Country superstar Luke Bryan hit the field at the NRG Stadium in Houston on Sunday afternoon to belt out the national anthem ahead of the New England Patriots-Atlanta Falcons Super Bowl showdown.
Bryan is the first country artist in quite a few years to do the honors, and offered the iconic song a country flare in his rendition. He\u2019s also the first male artist to sing the national anthem since Billy Joel 10 years ago.
Bryan took the field shortly after the original Schuyler sisters on Broadway\u2019s \u201cHamilton\u201d \u2014 Phillipa Soo, Ren\u00e9e Elise Goldsberry, and Jasmine Cephas Jones \u2014 sang \u201cAmerica the Beautiful\u201d in front of TV\u2019s biggest audience.
Last year, Lady Gaga, who will be performing the halftime show later on in the day, sang the national anthem. Other past performers include: Idina Menzel, Ren\u00e9e Fleming, Alicia Keys, Diana Ross, Neil Diamond, Whitney Houston, Harry Connick, Jr., Garth Brooks, Natalie Cole, and Vanessa Williams.
Bryan is best known for country hits like \u201cSomeone Else Calling You Baby\u201d and \u201cCountry Girl (Shake It for Me).\u201d Most recently, his single \u201cMove,\u201d off his album \u201cKill the Lights,\u201d topped country charts. He won the Country Music Association\u2019s entertainer of the year award in both 2014 and 2015.
Watch the performance below.
. @LukeBryanOnline performs the National Anthem prior to #SB51! https:\/\/t.co\/xR5kEdBuDz
\u2014 NFL (@NFL) February 5, 2017<\/p>\n

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