Country artist Mickey Guyton will sing the National Anthem, R&B singer Jhene Aiko will perform “America the Beautiful,” and gospel act Mary Mary will perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” accompanied by the Los Angeles Youth Orchestra, as part of the pre-game ceremonies for the Super Bowl on February 13, the NFL announced Tuesday.
Also on behalf of the National Association of the Deaf, actress Sandra Mae Frank will perform the national anthem and “America the Beautiful” in American Sign Language, and veteran DJ producer Zedd will act as the official pregame DJ while warming up the player.
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The picks align with the NFL’s recent moves toward greater diversity, announced when it first partnered with Roc Nation as an entertainment advisor in 2019. Guyton is the first black artist to receive a Grammy nomination for Best Country Album and has been outspoken about the racism she has encountered from some of the fans while working in the genre.
Six-time Grammy nominee Aiko, comes from a diverse background, including grandparents who are Japanese and Creole/Dominican. Mary Mary is a long-running Los Angeles gospel duo made up of sisters Erica Atkins-Campbell and Trecina Atkins-Campbell. Frank plays a deaf character in the show “New Amsterdam” and is also deaf in real life.
In honor of the Air Force’s 75th anniversary year, the service will hold a unique flyover over the SoFi stadium during the national anthem. The Air Force Heritage Flight will be a formation of a P-51 Mustang, A-10C Thunderbolt II, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-22 Raptor and an F-35A Lightning II.
The NFL previously announced that legendary hip-hop and R&B artists dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar will headline the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show which will be produced by DPS with Roc Nation and Jesse Collins as executive producers and Hamish Hamilton as director.
Super Bowl LVI will be played on Sunday, February 13, 2022 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. The game will be broadcast on NBC and Telemundo and streamed live on Peacock.
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