Country singer Mickey Guyton performed a rendition of the United States national anthem at yesterday’s Super Bowl (February 13). Watch below.
The musician has been widely praised for the performance, which took place before the game between Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals kicked off at the SoFi Stadium.
Guyton announced earlier this month that she would be singing ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ at the pre-game show, with singer-songwriter Jhené Aiko set to perform ‘America The Beautiful’.
Guyton originally confirmed the news via Twitter, sharing, “I am shook, I am grateful, I am praise dancing.”
.@MickeyGuyton’s incredible rendition of the National Anthem! #SBLVI pic.twitter.com/G6099dDz1U
— NFL (@NFL) February 13, 2022
Ahead of the performance, the singer was interviewed by The New York Post about what the opportunity meant to her.
“It’s Black History Month, and a Black country singer gets to sing the national anthem at the Super Bowl. Wow,” she said. “This is a huge moment for me. It’s a huge moment for Black people. And I want to represent that in the best possible way that I can.”
She continued: “I set my intentions with singing the national anthem. I was like, ‘OK, togetherness is what I really want. So, I felt the way that people would feel togetherness is if I had a choir, with people that I believe represent America. And, you know, I have everybody from my black queen to a redneck cowboy to a girl that has one leg in this choir. And that’s the America that I’m proud of — us all standing together. We all belong.”
Despite the praise shared on social media, NBC were heavily criticised for incorrectly labelling Guyton as Aiko during her performance. “Not them showing Mickey Guyton with Jhene Aiko’s name underneath. Come on now…,” one person Tweeted.
“Mickey Guyton slays the anthem. Too bad the same couldn’t be said for whoever wound up confusing for her Jhene Aiko,” another wrote.
The pre-game show was followed by an all-star half-time show featuring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J. Blige. Both 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak made guest appearances during the show, which also saw Eminem drawing headlines after taking a knee during his performance of ‘Lose Yourself’.