Lady Gaga will sing the national anthem at this year’s Super Bowl on Feb. 7.
The six-time Grammy-winning artist will open the game, the National Football League says. She joins a long list of performers who have sung the “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the NFL’s main event.
Lady Gaga will be followed by Coldplay for the Super Bowl halftime show. Beyonce will also join Chris Martin onstage, presumably to sing his band’s latest song “Hymn For the Weekend” that features her on vocals.
Other rumored acts to be making a cameo at the halftime show, reported Variety, include Bruno Mars, Adele, Rihanna, and Taylor Swift.
The use of a prominent artist to sing the national anthem at the Super Bowl was not the norm until the early ‘80s. A slew of singers, marching bands, and choirs made up the list before Diana Ross sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Super Bowl XVI in 1982.
Since then, Whitney Houston, Billy Joel, Cher, and—more recently—Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, and Kelly Clarkson have taken turns singing the national anthem at the N.F.L’s championship game.