Country star Mickey Gayton united players, fans and the country with her performance of the National Anthem at the Super Bowl before the Los Angeles Rams face the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
Backed by a chorus representing diversity in America, the 38-year-old singer – who has overcome racism in the predominantly white male world of country music – has turned “The Star-Spangled Banner” into a musical manifesto about joining together and embracing each other’s differences in SoFi Stadium in Englewood, California.
Proudly dressed in royal blue, Guyton recited the anthem vigorously with her choir. Early reviews agreed that this was one of the best jingles in the game’s history. The astonishing performance lasted about 1 minute 51 seconds.
The show was preceded by a performance of “America the Beautiful” by Los Angeles-born Jenny Ecko, 33.
It’s the latest big barrier-breaking moment for Gayton this past year. She gave a strong performance of her song “black like me” At the Grammys last March, she then became the first African-American woman to co-host the Academy of Country Music Awards in April, then rocked a huge Afro while performing Love My Hair at the Country Music Association Awards in November.
Last September, the Texas native released her much-anticipated debut album, Remember Her Name. The LP is a finalist for three Grammy Awards – Best Country Album, Best Country Solo Performance (“Remember Her Name”) and Best Country Song (“Remember Her Name”) – at the Grammys on April 3.
Gayton set the stage for some other black music stars to take the SoFi arena later on in the halftime show, including Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Queen of Hip Hop Soul and Mary J. Blige. They will be joined by another hip-hop heavyweight, Eminem, when the halftime festivities at Super Bowl LVI kick off.
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