endeavor for an artist to attempt, such as Fergie\u2019s questionable interpretation at the 2020 NBA All-Star Game or Steven Tyler\u2019s overwrought go at the 2012 AFC Championship. It\u2019s a high-profile, often nerve-wracking assignment that, these days, is immediately lionized or demonized via social media and lives online forever.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tTop 11 Super Bowl National Anthem\u00a0Performances\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

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    Trevor Anderson<\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n
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    \n\tWith the NBA Finals, the World Cup and the MLB All-Star Game all occurring within recent weeks, a smorgasbord of popular artists \u2014 including soulful pop singer Tori Kelly, multi-platinum country-pop duo Dan+ Shay, powerful country\/R&B performer Mickey Guyton, R&B legend Patti LaBelle and Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson \u2014 have all delivered stirring renditions of The National Anthem.<\/p>\n

    \n\t\u201cSinging the National Anthem at the World Cup was one of the [most] surreal experiences of our entire career,\u201d says Dan + Shay\u2019s Dan Smyers, noting the June 12 World Cup match between the U.S. and Paraguay was the first time they performed the song, despite having been asked previously. Adding to the nerves is the event\u2019s high celebrity quotient. As the pair were singing a cappella, they looked up at the Jumbotron to see Tom Cruise standing with David Beckham and singing along. \u201cI saw them and almost lost it,\u201d Smyers says.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

    \n\tSo how do major sporting events find the right match? When looking for a performer, it is no surprise that vocal ability \u201chas got to be at the top of the list,\u201d says Seth Dudowsky<\/strong>, the National Football League\u2019s former head of music who is now executive vp\/head of sports and live content at Jesse Collins Entertainment. JCE produces major television events, including entertainment for sporting events like the Super Bowl. \u201cIt\u2019s one of the hardest songs there is to sing, and it\u2019s also one [where] artists need to feel confident going in. Depending upon when and where it is, the Anthem is a great way for leagues and events to be able to tie in local representation or memorialize a holiday or anniversary.\u201d For example, JCE picked hometown girl LaBelle to perform at the July 14 game in Philadelphia.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

    \n\t\u201cWhen we look for a National Anthem singer, whether it\u2019s the Super Bowl or another tentpole like the Draft, we\u2019re looking for an artist who can bring a fresh, authentic perspective to the song while still honoring its tradition. It must feel true to who they are as an artist but also stand up to the magnitude of the moment,\u201d says Tim Tubito<\/strong>, the NFL\u2019s senior director of global event presentation, music & entertainment.\u00a0 \u201cIf you look at recent Super Bowl performances \u2014 Charlie Puth, Jon Batiste, Reba, Chris Stapleton \u2014 each approached it differently, but all delivered something emotional, memorable and distinctly their own.\u201d<\/p>\n

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    \t\t\t\t\tInside a Top Voice Coach\u2019s Work With Ariana Grande, Rosal\u00eda and Hollywood\u2019s Biggest\u00a0Biopics\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

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      \n\tThough there\u2019s no formal list, entertainment execs at major sporting leagues and producers informally trade notes about which artists are particularly strong candidates. For example, \u201cThe War and Treaty to me have shown time and time again they\u2019re among the best,\u201d Dudowsky says of the duo who performed the National Anthem at the 2026 Fiesta Bowl and one of the 2023 Thanksgiving NFL games. \u201cThey\u2019ve done many different types of arrangements, and they\u2019re a husband-and-wife team with a military background.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

      \n\tThat kind of reputation tends to come up in discussions. \u201cWe have strong relationships across sports and entertainment, and there\u2019s a sharing of ideas and best practices around major events. That goes beyond the Anthem; it\u2019s about the full presentation,\u201d says Tubito. \u201cAt the same time, we\u2019re always watching. Whether it\u2019s another league, an awards show, or a global event like the World Cup, we\u2019re paying attention to performances that break through. Those moments can absolutely put an artist on the radar.\u201d<\/p>\n

