Country star Luke Bryan to sing national anthem at Super Bowl LI

Jan 24, 2017, 11:58 AM

DenverFan.com

Deep in the heart of Texas, down in Houston, it’s only fitting a country music superstar kick off Super Bowl LI, as the NFL announced this week that Luke Bryan will sing the national anthem ahead of its title game.

A two-time Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year, Bryan will grace the Super Bowl stage for the first time on Feb. 5, with Fox broadcasting the performance live ahead of kickoff.

Bryan’s performance comes after Lady Gaga, who will headline the Pepsi Zero Sugar Super Bowl LI Halftime Show this year, performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” in Super Bowl 50.

Previous Super Bowl national anthem performers include Idina Menzel, Alicia Keys, Billy Joel, Diana Ross, Neil Diamond, Whitney Houston, Harry Connick Jr, Garth Brooks, Natalie Cole, Vanessa Williams, Luther Vandross, Cher, Faith Hill, Mariah Carey, Dixie Chicks, Beyoncé Knowles, and Christina Aguilera, among others.

Actor Kriston Lee Pumphrey will also sign the national anthem, alongside Bryan, and “America the Beautiful” on behalf of the National Association of the Deaf.

Since his debut album in 2007, Bryan has had 17 singles reach No. 1 and sold nearly 8 million albums. His fifth studio album, “Kill the Lights,” hit platinum and has sold 3.5 million tracks with more than 400 million streams.

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.

Super Bowl HQ

Johnny Hart

Lammey: Notes and quotes from Super Bowl 51 in Houston

We may have just witnessed the greatest Super Bowl ever played. It featured not only the first overtime in Super Bowl history but also the largest comeback The New England Patriots rallied from a record 25-point deficit midway through the second half to pull off a comeback 34-28 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. Here are […]

7 years ago

Cecil Lammey

Lammey: My Top 10 moments covering Super Bowl 51 in Houston

Super Bowl 51 was one for the ages. The game looked like an Atlanta Falcons blowout in the first half as they went into the locker with a 21-3 lead over the New England Patriots. But after halftime, the Patriots roared back to tie the game 28-28 and eventually send the game to overtime — […]

7 years ago

Johnny Hart

Schlereth: ‘Little part of all of us’ elected to Hall with Terrell Davis

Coming into Super Bowl week in Houston, former Denver Broncos running back Terrell Davis had eight times been a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Three times he’s been a finalist. It’s been a long, uphill battle for the prodigious rusher who, after perhaps one of the best four year stretches by a […]

7 years ago

Johnny Hart

Broncos great Terrell Davis elected to Pro Football Hall of Fame

HOUSTON — After years of futility in terms of earning a gold jacket and a bust in Canton, Ohio, former Denver Broncos running back Terrell Davis is finally a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Davis will become the fifth Denver player to make the Hall of Fame, joining John Elway, Gary Zimmerman, […]

7 years ago

Cecil Lammey

Lammey: Buzz from around the NFL at Super Bowl 51 — Thursday

Author’s note: Covering the NFL since 2003, I’ve been able to generate contacts with every team in the league. This is the time of year when those relationships come in handy. NFL teams have entered the offseason mode, and information is swirling around the atmosphere of the league. If you know who to ask, you […]

7 years ago

DenverSports.com Staff

104.3 The Fan weekend play-by-play schedule — Feb. 4-5

Super Bowl Sunday is here, and we’ll have your exclusive play-by-play coverage on Sports Radio 104.3 The Fan. But first, on Saturday, a pair of games on the hardwood as Notre Dame and North Carolina square off at 3:45 p.m. and then the Cavs and Knicks later in the evening. And, of course, on Sunday […]

7 years ago