Chris Stapleton had the honor of performing "The Star-Spangled Banner" ahead of Super Bowl LVII between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Taking to the field without his signature cowboy hat, the country star transformed the national anthem into a bluesy scorcher, accompanying himself on electric guitar as he growled, "Oh, say, can you see by the dawn's early light/ What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming/ Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight/ O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?"
For the song, Stapleton was joined by Oscar winner Troy Kotsur, who translated the lyrics into American Sign Language.
Last year, Mickey Guyton was tasked with the patriotic pregame moment backed by a gospel choir, while Eric Church and Jazmine Sullivan teamed up in 2021 to perform the anthem as a duet that was equal parts country and R&B. Other stars who've had the responsibility of singing the song at the Super Bowl in recent years include everyone from Demi Lovato, Gladys Knight and P!nk to Luke Bryan, Lady Gaga and Idina Menzel.
Whitney Houston's performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at 1991's Super Bowl XXV is arguably the gold standard when it comes to Super Bowl anthems. At the time, the late icon's recording was released as a standalone single that reached No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100. A decade later, it was reissued in the wake of Sept. 11 and became the final top 10 hit of Houston's life when it peaked even higher at No. 6.
Meanwhile, Stapleton's version of the song comes just one week after he hit the stage at the 2023 GRAMMYs to pay riveting tribute to Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson with a medley of Motown hits alongside Stevie Wonder, WanMor and Robinson himself.