      \n\tWhile no policy dictates it, the singer is usually a U.S. citizen, which is why powerhouse vocalists like Celine Dion and Michael Bubl\u00e9 \u2014 both of whom are Canadian \u2014 haven\u2019t taken on the Anthem (though Dion did sing \u201cGod Bless America\u201d at the 2003 Super Bowl).<\/p>\n

      \n\t\u201cWe generally prefer the performer to be a citizen of the country whose anthem they\u2019re singing because it adds a level of personal connection and authenticity to the performance,\u201d Tubito says.<\/p>\n

      \n\tThe knowledge of who\u2019s a proven performer comes in handy when singers are needed on short notice, such as when a best-of-seven playoff series goes beyond four games. This year, during the NBA Finals, Guyton was put on hold for a week and confirmed to sing for Game 5 once Game 4 was over.<\/p>\n

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      \t\t\t\t\tCountry Music Artists Who Have Performed the National Anthem at the Super\u00a0Bowl\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

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        Jessica Nicholson<\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n
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        \n\tGuyton was a known quantity, having sung the National Anthem at the 2022 Super Bowl and other sporting events. \u201cThere is a little bit of a circuit for the Anthem, especially for the big events. [The leagues] so desperately want to make sure that there\u2019s going to be a good performance and there\u2019s not going to be negative headlines,\u201d says Guyton\u2019s manager, Cameo Carlson<\/strong>. \u201cOnce you\u2019ve delivered one solid [rendition] at a big event, you\u2019re sort of in the loop on this.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

        \n\tSimilarly, Kelly, who sang the National Anthem at the first game of this year\u2019s NBA Finals on June 3, has a proven track record. She\u2019s performed the anthem at the 2021 Kentucky Derby and at the 2024 Mike Tyson-Jake Paul boxing match. Her manager, Alex Silverman<\/strong>, says the NBA talent coordinators were the ones who approached her.<\/p>\n

        \n\tThe National Anthem is notoriously hard to sing, and only a finite number of artists have the chops. \u201cI think what makes it more difficult than people realize is there\u2019s a lot of held notes,\u201d Eric Vetro<\/strong>, vocal coach for Puth, Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter, among others, said on Billboard<\/em>\u2019s On the Record<\/em> podcast in June. \u201cFor someone who\u2019s been on Broadway or grown up with that type of music, holding long notes is all part of it. But most pop songs don\u2019t have a lot of long-held notes, or notes that might have a lot of vibrato in them. \u2018The Star-Spangled Banner,\u2019 the highest notes are held for quite a long time, and that partly makes it difficult.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

        \n\tThere are also other factors, such as dealing with the echo and reverb from the venue and the pressure of performing before a huge crowd that is not there primarily to see you, Vento says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

        \n\t\u201cAs a management company, we would tell 99% of our artists probably to pass on the National Anthem, just because there is usually so little upside and so much potential downside if you don\u2019t do a great job,\u201d says Kevin \u201cChief\u201d Zaruk<\/strong>, who manages Dan + Shay with Simon Tikhman<\/strong>. \u201cTruthfully, most artists don\u2019t want to do it. It\u2019s just an immense amount of pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n

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        \t\t\t\t\tThe 12 Worst National Anthem Performances\u00a0Ever\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

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          \n\tBut the often-global exposure can play into part of a release cycle. Dan + Shay were promoting a new single from a forthcoming album when they did their performance, and Kelly released a new album on June 12, perfect timing given her June 3 performance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

          \n\t\u201cThe goal is always to connect major cultural moments to larger career moments,\u201d Silverman says. \u201cHaving Tori perform at the Finals just days before releasing her sixth studio album gave millions of people a reminder of who she is right as we were entering a new chapter of her career, so that was invaluable.\u201d<\/p>\n

