Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds kicked off Super Bowl Sunday with the annual pre-kickoff performance of "America the Beautiful."
Brandishing an acoustic guitar emblazoned with the American flag, the 12-time GRAMMY winner strummed along as he sand, "O beautiful for spacious skies/ For amber waves of grain/ For purple mountain majesties/ Above the fruited plain!" even adding an impressive key change for the second half of the song.
The 1895 patriotic standard written by Katharine Lee Bates and church organist Samuel A. Ward was first performed at Super Bowl VIII in 1967 by Charley Pride, who also sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" that year. Three years later, "America the Beautiful" was actually performed in place of the national anthem by Vikki Carr — which marks the only time in NFL history that the game didn't include the latter.
However, "America the Beautiful" didn't officially become an annual staple of the pre-game festivities until 2009. Artists who've performed the song in recent years have included Leslie Odom Jr., Chloe x Halle, Yolanda Adams, H.E.R. and Jhené Aiko.
This year, Babyface's number was preceded by Sheryl Lee Ralph belting out "Lift Every Voice and Sing." Colloquially known as the "Black national anthem," the spiritual prayer of thanksgiving has been added to the lineup of Super Bowl musical moments since 2021, when Alicia Keys became the first artist to ever perform it ahead of kickoff.