SUPER BOWL LVIII
Who’s singing the ‘Black National Anthem’ at Super Bowl 2024?
Prior to the Super Bowl getting underway, there will be renditions of ‘America the Beautiful’, ‘Star Spangled Banner’ and ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’.
Despite the high budget Halftime performances during the interval of the Super Bowl gathering the bulk of the media spotlight, any major US sporting event always kicks-off with a rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner, the official national anthem of the United States.
Recent years have also seen the major sporting event feature renditions of “America the Beautiful”, which this year will be performed by urban star Post Malone.
And following renditions in recent years by the likes of Alicia Keys and Sheryl Lee Ralph, soul singer Andra Day will then perform a rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
The origins behind ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’
Lift Every Voice and Sing is often referred to as “The Black National Anthem” but started life as a hymn written originally as a poem by NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) leader James Weldon Johnson in 1900. His brother, John Rosamond Johnson (1873-1954), composed the music for the lyrics.
A choir of 500 schoolchildren at the segregated Stanton School, where James Weldon Johnson was principal, first performed the song in public in Jacksonville, Florida to celebrate President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday.
At the turn of the 20th century, Johnson’s lyrics eloquently captured the solemn yet hopeful appeal for the liberty of Black Americans. Set against the religious invocation of God and the promise of freedom, the song was later adopted by NAACP and prominently used as a rallying cry during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.
Day on performing at Super Bowl LVIII
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl, Andra Day stated: “I’m really excited. I want people in their spirits, to feel love and I want them to feel healed, and I want them to feel home.
“I want to perform well, but I really want people to feel that spirit when we’re doing this. And that’s the goal at the end of the day for myself and for Adam Blackstone who put the music together”.
Day has won a Grammy Award, a Children’s and Family Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award, along with nomination for an Academy Award for her role in the United States vs Billie Holiday. Her latest studio album ‘Where do we Go’ was released last month and follows her previous offerings, 2015′s ‘Cheers to the Fall’ and the 2021 release ‘United States vs Billie Holiday’ soundtrack.