Chris Stapleton delivered a beautiful version of the national anthem.
On Sunday night, February 12, the "Broken Halos" singer had the entire stadium on their feet as he crooned "The Star Spangled Banner." He was joined by Academy award-winner Troy Kotsur, who delivered a beautiful ASL version of the song. Stapleton's twangy rendition of the national anthem hit home to a lot of people on the sidelines, including Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni, who was brought to tears. His set concluded with a historic military flyover that was conducted by an all-female crew for the first time ever.
“It’s just one of those calls you think you’re not gonna get, and you get the call and you’re like, ‘OK, let’s do this!’” Stapleton said during an interview last week. “I thought I wouldn’t get asked. The National Anthem’s not an easy song for singers, and it’s one that, you know, it can go horribly wrong… hopefully it won’t happen for me. Knock on wood. But yeah, if you’re gonna do it, this is the place to do it.”
His performance happened after Kenny "Babyface" Edmunds sang "America the Beautiful" and Abbott Elementary's Sheryl Lee-Ralph delivered "Lift Every Voice and Sing." Stapleton sang the national anthem just days after he revealed the dates for his upcoming "All-American Road Show."
Last Thursday, the country star revealed the plans for his upcoming string of shows and confirmed a slew of special guests who are expected to join him. The star-studded guest list includes Allen Stone, Charley Crockett, Marcus King, Margo Price, Marty Stuart, Nikki Lane, and The War & Treaty. His tour begins towards the end of April in El Paso, Texas and will hit up a slew of major cities until it ends in Georgia in late August.