Best Super Bowl National Anthem Performances: Beyonce, Gaga, More

Grab your snacks and get comfortable! Viewers can tune in to the big game and the epic halftime show — but the night of Super Bowl entertainment begins much earlier than that.

Performing the national anthem at the Super Bowl is a long-standing tradition and a sign that the big game is about to begin. Over the years it has been sung by some of music’s most impressive singers – from Lady Gaga To Mariah Carey — and each artist has interpreted America’s theme song in their own unique way.

However, some have made history with their iconic performances. Whitney Houston brought the country to a standstill when she sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Super Bowl XXV in January 1991. At the time, she became the first artist in history to have seven consecutive singles #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100.

“When you were there, you could feel the intensity,” said Houston, who died in 2012, during an interview for her greatest hits album in 2000. “We were in the Gulf War at the time. It was an intense time for our country. Many of our daughters and sons have fought abroad. I could see around the stadium, I could see the fear, the hope, the intensity and the prayers.”

The Bodyguard star explained that for the audience — and for them — The traditional tune was filled with “hope” “to bring our babies home from overseas”.

“That’s what I felt as I sang this song and the overwhelming love that emanated from the stands was incredible,” she recalled of the experience.

Houston wasn’t the only one to make her mark on the famous difficult piece of music. Kelly Clarkson belted out a nearly flawless live rendition of the song at the 2012 Super Bowl – giving a friend and fellow songwriter in the process Pink Advice on how to capture the moment she took the stage the following year.

“In any case, make sure that you wear in-ears [monitors] Because boy, that two or three second delay [in the stadium speakers] can really piss you off”, that american idol Alum told Minnesota Star Tribune in 2013. “It could be the longest version of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ ever.”

For her part, Pink told the outlet at the time that there was “so much pressure” to get that National anthem on the right. “If you screw up, people never let you forget,” she explained.

While some ultimately criticized the “Perfect” singer’s delivery in 2013, she later revealed the reason things didn’t sound as pristine as she’d planned — she’d been battling an illness.

“I’m trying to train away the flu,” Pink wrote via Instagram at the time. “I’ve been waiting to sing this song [“The Star-Spangled Banner”] since 1991 when I saw my idol Whitney Houston own this song. And now my chance has finally come. And it just so happens that that opportunity comes when I have two little petri dish kids literally coughing INTO MY MOUTH and rubbing their snot on my cheek. You can’t write this stuff, I swear! And here we are.”

Regard all the best performances of the Super Bowl national anthem in the video above and keep scrolling for some of the best performances of all time.