          \n\tFor Guyton, the method is more a matter of keeping up her visibility through high-profile appearances while she\u2019s between projects. \u201cThere isn\u2019t anything specific she\u2019s promoting right now; it\u2019s almost the opposite, where she\u2019s writing right now,\u201d Carlson says. \u201cWe like to keep her visible on things that matter to her.\u201d<\/p>\n

          \n\tWhile an artist\u2019s expenses are covered, pay often varies. Neither the Super Bowl nor the World Cup pays its performers, but those who sing the anthem at the NBA Finals receive a check. However, the true benefit comes through exposure. Performing at a big sporting event almost always yields a spike in sales or attention. Houston\u2019s version was so renowned that it was released as a charity single shortly afterward and sold 750,000 copies in its first eight days, making it Arista Records\u2019 best-selling single.\u00a0<\/p>\n

          \n\tWhile most artists aren\u2019t going to see that kind of result, Puth, who sang the National Anthem at the Super Bowl in February, did see his streams jump from 8.9 million the week before his performance to 11.4 million the week after, according to Luminate.<\/p>\n

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          \t\t\t\t\tJennifer Hudson Sings National Anthem, Robbie Williams & More Lead 2026 World Cup Closing\u00a0Ceremony\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

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            \n\tCarlson says that whenever Guyton gets booked to sing the National Anthem, her management team will purchase an ad campaign to boost streaming for the video of her performance at the 2022 Super Bowl. The timing of the NBA game worked well because patriotic and country songs usually see streaming spikes around the Fourth of July. \u201cThis one dovetailed nicely with what streak is already going to happen,\u201d Carlson says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

            \n\tAccording to Luminate, Dan + Shay and Tori Kelly\u2019s music didn\u2019t see large streaming bumps, but both artists were immediately trending on social media after they sang.\u00a0<\/p>\n

            \n\t\u201cThese performances are not about direct sales or streams; the memorable Anthem performances are like cultural reference points for a lot of people, and they generate significant conversation online after the game itself,\u201d Silverman says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

            \n\tThat conversation doesn\u2019t happen by accident. \u201cMy job, as soon as an opportunity like this is confirmed, is to get the team in the huddle and prepare a digital strategy and make sure that we\u2019re clipping these moments and making sure that audiences are seeing this as widely as possible,\u201d Silverman continues. \u201cWhat\u2019s great about this is that it allows us to have visibility to people that aren\u2019t necessarily fans of Tori, because the name of the game is always new fan acquisition and heightened awareness.\u201d<\/p>\n

            \n\tZaruk agrees. \u201cWe were hoping it was going to be a big reaction, because there\u2019s so many people who watch the World Cup,\u201d he says of Dan +Shay\u2019s performance, which subsequently went viral. \u201cI can tell you, there isn\u2019t a single person who thought the reaction was going to be this big\u2026 I\u2019ve been to Super Bowls and some of the biggest sporting events. I\u2019ve never been in an event where the energy was so electric.\u201d<\/p>\n

            \n\tAt a time when the country \u2014 and, in many cases, the world \u2014 is so divided, artists have to seek out these unifying opportunities. \u201cIt does feel that major sporting events are really one of the last remaining true mass culture moments, where everybody is watching something at the same time,\u201d Silverman says. \u201cFinding these really key cultural moments that we have in sporting events is just truly invaluable.\u201d<\/p>\n

            \"Billboard<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

            [analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/pro\/national-anthem-how-singers-chosen-world-cup-super-bowl\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            [analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/dan-shay-national-anthem-2026-bb8-billboard-1800.jpg?w=1024″] Trending on Billboard It\u2019s a daunting task that takes place at every major U.S. sporting event: Before any athlete hits the field, a performer sings \u201cThe Star-Spangled Banner.\u201d\u00a0 There have been iconic, inspirational versions of The National Anthem, like Whitney Houston\u2019s soaring rendering at the 1991 Super Bowl, which stands out as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[48,226],"class_list":["post-2057858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-billboard-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2057858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2057858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2057858\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2057858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2057858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2057858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}