Alicia Keys’ Stunning Super Bowl National Anthem Breaks Record

Videos by American Songwriter

It was the longest performance of the National Anthem in Super Bowl history. It was also one of the best.

Seated at an upright piano, Alicia Keys belted out a soulful version of “The Star Spangled Banner” last night, stretching her performance to a record-breaking 156 seconds. Kelly Clarkson, Christina Aguilera, Carrie Underwood, and Jennifer Hudson have all tackled the job in recent years, but Keys’ Super Bowl performance was something special: restrained at points, powerful at others, with bluesy flourishes instead of showy vocal acrobatics. She added a coda at the very end, and — surprise surprise — she actually sang live, something that many vocalists (including Hudson and Whitney Houston) refused to do during their own Super Bowl appearances.

Watch the video here.

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