FILE - This Jan. 9, 2013 file photo shows Alicia Keys performing at the People's Choice Awards in Los Angeles. Keys will perform the national anthem before the NFL championship game on Feb. 3 in New Orleans, a person familiar with Super Bowl entertainment plans told The Associated Press on Friday, Jan. 18. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, file)
January 18, 2013 - 9:12 AM
Alicia Keys is adding her voice to the Super Bowl show.
The Grammy-winning R&B singer has been lined up to perform the national anthem before the NFL championship game on Feb. 3 in New Orleans, a person familiar with Super Bowl entertainment plans told The Associated Press on Friday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the NFL has not yet announced the anthem singer.
Keys, who turns 32 next week, released her fifth studio album, "Girl on Fire," late last year.
The Super Bowl teams will be determined this Sunday, when the San Francisco 49ers play the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC championship game, and the Baltimore Ravens face the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game.
The NFL said in October that Beyonce will be the star of the halftime show at this year's Super Bowl. She sang the national anthem at the 2004 NFL title game in her hometown of Houston.
Others who have performed the national anthem at past Super Bowls include "American Idol" winner Kelly Clarkson last year, as well as Whitney Houston, Billy Joel, Diana Ross, Neil Diamond and Mariah Carey.
At the 2011 Super Bowl between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers in Dallas, pop star Christina Aguilera flubbed a line while belting out the national anthem. When she was supposed to sing the words "O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming," Aguilera instead repeated an earlier line, with a slight variation — drawing plenty of attention on Twitter.
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News from © The Associated Press, 2013