At Super Bowl LX on February 8, singer Coco Jones was seen opening up the NFL's pre-game ceremony with a powerful live rendition of Lift Every Voice and Sing, which is a hymn often dubbed as the Black national anthem.
She performed this song with an orchestra before kickoff, dressed in a white outfit accented with Pan-African flag hues, a creative nod to cultural heritage and Black history during black history month.
Many viewers and fans praised her singing for its emotion, vocal strength, and links to the song's history.
Others referred to this performance as very moving and meaningful. While a huge portion of the audience applauded Jones and celebrated the moment as an important cultural inclusion, the decision to include it in the ceremony had some drawing backlash on social media. Critics argued about how the Super Bowl should only feature the official US anthem and said that it distinguished a separate Black national anthem.