Country music superstar Luke Bryan will sing the National Anthem as part of Super Bowl LI pregame festivities at NRG Stadium in Houston on Sunday, February 5, the NFL and FOX announced today. The performance will be televised live on FOX prior to kickoff.
The Super Bowl is annually the most-watched television program. Bryan’s performance of the National Anthem in Houston will be his first time appearing on the Super Bowl stage.
Bryan is a two-time Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year and has hosted the ACM Awards for four consecutive years. Since the debut of his first album in 2007, he has placed 17 singles at No.1 and sold nearly eight million albums. His fifth studio album, Kill The Lights, is certified Platinum and has sold 3.5 million tracks with over 400 million streams.
Bryan joins the ranks of many great performers who have sang the Super Bowl National Anthem including: Lady Gaga, Idina Menzel, Renée Fleming, 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, Christina Aguilera and many more. (A complete list of National Anthem performers from past Super Bowls is listed below.)
In addition, on behalf of the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), actor Kriston Lee Pumphrey will perform in American Sign Language both the National Anthem and “America The Beautiful”.
The NFL previously announced that Lady Gaga, who performed the National Anthem prior to Super Bowl 50, will headline the Pepsi Zero Sugar Super Bowl LI Halftime Show. The pregame and halftime shows are an NFL Network Production and will be executive produced by Ricky Kirshner.
SUPER BOWL NATIONAL ANTHEM PERFORMERS
| Super Bowl | Performer | Super Bowl | Performer |
| Super Bowl I | Universities of Arizona & Michigan Bands | Super Bowl XXVII | Garth Brooks (Signed by Marlee Matlin) |
| Super Bowl II | Grambling University Band | Super Bowl XXVIII | Natalie Cole with Atlanta University Center Chorus (Signed by Courtney Keel Foley) |
| Super Bowl III | Anita Bryant (Pledge of Allegiance by Apollo Astronauts) | Super Bowl XXIX | Kathie Lee Gifford (Signed by Heather Whitestone) |
| Super Bowl IV | Al Hirt (Pledge of Allegiance by Astronauts) | Super Bowl XXX | Vanessa Williams (Signed by Mary Kim Titla) |
| Super Bowl V | Tommy Loy (trumpeter) | Super Bowl XXXI | Luther Vandross (Signed by Erika Schwarz) |
| Super Bowl VI | U.S. Air Force Academy Chorale | Super Bowl XXXII | Jewel (Signed by Phyllis Frelich) |
| Super Bowl VII | Andy Williams & Little Angels of Holy Angels Church (Chicago) Pledge of Allegiance by Apollo 17 crew | Super Bowl XXXIII | Cher (Signed by Speaking Hands) |
| Super Bowl VIII | Charlie Pride | Super Bowl XXXIV | Faith Hill (Signed by Briarlake Elementary School Signing Choir) |
| Super Bowl IX | Grambling University Band with Mardi Gras Chorus | Super Bowl XXXV | Backstreet Boys (Signed by Tom Cooney); “America The Beautiful” performed by Ray Charles |
| Super Bowl X | Tom Sullivan | Super Bowl XXXVI | Mariah Carey (Signed by Joe Narcisse); “America The Beautiful” performed by Mary J. Blige & Marc Anthony |
| Super Bowl XI | Vicki Carr (America the Beautiful) | Super Bowl XXXVII | Dixie Chicks (Signed by Janet Maxwell);
“God Bless America” performed by Celine Dion |
| Super Bowl XII | Phyllis Kelly of NE Louisiana State University | Super Bowl XXXVIII | Beyoncé Knowles (Signed by Suzanna Christy) |
| Super Bowl XIII | Colgate University Thirteen | Super Bowl XXXIX | More than 100 representatives from the four branches of the military (Signed by Wesley Tallent ) |
| Super Bowl XIV | Cheryl Ladd | Super Bowl XL | Aaron Neville and Dr. John with Aretha Franklin & Detroit based 150-member choir (Signed by Angela LaGuardia of Michigan School for Deaf). |
| Super Bowl XV | Helen O’Connell | Super Bowl XLI | Billy Joel (Signed by Marlee Matlin and Jason Hay-Southwell) |
| Super Bowl XVI | Diana Ross | Super Bowl XLII | Jordin Sparks (Signed by A Dreamer) |
| Super Bowl XVII | Leslie Easterbrook | Super Bowl XLIII | Jennifer Hudson (Signed by Kristen Santos) |
| Super Bowl XVIII | Barry Manilow | Super Bowl XLIV | Carrie Underwood (Signed by Kinesha Battles) |
| Super Bowl XIX | Children’s Choir of San Francisco | Super Bowl XLV | Christina Aguilera (Signed by Candice Villesca) |
| Super Bowl XX | Wynton Marsalis | Super Bowl XLVI | Kelly Clarkson (Signed by Rachel Mazique) |
| Super Bowl XXI | Neil Diamond | Super Bowl XLVII | Alicia Keys (Signed by John Maucere) |
| Super Bowl XXII | Herb Alpert | Super Bowl XLVIII | Renée Fleming (Signed by Amber Zion) |
| Super Bowl XXIII | Billy Joel | Super Bowl XLIX | Idina Menzel (Signed by Treshelle Edmond) |
| Super Bowl XXIV | Aaron Neville | Super Bowl 50 | Lady Gaga (Signed by Marlee Matlin) |
| Super Bowl XXV | Whitney Houston | Super Bowl LI | Luke Bryan (Signed by Kriston Pumphrey) |
| Super Bowl XXVI | Harry Connick, Jr. (Signed by Lori Hilary) |
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ABOUT LUKE BRYAN
Country music superstar Luke Bryan is a two-time Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year. He has hosted the ACM Awards for four consecutive years. Since the debut of his first album in 2007 he has placed 17 singles at No.1 and sold nearly eight million albums. His fifth studio album, Kill The Lights, is certified Platinum and has sold 3.5 million tracks with over 400 million streams. The album debuted at No. 1 on both the Billboard Top 200 (his third to do so) and Top Country Albums charts, and contains five consecutive No 1 hits- so far.
His concert tours have consistently sold out shows across North America including many NFL Stadiums like the Patriot’s Gillette Stadium where Luke played back-to back sold out concerts last summer. Luke has also sold out Chicago’s Soldier Field, Cleveland’s First Energy Stadium, the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Denver’s Sports Authority Field at Mile High, Ford Field in Detroit, the home of the Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh’s Heinz Field, and Levi Stadium in San Francisco. His 2015 tour played for 1.5 million fans and in 2016 he entertained 1.6 million fans on his “Kill The Lights Tour.” That tour continues this spring with a new tour planned for the summer.
ABOUT KRISTON LEE PUMPHREY
Kriston Lee Pumphrey is a performing artist who is working as a news anchor at the Deaf Professional Arts Network (DPAN-TV). Kriston Lee graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2009 with a degree in business and communication. Kriston Lee co-founded ColorFest, a Deaf LGBT leadership conference for college students that is hosted both at Gallaudet University and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. Kriston Lee is involved in various community related advocacy work and currently serves on the board of a D.C. based nonprofit organization that strives to end sexual assault and domestic violence within the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community.
CONTACTS:
NFL/ KRISTON LEE PUMPHREY: Catherine Boyle, [email protected], 212-450-2162
FOX: Eddie Motl, [email protected], 212-556-2486
LUKE BRYAN: Jessie Schmidt, [email protected], 615-491-7988