Eric Church will sing the national anthem at Super Bowl LV. But he considered turning it down. It wasn’t until he heard the voice of the woman who’d sing it with him that he knew he had to do it.
Church will perform the “Star-Spangled Banner” with R&B singer Jazmine Sullivan. Sullivan released her album Heaux Tales earlier this month. It’s gained her a lot of critical acclaim and many new fans. Church is one of them, he told Today’s Country Radio on Apple Music.
Church, 43, said he’s never wanted to sing the national anthem because it such a difficult song. But that changed when he heard Sullivan’s voice.
“And then I heard her and I’m not missing a chance to sing with he, and that was it,” he says. “Once I heard her voice, I said, ‘Okay, I’m in.'”
Since then, Church has listened to everything the 33-year-old has released.
“I’ve not met her yet. She may be the best singer. I was floored,” he said in the interview. “I’m a fan. I’ve went in and listened to everything she did. And I had heard her name, but full disclosure, I had not listened.”
Super Bowl LV kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. EST on Feb. 7 in Tampa Bay. The Chiefs will face off against the Buccaneers.
Eric Church Opens Up About His Three Upcoming Albums
Eric Church stunned fans recently when he announced that he will release three albums in April. The albums are titled Heart, &, Soul.
He told fans that he secluded himself in the North Carolina mountains for 28 days to write and record the albums. Church also revealed it was a “soul-lifting” experience where he let his “creativity lead” him.
“It was spiritual to me,” he told Today’s Country Radio with Kelleigh Bannen. “We secluded ourselves… It’s the biggest project we’ve ever done.”
“It’s always interesting when you have a group of songs that you’ve written and you say these are my 10 best or 20 best, and everybody listens to them and they decide. I feel like that by the time you get to the studio, those songs have been listened to and thought about and played,” Church said. “I wanted to write a song the same day we recorded that song and let creativity lead and if it sucked, it sucked. Let it just be what it was going to be. And there’s nothing like the birth of a song.”
