{"id":21043,"date":"2025-02-09T23:48:11","date_gmt":"2025-02-09T23:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=21043"},"modified":"2025-02-09T23:48:11","modified_gmt":"2025-02-09T23:48:11","slug":"ledisi-wows-with-black-national-anthem-lift-every-voice-and-sing-at-super-bowl-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=21043","title":{"rendered":"Ledisi wows with black National Anthem \u2018Lift Every Voice and Sing\u2019 at Super Bowl 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Let the rejoicing rise.<\/p>\n

R&B vocalist\u00a0Ledisi performed the black National Anthem<\/a>, \u201cLift Every Voice and Sing,\u201d ahead of the 2025 Super Bowl matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.<\/p>\n

The 52-year-old wore all white and was joined by 125 New Orleans high school students for the performance, in honor of the hymn\u2019s 125th anniversary.<\/p>\n

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Ledisi performing at the Super Bowl.AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Ledisi performing at the 2025 Super Bowl.Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Ledisi performing at the 2025 Super Bowl.Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Ledisi singing \u201cLift Every Voice and Sing\u201d at the Super Bowl.Getty Images<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>The New Orleans native\u2019s performance will be followed by Jon Batiste\u2019s rendition of the National Anthem, \u201cThe Star Spangled Banner.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Lauren Daigle and Trombone Shorty also will sing \u201cAmerica the Beautiful\u201d before\u00a0Kendrick Lamar\u2019s halftime show<\/a>\u00a0with special guest SZA.<\/p>\n

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Ledisi during her Super Bowl performance.Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Ledisi performing at the 2025 Super Bowl.Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Ledisi and New Orleans high school students at the Super Bowl.REUTERS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When was the Black National Anthem written?<\/h2>\n
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Ledisi speaks onstage during the Super Bowl LVIX Pregame & Apple Music Super Bowl LVIX Halftime Show Press Conference at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on February 06, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana.WireImage<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Originally penned as a poem by NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson\u00a0in 1900<\/a>, \u201cLift Every Voice and Sing\u201d was set to music by his brother John Rosamond Johnson before being adopted as the official song of the NAACP in 1919.<\/p>\n

When was the song sung for the first time at the Super Bowl?<\/h2>\n

Frequently invoked as a rallying cry during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, it was first performed at the Super Bowl in 2020 in the wake of protests against police brutality and the death of George Floyd.<\/p>\n

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(L-R) Ledisi, Trombone Shorty, Lauren Daigle and Jon Batiste attend the Super Bowl LVIX Pregame & Apple Music Super Bowl LVIX Halftime Show press conference at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on February 06, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana.Kevin Mazur\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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(L-R) Apple Music Radio\u00e2s Ebro Dardenartists, Nadeska Alexis along with artist Ledisi, Trombone Shorty, Lauren Daigle and Jon Batiste participate in a moderated conversation during the Super Bowl LIX Pregame + Apple Music Halftime Show Press Conference at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on February 06, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana.Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Who is Ledisi?<\/h2>\n

Born\u00a0Ledisi Anibade Young<\/a>\u00a0in Super Bowl LIX\u2019s host city of New Orleans, she grew up in Oakland, Calif., before finding success as a vocalist, songwriter, music producer, author and actress.<\/p>\n

With 13 albums to her name, the 52-year-old chanteuse dropped her first LP \u2014 \u201cSoulsinger\u201d \u2014 in 2000. A 14-time Grammy nominee, she won her first gramophone in 2021 for Best Traditional R&B Performance.<\/p>\n

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Ledisi performs onstage during The Root 100 2024 Gala at The Apollo Theater on December 05, 2024 in New York City.Getty Images for The Root<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

She had her breakout moment in 2007 with the release of her album \u201cLost & Found,\u201d which earned her a Best R&B Album Grammy nomination. She was nominated by the Recording Academy for Best New Artist that same year. The Grammys governing body also gave Ledisi\u00a0three nominations<\/a>\u00a0for her 2011 album \u201cPieces of Me,\u201d which peaked at No. 2 on Billboard\u2019s Hot R&B chart.<\/p>\n

As\u00a0an actress<\/a>, Ledisi appeared in George Clooney\u2019s 2008 movie \u201cLeatherheads,\u201d played Mahalia Jackson in Ava DuVernay\u2019s Oscar-nominated film, \u201cSelma\u201d and performed on Broadway. On TV, Ledisi has booked roles on shows such as BET\u2019s \u201cAmerican Soul,\u201d FX\u2019s \u201cPOSE,\u201d among others.<\/p>\n

What did Ledisi say about performing \u201cLift Every Voice and Sing\u201d before the Super Bowl?<\/h2>\n

In a pre-Super Bowl press conference on Thursday, Ledisi said she felt \u201coverwhelmed\u201d by the opportunity to sing at the championship game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019m in alignment with greatness to stand in this moment and sing that song,\u201d she said, per the\u00a0Daily Mail<\/a>. \u201cSo that\u2019s all I can say, I\u2019m honored.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I\u2019m choked up the whole time, even [from] the phone call. It starts there,\u201d she added. \u201cBut I\u2019m used to this in my career, standing in moments, representing the past and the future and the current state of the world, I\u2019m used to that pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ledisi arriving at the taping for CMT Smashing Glass: A Celebration of the Groundbreaking Women of Music in Nashville, Tennessee on Nov. 12, 2023.Curtis\/AFF-USA\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>She continued, \u201cI just remember who I\u2019m doing it for. I remember my ancestors, I remember everyone waiting for this moment to feel hopeful and to feel represented.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo yeah, I do get choked up. I\u2019m choked up the whole time. But I have a job to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Let the rejoicing rise. R&B vocalist\u00a0Ledisi performed the black National Anthem, \u201cLift Every Voice and Sing,\u201d ahead of the 2025 Super Bowl matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21044,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21043"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21043\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21045,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21043\/revisions\/21045"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}