Who Will Sing The National Anthem At Super Bowl 51?

Country star Luke Bryan will kick off Super Bowl Sunday with the National Anthem.

This Sunday, Feb. 5, brings the most prominent American sporting event of the year. But still, despite all the excitement surrounding the reason for the season, the actual football game often takes a backseat to the cultural relevance of the Super Bowl. People throw parties and suddenly praise commercials that are typically consumed with giddy ferocity instead of booed. Plus, the musical performances are more often than not the talk of the hypothetical water cooler come Monday morning. We’re all (probably) fully prepared for whatever halftime performer, Lady Gaga, plans to serve us. But what about the first performer of the evening?

That honor goes to country star and all-American heartthrob, Luke Bryan! Before all the footballers start footballing, Bryan will take to the field. To being the event, he will sing his heart out with his rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner”. And it won’t be his first time either!

Though he ultimately didn’t disappoint, Bryan caused a bit of a stir in 2012. Unfortunately, it was revealed that he had a little help with his performance before the MLB All-Star Game in Kansas City. After fans noticed him examining his hand prior to singing, he came clean in a series of tweets. He explained that he had jotted down a few “key words” so as not to botch the song. And with the myriad controversies we’ve endured during Super Bowl performances of yore (*ahem, Janet Jackson*), a bit of lyric-cheating seems like a welcome alternative.

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But we probably won’t have to worry about that. In the past few years alone, Bryan has shot up in popularity and gained much acclaim. He already won his fair share of Billboard Awards and CMAs. In addition, the CMAs andAcademy of Country Music Awards crowned him Entertainer of the Year. Admittedly, we can’t speak to the probability of you winning your Super Bowl pool. But the odds are at least in this arena, so you can bet things are gonna be just fine.