The national anthem had been performed by marching bands up until Cheryl Ladd received the honor in 1980 for Super Bowl XIV. Her powerful rendition, which she dedicated to the American hostages in Iran, nicely kicked off the tradition of having professional singers perform the anthem.
Faith Hill's undeniable talent was on display as she performed the national anthem. It began calm, and she built the excitement as she continued. The performance included drummers and bag pipes. She showed off her range with her own spin on the last lyric.
Billy Joel is one of two artists who got the opportunity to perform the anthem twice at the Super Bowl. While his first turn was solid, Joel's return in 2007 for Super Bowl XLI was his best, as he played the piano and infused more of his personality into the song.
Carrie Underwood was selected to perform the national anthem five years after winning American Idol, which launched her impressive career.
The iconic Diana Ross brought a welcome simplicity and gentleness to the classic tune, and proved that you don't need a million embellishments to stand out.
Cher's range was a welcome shakeup from all the soprano voices typically performing the national anthem, and she perfected the balance of adding her own twist without unnecessarily transforming the song.
Beyoncé has one of the most powerful voices in the music industry, and it showed during her national anthem performance. She was offered the halftime show, but chose to sing the anthem instead. Beyoncé performed the anthem in her home city of Houston, Texas.
Clarkson had one of the shortest national anthems, proving the performance does not have to be long to make an impact.
Lady Gaga is known for some wild performances, but for this one she kept it simple and made the moment about her vocals rather than dramatic visuals. She added her own flare at the end, showing off her ability to hit the high notes.
With his guitar included, Chris Stapleton gave a moving rendition of the anthem.
Most people agree this is that Whitney Houston's performance was without question the greatest Super Bowl national anthem performance of all time. Houston's vocals and poise were unmatched, and there willnow ever be a rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" on the NFL's biggest stage that tops this one.
