Country music artist Chris Stapleton turned in one of the most memorable renditions of the national anthem ever for the Super Bowl in the game\u2019s storied history, according to countless viewers who turned in to see the pregame ritual.<\/p>\n
Stapleton, the third consecutive country music singer to be honored with the privilege of singing the Star-Spangled Banner, did not disappoint with his soulful, tear-jerking performance. The song lasted two minutes and one second.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrown-a** men crying to Chris Stapleton singing the national anthem,\u201d one Twitter user wrote. \u201cWow, this one is right up there with Whitney Houston\u2019s performance. Just amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another said they were still \u201cmopping up tears\u201d after listening to the powerfully moving singing.<\/p>\n
Take a look as Stapleton brings down the house in his 2023 Super Bowl premiere:<\/p>\n
Most famous for the waterworks was Philadelphia Eagles\u2019 head coach Nick Siranni. Sirrani, the second-year coach for the favored NFC team (who lost 38-35 in a back and forth contest against the Kansas City Chiefs) was visibly tearing up during Stapleton\u2019s performance. He immediately went viral for all the right reasons.<\/p>\n
Fans say Stapleton\u2019s cover rivals, though perhaps not quite eclipses, the iconic 1991 rendition performed by then-27-year-old megastar Whitney Houston.<\/p>\n
In that unforgettable performance, Houston famously slowed down her version to increase the drama of the already-moving song.<\/p>\n
Business Insider remembered how it all came together in the early 1990s.<\/p>\n
The singer had traveled to Los Angeles in 1991 after doing a screentest for \u201cThe Bodyguard\u201d and recorded the track per the NFL\u2019s request. Despite the NFL\u2019s protests, however, Houston, Minor, and bassist-arranger John L. Clayton had slowed down the song, ostensibly in an effort to showcase Houston\u2019s vocals more and infuse the song with a more dramatic flair.<\/p>\n
One of the song\u2019s producers \u2013 what fans heard was a pre-recorded version while Whitney sang live into a dead mic \u2013 recalled that she needed just two takes to achieve the final product. The song itself would go on to be a Top 20 single.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said, \u2018No, just put it [the song] up \u2014 it\u2019ll be fine,\u2019 So I played it one time, and she listened,\u201d producer Rickey Minor said years later. \u201cShe said, \u2018Okay, got it. She goes, and she does it, and there\u2019s nothing really to do. So I just had to do it a second time, just because she was already warmed up. And I used just a little of that second track because \u2018rockets red glare\u2019 was a little more powerful than the first time. That was the only change.\u201d<\/p>\n