SANTA CLARA, California — Super Bowl Sunday kicked off with a soulful rendition of the national anthem by singer-songwriter Charlie Puth at Levi’s Stadium.
Standing at a Rhodes electric piano, Puth delivered the anthem in 1 minute, 56 seconds, slightly faster than the average Super Bowl performance, accompanied by a choir and horn section.
Puth, 34, is a four-time Grammy-nominated artist who first rose to fame with his 2015 hit “See You Again” featuring Wiz Khalifa, a tribute to late actor Paul Walker. Other notable songs include “One Call Away,” “Attention,” “We Don’t Talk Anymore,” and “Left and Right.” He is set to release his fourth studio album, Whatever’s Clever!, on March 6.
Earlier in the pre-game show, Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong performed as part of a ceremony honoring six decades of the NFL and past Super Bowl MVPs. Following Puth, Brandi Carlile and Coco Jones are scheduled to perform “America the Beautiful” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”