Chris Stapleton performs at the 50th annual CMA Awards in Nashville, Tenn., on Nov. 2, 2016. Stapleton will hit next month’s Super Bowl stage to sing the national anthem, while R&B legend Babyface will perform “America the Beautiful.” (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)
Anticipation around Super Bowl LVII was already mounting with the reveal of Rihanna as the halftime performer and now the league has unveiled its full slate of scheduled performances for the big day.
While fans (and teams) still have to get through the conference championship round to see who will compete for the Vince Lombardi trophy, the NFL announced that eight-time Grammy award winner Chris Stapleton will be performing the national anthem.
Meanwhile, Babyface, who has notched 12 Grammy awards and 125 top 10 performing hits, was tapped to perform his rendition of America the Beautiful.
Perhaps the biggest and most welcome surprise is that actor Sheryl Lee Ralph will perform the song widely known as the Black national anthem, Lift Every Voice. The announcement of Ralph's involvement with the Super Bowl comes on the heels of her first Emmy win for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series for her role as Barbara Howard in Abbott Elementary.
Actor Troy Kotsur, who won an Oscar for his role in CODA, is set to perform the national anthem in sign language, Colin Denny, a member of the Navajo Nation based in Arizona will sign America the Beautiful, and deaf performer Justina Miles will sign Lift Every Voice.
Retired NFL star Tom Brady told Cheddar News' Kristen Scholer he's not planning to step in for ailing Oakland Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who had foot surgery in the off-season.
William Karlsson, William Carrier and Jonathan Marchessault are finally getting another chance in the Stanley Cup Final, after the first one that came so quick for the Vegas Golden Knights.
Tenzing Norgay, who shares the honor of first ascent with a New Zealander he guided, was honored with Kami Rita, who submitted the mountain for the 28th time this summer, and Sanu Sherpa, who has twice climbed all of the world's 14 highest peaks.