Chris Stapleton keeps national anthem simple, bringing many to tears

(AP) - Country star Chris Stapleton made the national anthem a simple affair at Super Bowl 57, standing alone on the field accompanied by only his electric guitar as he sang “The Star Spangled Banner” moments before the Kansas City Chiefs kickoff to the Philadelphia Eagles to start the game.

Dressed simply in smooth black denim and sunglasses, with neatly combed hair instead of his signature feathered cowboy hat, he sang the anthem as a plaintive ballad, picking it up to rock only briefly as he delivered the final lines “banner yet wave” and “land of the free!”

His anthem felt slow, but it clocked in at 2 minutes, 2 seconds, under the 2 minutes, 5 seconds predicted by oddsmakers. But it was more than 10 seconds longer than last year’s sung by another country star, Mickey Guyton.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni and starting center Jason Kelce both had tears in their eyes during Stapleton’s emotional performance.

As the eight-time Grammy winner sang, “CODA” star Troy Kotsur, the first deaf man to win an acting Oscar, signed the anthem lyrics.

OTHER ANTHEMS

Before Stapleton’s anthem, “Abbott Elementary” star Sheryl Lee Ralph performed “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

Wearing a flowing red velvet gown, Ralph began the song dubbed the Black national anthem as a reflective ballad, and it became a soaring hymn as it went on, with military-style drums joining her and a choir dressed all in white chiming in behind her on the field at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

And R&B legend Babyface delivered “America the Beautiful” as a soulful folk song, playing an acoustic guitar painted with an American flag and blue flowers as he stood alone on the field. A backing track with drum machines and singers kicked in before he was done.