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Who is singing “America the Beautiful” on the field, prior to the start of the 2019 Super Bowl? This year’s singers are Chloe and Halle Bailey, also known as the Grammy-nominated R&B duo Chloe x Halle. The two singers are sisters and they originally hail from Atlanta, Georgia, which is the host city of this year’s Super Bowl.
These two girls first started out by posting videos on YouTube and soon caught the eye of Beyonce and her label Parkwood Entertainment. Their debut EP dropped in 2016 and they have been on the rise ever since. Some may recognize the Bailey sisters from the theme song to the show Grown-ish, as well as from the cast. Then, in 2018, they dropped their debut album “The Kids Are Alright”. With the Grammys coming up, the Baileys are nominated in two categories – Best Urban Contemporary Album and Best New Artist.
In the Chloe x Halle professional bio on their website, how the duo came to start out in the industry has been described as this, “Sister duo Chloe X Halle navigated YouTube’s pop landscape with a string of jaw-dropping covers the past couple of years revealing their gift for creating keening harmonies and genuine musical moments that showcase their expansive range. It was their soulful rendition of Beyonce’s own ‘Pretty Hurts’ that caught the attention of the mogul’s Parkwood Entertainment imprint in 2013.”
Chloe Bailey and Halle Bailey attend Swizz Beatz presents Bally x Shok-1 at Bally on October 18, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California.
Chloe and Halle have experience performing at NFL events, though they have never taken on the Super Bowl. Previously, the two performed The National Anthem at the 2017 NFL Draft, according to Pop Culture.
This year’s performers at the Super Bowl have been criticized for participating, while many have voiced they should opt out, in support of former player Colin Kaepernick, who chose to take a knee during The National Anthem, before games. For tonight’s Super Bowl, Gladys Knight is the National Anthem singer and she spoke about the controversy to Variety. Knight’s statement reads, “I understand that Mr. Kaepernick is protesting two things, and they are police violence and injustice. It is unfortunate that our National Anthem has been dragged into this debate when the distinctive senses of the National Anthem and fighting for justice should each stand alone. I am here today and on Sunday, Feb. 3 to give the Anthem back its voice, to stand for that historic choice of words, the way it unites us when we hear it and to free it from the same prejudices and struggles I have fought long and hard for all my life, from walking back hallways, from marching with our social leaders, from using my voice for good — I have been in the forefront of this battle longer than most of those voicing their opinions to win the right to sing our country’s Anthem on a stage as large as the Super Bowl LIII.”
Knight continued, “No matter who chooses to deflect with this narrative and continue to mix these two in the same message, it is not so and cannot be made so by anyone speaking it. I pray that this National Anthem will bring us all together in a way never before witnessed and we can move forward and untangle these truths which mean so much to all of us.”
The Super Bowl 2019 pre-show, featuring the National Anthem and the “America the Beautiful” performance will begin at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.
GettyChloe Bailey and Halle Bailey aka Chloe x Halle attend DreamWorks Trolls The Experience on November 14, 2018 in New York City.