This year’s Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta will have a hometown star singing the national anthem before the biggest game of the NFL season. Seven-time Grammy Award-winning singer Gladys Knight will take center stage before the Super Bowl, performing the song in her Atlanta hometown, where the game will be held on Feb. 3 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, reported CBS Sports.
With No. 1 hits in pop, Gospel, and R&B, Knight has been a music legend since her rise to stardom with such classics as “Midnight Train to Georgia” and “That’s What Friends are For,” which both reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1973 and 1986 respectively. Recognized as one of Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Singers of All Time, Knight and The Pips entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.
The Empress of Soul joins fellow legendary artists Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Diana Ross, Beyonce, Christina Aquilera, Lady Gaga, and countless other celebrity anthem guests.
“I am proud to use my voice to unite and represent our country in my hometown of Atlanta,” she said in an NFL video announcing Super Bowl LIII.
Gladys Knight Comments on Colin Kaepernick and the Super Bowl
The NFL announced earlier that Maroon 5, Travis Scott, and Big Boi would perform the halftime show at the Super Bowl LIII.
However, finding an artist to perform this year proved tricky thanks to the ongoing controversy concerning the NFL’s stance on players protesting on the field, brought about by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who hasn’t played professionally since 2016. Kaepernick gained praise and criticism for his “taking a knee” during the performance of the National Anthem prior to each game to protest against a flag he believes represents “a country that oppresses black people and people of color.”
While Kaepernick has gained a following, his actions have also been criticized for being misdirected, and for politicizing the NFL, which has since been mired in controversy and dwindling ratings.
The legendary soul singer and Civil Rights advocate commented on Kaepernick.
“I understand that Mr. Kaepernick is protesting two things, and they are police violence and injustice,” she wrote to Variety. “It is unfortunate that our National Anthem has been dragged into this debate when the distinctive sense of the National Anthem and fighting for justice should each stand alone.
“I am here today and on Sunday, Feb. 3 to give the Anthem back its voice, to stand for that historic choice of words, the way it unites us when we hear it and to free it from the same prejudices and struggles I have fought long and hard for all my life, from walking back hallways, from marching with our social leaders, from using my voice for good—I have been in the forefront of this battle longer than most of those voicing their opinions to win the right to sing our country’s Anthem on a stage as large as the Super Bowl LIII.
“No matter who chooses to deflect with this narrative and continue to mix these two in the same message, it is not so and cannot be made so by anyone speaking it. I pray that this National Anthem will bring us all together in a way never before witnessed and we can move forward and untangle these truths which mean so much to all of us.”
The singer tweeted: “Atlanta, I’m coming home!”
Atlanta, I’m coming home! #NFL #SBLIII pic.twitter.com/8rH0O5OAAo
— Gladys Knight (@MsGladysKnight) January 17, 2019
