The majesty is not just in the purple mountains: It’s in the voice of Brandi Carlile, who has one of the most celebrated vocal ranges in modern American music, and was an apt pick by the NFL to sing “America the Beautiful” before the Super Bowl LX kickoff Sunday.
In an interview with Variety published Saturday, Carlile admitted, “I’m a little worried about it. I put it in a key that’s right at the ceiling there for me, and so I’m gonna come out swinging.” Indeed, she did place the song in one of her upper registers, adding some vibrato for good measure.
Playing acoustic guitar, she was accompanied by SistaStrings, the string-playing sister duo that often accompanies her on record and in concert, and who provided the interlude while cameras cut away to Seattle and New England cityscapes. “So it’s gonna be sort of a melodically centered version, instead of a rhythmically centered version,” she noted before the performance.
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Carlile told Variety about the intent of the song, and the lyrics written by social activist Katharine Lee Bates more than 125 years ago. “I don’t want to put words in her mouth; she was beyond brilliant. But it feels almost like she was feeling the way about the country when she wrote it that I’m feeling today singing it. Just this fragile hope, love and belief in where it could be, and acknowledging where it’s been, and acknowledging that we’re not there yet. And that’s what I think is so American about that song — that total celebration is not in order; that our prayers are still in order. But that the only way to move forward is with belief… And I think if we’re gonna save this country as a people, we have to be reminded on some level that deep down we love it.”
Speaking to the part of her audience that might not feel like this is a time to celebrate America with a patriotic anthem, Carlile said, “You know, this is an interesting song. And it’s an interesting decision that I’m making. I definitely don’t want to be seen as neoliberal or as someone who’s glossing over the problems that we have in this country. I want to be seen as one of the people that’s helping.”
Of the overall Super Bowl music lineup, which also includes Bad Bunny, Charlie Puth and Coco Jones, Carlile acknowledged there has been controversy, but said there “shouldn’t be. It looks exactly like America! It looks exactly like the United States. It looks like the players on the field, and it looks like the people that are watching the sport. And that’s how it should look, with a lot of demographics represented, and a lot of enthusiastic people excited to celebrate a huge game on a unifying day. And I think that the folks that put together the entertainment portion of the Super Bowl this year just did a bang-up job. It’s really good. Bad Bunny’s incredible —an incredible spirit and performer. It’s gonna be a fabulous halftime show.”
As to whether she would wear any gear celebrating her hometown team, Carlile said, “You’re not allowed to. But I’ll have a Seahawks jersey on in my heart.”
From Variety US