Reba McEntire Explains Who Convinced Her to Accept the Super Bowl Gig

Meghan Roos
·2 min read
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THE VOICE -- "Live Top 12 Results" Episode 2420B -- Pictured: Reba McEntire -- (Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC via Getty Images)

Reba McEntire has revealed who exactly is responsible for her agreeing to accept an invitation to sing the national anthem at this year’s Super Bowl.

During a Thursday interview with CBS Mornings, the “Queen of Country” thought back to a discussion she had with her manager, Justin McIntosh, leading up to her decision. When McIntosh called with the news that there was interest in McEntire performing at Super Bowl LVIII, the country star wasn’t immediately sure what her answer should be.

“I said, ‘Oh my gosh! Well, let me think about that,’” McEntire recalled. It was at that point in their conversation that her boyfriend weighed in.

“Rex Linn, my boyfriend, who is a huge football fan, he said, ‘Yes! She’ll do it!’” McEntire said with a chuckle.

This will be McEntire’s first time singing at the Super Bowl, though she’s performed the national anthem several times before. She identified 1974 as the year of her first public performance of the song, which she sang at the National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma.

“I sang the national anthem there for 10 years,” McEntire told CBS Mornings. She went on to explain that she prepares to sing the national anthem “like you do a concert: Sing it about five or six times, and get in there and do it.”

McEntire posted two side-by-side photos of herself on X on Thursday to announce her forthcoming performance. The photo on the left shows McEntire singing while at the National Finals Rodeo in 1974. The second photo is a promotional image for her Super Bowl LVIII performance.

“How I met y’all. I’m still here,” her tweet said.

The NFL announced its Super Bowl entertainers for pregame festivities on Thursday morning. In addition to McEntire, the Grammy-nominated rapper Post Malone will sing “America the Beautiful” and the Grammy Award-winning singer and actress Andra Day will perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

The NFL announced last fall that Usher will be performing at this year's Super Bowl Halftime Show.

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