Reba McEntire made quick but majestic work of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
The “Queen of Country” sang the national anthem moments before kickoff, backed by a recorded track of a country band with a horn section.
While this was McEntire's Super Bowl debut, the performance commemorates the 50th anniversary of her first public rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the 1974 National Finals Rodeo in her home state of Oklahoma.
Flag-bearing service members stood behind her, a huge U.S. flag covered most of the field, and military jets flew over Allegiant Stadium as she sang.
She got through the song in about 1 minute 40 seconds. That’s a good 10 seconds longer than the over-under from oddsmakers, but still the quickest version of the anthem at the Super Bowl since Kelly Clarkson sang it 12 years ago.
Meanwhile, Post Malone offered a twang-y take on “America the Beautiful.”
The Grammy-nominated musician sang “America the Beautiful,” bringing his unique vocal tone — most frequently paired with his idiosyncratic approach to pop-rock-rap — to the Super Bowl.
Wearing a bolo tie and playing acoustic guitar, Malone’s take on the song was twang-y, his Texas roots taking a front seat. Mid-song, cameras cut to Taylor Swift and Blake Lively holding each other and enjoying the performance. Earlier this week, Malone’s breakout hit, “Sunflower,” with Swae Lee — released for the “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” soundtrack — was named the first-ever double-diamond single in Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) history.
Taylor Swift arrives at Allegiant Stadium for Super Bowl LVIII
Swift was seen entering the stadium in Las Vegas accompanied by Blake Lively, Ice Spice and others.
