Let the rejoicing rise.
R&B vocalist Ledisi carried out the black Nationwide Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” forward of the 2025 Tremendous Bowl matchup between the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
The 52-year-old wore all white and was joined by 125 New Orleans highschool college students for the efficiency, in honor of the hymn’s one hundred and twenty fifth anniversary.
The New Orleans native’s efficiency might be adopted by Jon Batiste’s rendition of the Nationwide Anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner.”
Lauren Daigle and Trombone Shorty additionally will sing “America the Beautiful” earlier than Kendrick Lamar’s halftime present with particular visitor SZA.
When was the Black Nationwide Anthem written?
Initially penned as a poem by NAACP chief James Weldon Johnson in 1900, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” was set to music by his brother John Rosamond Johnson earlier than being adopted because the official track of the NAACP in 1919.
When was the track sung for the primary time on the Tremendous Bowl?
Often invoked as a rallying cry in the course of the Civil Rights Motion of the Nineteen Fifties and Nineteen Sixties, it was first carried out on the Tremendous Bowl in 2020 within the wake of protests towards police brutality and the dying of George Floyd.
Who’s Ledisi?
Born Ledisi Anibade Younger in Tremendous Bowl LIX’s host metropolis of New Orleans, she grew up in Oakland, Calif., earlier than discovering success as a vocalist, songwriter, music producer, writer and actress.
With 13 albums to her title, the 52-year-old chanteuse dropped her first LP — “Soulsinger” — in 2000. A 14-time Grammy nominee, she gained her first gramophone in 2021 for Greatest Conventional R&B Efficiency.
She had her breakout second in 2007 with the discharge of her album “Lost & Found,” which earned her a Greatest R&B Album Grammy nomination. She was nominated by the Recording Academy for Greatest New Artist that very same yr. The Grammys governing physique additionally gave Ledisi three nominations for her 2011 album “Pieces of Me,” which peaked at No. 2 on Billboard’s Sizzling R&B chart.
As an actress, Ledisi appeared in George Clooney’s 2008 film “Leatherheads,” performed Mahalia Jackson in Ava DuVernay’s Oscar-nominated movie, “Selma” and carried out on Broadway. On TV, Ledisi has booked roles on reveals akin to BET’s “American Soul,” FX’s “POSE,” amongst others.
What did Ledisi say about performing “Lift Every Voice and Sing” earlier than the Tremendous Bowl?
In a pre-Tremendous Bowl press convention on Thursday, Ledisi mentioned she felt “overwhelmed” by the chance to sing on the championship sport.
“I feel like I’m in alignment with greatness to stand in this moment and sing that song,” she mentioned, per the Day by day Mail. “So that’s all I can say, I’m honored.”
“I think I’m choked up the whole time, even [from] the phone call. It starts there,” she added. “But I’m used to this in my career, standing in moments, representing the past and the future and the current state of the world, I’m used to that pressure.”
She continued, “I just remember who I’m doing it for. I remember my ancestors, I remember everyone waiting for this moment to feel hopeful and to feel represented.”
“So yeah, I do get choked up. I’m choked up the whole time. But I have a job to do.”
