Trending on Billboard
Before the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots kicked off Super Bowl LX on Sunday (Feb. 8) at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., musicians from an assortment of genres took the field to celebrate America — including Coco Jones, who opened the Super Bowl 2026 preshow with a stunning performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Often referred to as the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” is a hymn that dates back to the year 1900 and is a prayer for freedom for all in America.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
Dressed in a white gown augmented by the colors of the Pan-African flag (red, black, green) rendered in shimmering sequins, Jones delivered a technically assured version of the song. Backed by an orchestral octet, Jones demonstrated the vocal command and flair that helped her net a Grammy for best R&B performance category in 2024. Her debut album, Why Not More?, dropped in 2025, following the success of her Billboard Hot 100 hit “ICU.”
“Lift Every Voice and Sing” was added to Super Bowl celebrations in 2020, when Black Lives Matters protests were taking place across the United States and the NFL was under fire for taking disciplinary measures against NFL players who “took a knee” during the National Anthem during the late 2010s to protest police brutality and racial inequality.
Later during the preshow, Green Day performed a medley of their punk-pop hits, Brandi Carlile sang “America the Beautiful” and Charlie Puth performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” (aka the National Anthem). During the Big Game’s halftime, Bad Bunny will take the stage to perform the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show.
