Country music is back at the Super Bowl. Vocal powerhouse Brandi Carlile will perform “America the Beautiful” ahead of the Feb. 8 game in Santa Clara, Calif.
She is one of three pre-game performers announced by the NFL this week.
- Super Bowl XL airs on NBC on Feb. 8, 2026. Bad Bunny is going to perform at halftime.
- Until last year, country music stars had been asked to sing the National Anthem four straight years.
- The game happens one week after the Grammys, where Carlile is nominated for two awards.
Related: 25 Best Country Songs of the Last 25 Years, Including Brandi Carlile!
Who’s Singing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl?
In 2026, Charlie Puth will sing the National Anthem. He follows last year’s memorable performance from Jon Batiste. Before that it was ffour straight country stars.
Eric Church, Mickey Guyton, Chris Stapleton and Reba McEntire performed the National Anthem from 2021 to 2024 with Stapleton’s considered to be among the best ever. Luke Bryan (2017), Carrie Underwood (2010) and the Chicks (2003) are three more who’ve had the honor.
Greogry Shamus, Getty Images
Country Singers at the Super Bowl
For the most part, country singers have been siloed into the pre-game over the last 30 years. Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert (2012) are the last to sing “America the Beautiful” but Faith Hill also had the honor in 2009. This song hasn’t always been performed, but along with the Anthem and “Live Every Voice and Sing” (performed by Coco Jones in 2026) it’s been a tradition for years.
Related: 20 Country Songs That Share a LGBTQ+ Perspective
The genre has been shut out of the halftime show since 2003 when Shania Twain joined No Doubt. The last country-led halftime show was in 1994 but it’s not for lack of star power.
In fact, earlier this year, Taste of Country put together a list of 15 stars we think would be perfect for the Super Bowl halftime show, which you can check out below.
15 Country Artists Primed to Headline a Super Bowl Halftime Show
Any way you slice it, country music is long overdue for its time in the spotlight at the Super Bowl. Although several artists have sung the National Anthem at the game, the coveted halftime show has been anything but country for over three decades.
The last time anyone from the genre headlined the performance was in 1994, when Clint Black, Tanya Tucker, Travis Tritt, Wynonna Judd and Naomi Judd did a medley of their biggest hits. With country music gaining in popularity, there’s no better time than now to put one of our own in the spotlight. Here are 15 artists who are already primed to take on the task.
Gallery Credit: Jess
See the Most Played Country Song from the Year You Were Born
Who had the most played country song during the year you were born? This list is a fascinating time capsule of prevalent trends from every decade in American history. Scroll through to find your birth year and then click to listen. Some of these songs have been lost through the years, many of them for good reason!
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
