Singer and actor Sheryl Lee Ralph graced televisions on Sunday as she performed "Lift Every Voice and Sing" ahead of Kansas City Chief's battle against the Philadelphia Eagles at Super Bowl LVII.
Prior to the event, Ralph shared her excitement on Twitter, noting the significance of the date.
"It's no coincidence that I will be singing the Black National Anthem, Lift Every Voice and Sing at the Super Bowl on the same date it was first publicly performed 123 years ago (February 12, 1900)."
"Happy Black History Month!"
\u201cIt is no coincidence that I will be singing the Black National Anthem, Lift Every Voice and Sing at the Super Bowl on the same date it was first publicly performed 123 years ago (February 12, 1900). Happy Black History Month! @nfl @rocnation @SavageXFenty \n\nTune in at 3pm/6pmEST.\u201d— sheryl lee ralph (@sheryl lee ralph) 1676235668
\u201c123 years ago today Lift Every Voice and Sing was performed publicly for the 1st time. Today I will sing it for the 1st time as part of the @SuperBowl pre game show in the stadium!\u201d— sheryl lee ralph (@sheryl lee ralph) 1676219948
Not only was the date of the song's first public reveal of importance but also the fact Sunday's game was the first-ever Super Bowl to feature two Black starting quarterbacks as Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes squared off against Philadelphia's Jalen Hurts.
Ralph told The Hollywood Reporter she was also proud to be performing on a platform Philly was a part of.
“Abbott Elementary takes place in Philadelphia. My husband is a senator in Philadelphia. And this year the Eagles [went] to the Super Bowl—I had already been chosen to sing.”
You can watch her performance below.
\u201cSheryl Lee Ralph opens #SUPERBOWL LVII.\u201d— Complex Pop Culture (@Complex Pop Culture) 1676243828
After viewing Ralph's performance, however, some people took to social media to share their speculation Ralph lip-synced.
\u201c@thesherylralph lip synching to start the @SuperBowl ugh\u201d— Jamie Carr (@Jamie Carr) 1676243653
But Ralph had something to ask them:
"Does it matter?"
"Does it matter?"
"No. Thank you."
Some on Twitter replied it did matter.
\u201c@PopCrave well, to sing national anthem at super bowl opening is a tradition & that tradition required the singer to sing live & show their vocal skill set. its kind of disappointing if the singer chose to lip sync\u201d— Pop Crave (@Pop Crave) 1676259556
\u201c@PopCrave ayo what's the point of a live show if you don't sing live \ud83d\ude2d\u201d— Pop Crave (@Pop Crave) 1676259556
\u201c@PopCrave it matters actually\u201d— Pop Crave (@Pop Crave) 1676259556
Mmany agreed with Ralph that it does not matter if they're lip synching to their own voice.
No one is doing a Milli Vanilli here.
And *spoiler* many Super Bowl performances had pre-recorded vocals.
\u201c@PopCrave From what I understand for the past 10+ years they have all been lip-synced because it\u2019s such an important part of the event\u201d— Pop Crave (@Pop Crave) 1676259556
\u201c@PopCrave A lot of them don\u2019t sing live. Even Whitney\u2019s iconic performance was prerecorded.\u201d— Pop Crave (@Pop Crave) 1676259556
\u201c@PopCrave Witney Huston Lip-synced too and they keep saying she has the best interpretation of the national anthem\u2026 so yes, it does not matter.\u201d— Pop Crave (@Pop Crave) 1676259556
\u201c@PopCrave EVERYONE sings to a pre-recorded track at the Super Bowl. Yes even your fave\u201d— Pop Crave (@Pop Crave) 1676259556
\u201c@PopCrave it\u2019s her voice either way\u2026 idk why y\u2019all try to play with ms SHERYL!\u201d— Pop Crave (@Pop Crave) 1676259556
Of course, we can all agree on one thing.
\u201c@PopCrave Sheryl sounded absolutely beautiful and looked stunning. Y\u2019all better quit playing with her\u201d— Pop Crave (@Pop Crave) 1676259556
After her performance, Ralph shared:
“It’s just so amazing that they chose me. And then the Eagles are in the Super Bowl."
"I mean, come on. You know God must be a woman because all of this is just too perfect."
The Eagles lost to Kansas City, but we think Ralph still walked away with the win.
Jane Rosenberg
Jane Rosenberg
@arianagrande/Instagram
@arianagrande/Instagram