Jazmine Sullivan and Eric Church teamed up to sing the national anthem at Super Bowl LV on Sunday evening with a mix of bluesy guitar riffs and soulful vocals.
Some fans on social media called the duo’s performance an “interesting combo” that worked—Sullivan is a Grammy-nominated R&B singer while Church is a country star.
The “Springsteen” singer started out “The Star-Spangled Banner” on an electric guitar with the Grammy-nominated “Bust Your Windows” artist coming in on the third line.
Twitter user @Brittaglobal tweeted: “Eric Church x Jasmine Sullivan is such an interesting combo for the national anthem, but I like it #SuperBowl.”
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Author and journalist @IAmSophiaNelson agreed: “Loving this combo for the #NationalAnthem #SuperBowl.”
Other social media users observed the “symbolic message” of having White and Black artists perform a duet for the national anthem.
CNN commentator @keithboykin tweeted: “I wasn’t sure what to expect from Eric Church and Jazmine Sullivan singing the national anthem as a duet, but I actually liked it. At a time when the nation just barely survived an insurrection, the symbolic message of a white country singer and a Black R&B singer kinda worked.”
Yet others noted a Black singer had to share the stage instead of being offered the opportunity to sing a solo.
@TheJessieWoo wrote: “JAZMINE SULLIVAN HAD TO SING THE NATIONAL ANTHEM AS A DUET WITH A WHITE MAN ON THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF WHITNEY’S #SuperBowl PERFORMANCE???!!!!”
After seeing the duo, some people wanted country music to have more of a spotlight on the larger Super Bowl stage.
Twitter user @ravaewilson tweeted: “This national anthem duet is making me want a country music half time show next year – come on @NFL @pepsi – make this happen! #SuperBowl.”
Deaf rapper Warren ‘WAWA’ Snipe also performed the national anthem alongside Church and Sullivan in American Sign Language.
Watch the full performance below:
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