Luke Bryan helped to kick off the 2017 Super Bowl on Sunday night (Feb. 5) with his country rendition of the National Anthem.
Videos by Wide Open Country
All eyes were on Bryan in the moments before the Falcons took on the Patriots in Houston. The four-time Entertainer of the Year and Georgia native looked a little nervous as he took the field at NRG Stadium.
Bryan belted out the Anthem while keeping it simple. His rendition was pretty much a no-frills take on our nation's song. But he took his time when singing the closing lyrics of "land of the free and the home of the brave," causing the crowd to go wild.
.@LukeBryanOnline performs the National Anthem prior to #SB51! https://t.co/xR5kEdBuDz
— NFL (@NFL) February 5, 2017
It's safe to say that Bryan made country proud with his rendition. Several of his fellow country artists took to social media to praise the performance. Both Little Big Town and Hillary Scott tweeted that he "killed it," Chris Young said he "nailed it," while Tim McGraw proclaimed that he was "makin us proud."
This was a much better reaction for Bryan than that time he sang the National Anthem before the Major League Baseball All-Star Game back in 2012. He got a lot of slack because he had to read off some of the lyrics during the performance. He eventually apologized for it, but the haters just kept on hating.
This time around, no apologies are necessary. He not only sounded great but he nailed every word of the song. Way to go, Luke!
