Sheryl Lee Ralph, Babyface Set To Perform At Super Bowl LVII Pre-Show

By Rivea Ruff ·Updated January 24, 2023

Sheryl Lee Ralph’s winning season is continuing on into the biggest night in sports entertainment.

The Emmy and Critic’s Choice Award-winner was just announced among the lineup of Super Bowl LVII pregame entertainment performers. The actress and former Broadway star will sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” also colloquially known as “The Black National Anthem” before the top teams in the NFL face off for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

“Come on now. Don’t you ever give up on you baby!” Ralph wrote to her 805,000 followers on Instagram when the NFL broke the news. “I’ll be singing Lift Every Voice and Sing at Super Bowl LVII – See you there.”

SIMI VALLEY, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 09: In this image released on November 9, Sheryl Lee Ralph attends Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 4 presented by Prime Video in Simi Valley, California; and broadcast on November 9, 2022. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 4 presented by Prime Video)

In addition, legendary singer, songwriter, and producer Kenneth ‘Babyface’ Edmonds will help kick off the game night festivities. The 12-time Grammy winner will raise his voice to sing “America the Beautiful” before country star Chris Stapleton sings the national anthem just before kickoff.

“Truly excited and honored to perform ‘America the Beautiful’ at Super Bowl LVII and to be a part of this pregame lineup,” Babyface wrote to his 1.3 million Instagram followers.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 26: Babyface attends the 2022 BET Awards at Microsoft Theater on June 26, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET)

The 57th annual NFL championship showdown is already garnering intense fan buzz, since Rihanna was announced as the halftime performer in September 2022, after previously turning the gig down a few years ago. It’s the new mom’s big return to the stage, as she hasn’t performed live for an audience of tens of thousands since her ANTI World Tour in 2016. The highly buzzed-about show is sure to be full of surprises, as the songstress hasn’t released an album or any independent singles since the 2016, with her recent Oscar-nominated song from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, “Lift Me Up,” serving as her first release in 6 years.

Super Bowl LVII takes place at Glendale Arizona’s State Farm Stadium on February 12.