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NFL Reveals Its Surprise Choice to Sing National Anthem at Super Bowl

Jan 21, 2014  •  Post A Comment

The NFL has revealed who will sing the National Anthem at the upcoming Super Bowl, and the selection will probably come as a surprise to most people. EW.com reports that the league chose opera singer Renee Fleming for the high-profile gig.

"Fleming is an acclaimed opera singer who has picked up four Grammys over the course of her career and is probably best known outside of the classical world as one of the voices on the soundtrack to ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’ and for her odd (but not unpleasant) collection of indie rock covers from a few years ago. (She also sang the theme song to the 2012 animated disaster ‘Rise of the Guardians.’) She’s undoubtedly one of the most competently trained singers to take on the National Anthem at the Super Bowl in some time — it’s a challenging song that has derailed all kinds of performers, especially on big stages," the story reports.

Super Bowl XLVIII, to air on Fox, is set for Sunday, Feb. 2, when the NFC champion Seattle Seahawks will take on the AFC champion Denver Broncos. Fleming follows in the footsteps of artists including Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Kathy Lee Gifford and the Grambling University Band, the report notes.

"The addition of Fleming completes the circle of music performers at this year’s Super Bowl, with Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers handling the halftime show," the piece adds. "U2 will also reportedly have some sort of presence during the course of the broadcast, most likely in the form of an ad in support of their new single ‘Invisible’ and/or their upcoming new album. And Prince will be appearing on a special episode of ‘New Girl’ that is airing right after the game."

Renee-Fleming.jpgRenee Fleming

One Comment

  1. This sounds a much better choice then most of the singers they have had at NFL games! I am tired of “super star pop singers” that think they are supposed to beat the tempo to death and “noodle” every phrase just to show how talented they are! No one can enjoy the song at that point. The Anthem is supposed to honor America, not the singer. And,”bah-rave” is not a word!

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