As expected, singers Jazmine Sullivan, 33, and Eric Church, 43, delivered an impressive, unifying performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” for the Super Bowl.
.@jsullivanmusic and @ericchurch sing the National Anthem ahead of #SBLV! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/dnhOTrHKfW
— NFL (@NFL) February 7, 2021
the game, in an interview with Apple Music, the 43-year-old entertainer opened up about joining forces with Sullivan to put on a memorable show.
“I’ve not met her yet. She may be the best singer. I was floored,” Church told Kelleigh Bannen of Apple Music.
“I’m a fan. I’ve went in and listened to everything she did. And I had heard her name, but full disclosure, I had not listened.”
Initially, Church maintained that he would never sing the national anthem because he believed it was hard to do.
“I’ve said this forever: ‘I will never ever sing the national anthem…’ it’s so hard. Except the Super Bowl,” he told Bannen, 39. “I’m not Chris Stapleton. I fully assumed they were never going to ask me.”
“My first response was ‘Mm-mm. I’m a stylist, not a vocalist,'” he added. “I heard it, and I thought, ‘That’s cool, that sounds like me.'”
However, after listening to Sullivan singing, he had a change of heart.
“I heard her, and I’m not missing a chance to sing with her. And that was it,” he says. “Once I heard her voice, I said, ‘Okay, I’m in.'”
In mid-January, the 33-year-old R&B singer shared with her Instagram followers that she will be performing the national anthem alongside Church.
“I’ll be in Tampa Bay with @ericchurchmusic to sing the National Anthem for Super Bowl LV!” Sullivan wrote. “Tune-in on Feb 7 to the Super Bowl on @cbstv Kick-Off Show at 6 PM ET #SBLV@nfl 🏈.”
Grammy-Award winner H.E.R.,23, also amazed viewers with a performance of “America the Beautiful,” just before the Super Bowl LV kickoff game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
