No \u201cJoke\u201d: Brandi Carlile is one of the few vocalists out there with so powerhouse of a voice, she could almost be considered overqualified to sing \u201cAmerica the Beautiful.\u201d That\u2019s what she\u2019ll be doing just prior to Super Bowl LX kicking off on Sunday, and although it is not always considered to be as demanding as its patriotic twin, \u201cThe Star Spangled Banner,\u201d Carlile promises that she\u2019ll be performing it at the upper end of her range, which may mean that this seemingly gentler song will have its own bombs bursting in air, musically speaking.<\/p>\n
What does it mean to her to be singing \u201cAmerica the Beautiful,\u201d though, at a time where not everyone in the country is thinking beautiful thoughts about the state of the nation? Carlile has thought plenty about that, as you\u2019d expect from someone with such a history of activism. It means something to her to be on the biggest stage the world has to offer as a representative of the queer community, and she\u2019s also mindful that the historic song itself was co-written by a woman believed by many to be gay. Most of all, she is tuned in to the lyrics, which, if you\u2019ve ever really read through them all, are more aspirational than triumphal. While \u201cAmerica the Beautiful\u201d may never get officially adopted as the national anthem, as some have suggested over the years, i\u2019s a song anyone who believes in the promise of America could, and maybe should, sing.<\/p>\n
Popular on Variety<\/p>\n
Variety spoke with Carlile on Friday as she prepared for her worldwide TV moment Sunday\u2026 with scant time to be too focused on a global arena tour that begins just two days later.<\/p>\n
On the most practical level: Performing at the Super Bowl, with an audience of over 125 million viewers, is scary to a lot of people. But if you sing something as demanding as \u201cThe Joke\u201d every night without fail, you probably can\u2019t be that worried about hitting the notes on \u201cAmerica the Beautiful,\u201d can you?<\/p>\n
No, I\u2019m a little worried about it. I put it in a key that\u2019s right at the ceiling there for me, and so I\u2019m gonna come out swinging.<\/p>\n
What kind of arrangement are you giving it, and who\u2019ll accompany you?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s going to be me and SistaStrings. So it\u2019s gonna be sort of a melodically centered version, instead of a rhythmically centered version.<\/p>\n
Have you sung \u201cAmerica the Beautiful\u201d before? And for that matter, going through the patriotic pantheon, have you ever sung \u201cThe Star Spangled Banner\u201d?<\/p>\n
Yeah, I sang \u201cThe Star Spangled Banner\u201d a couple of times in high school, and I sang it for the Seattle Storm a couple of times early on when I was really young, and then I sang it once for the Seahawks in one really, really big game [in 2015]. That is a really, really hard song. So I\u2019ve sung that one before. But I\u2019ve never sung \u201cAmerica the Beautiful.\u201d I\u2019ve been hearing it my whole life, but I do remember when I first sort of clocked it. I was invited to the White House when Obama was president to sing on the lawn on the 4th of July, and Brandon Flowers [frontman of the Killers] sang it. I just remember hearing it that way, as a modern song, and I was like, \u201cOh, that is a beautiful song\u201d \u2014 beautiful melodically, and lyrically beautiful. Other than that, my exposure to it has been that the definitive versions of the song have been Ray Charles and Whitney Houston, and those versions can\u2019t be touched.<\/p>\n
Many people hear the imagery in the first verse, which is what is usually performed, and think, \u201cOh, it\u2019s a scenery song,\u201d first and foremost. And there is that aspect \u2014 the lyricist, Katharine Lee Bates, had recently been to Pikes Peak. But it\u2019s really a pretty heavy song, in a lot of ways, when you listen to or read through the whole thing. It says, about America, \u201cGod mend thine every flaw\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026Confirm thy soul in self-control \/ Thy liberty in law\u201d! Yeah. I don\u2019t want to put words in her mouth; she was beyond brilliant. But it almost feels almost like she was feeling the way about the country when she wrote it that I\u2019m feeling today singing it. Just this fragile hope, love and belief in where it could be, and acknowledging where it\u2019s been, and acknowledging that we\u2019re not there yet. And that\u2019s what I think is so American about that song \u2014 that total celebration is not in order; that our prayers are still in order. But that the only way to move forward is with belief.<\/p>\n
There might be a different way that we all sort of receive the song, in calmer times. But even without hearing every verse that was written, there may be something about it that, in a time of trouble and division, will be moving for people who are really tuned into it. You\u2019re feeling that.<\/p>\n
Yeah. And I think if we\u2019re gonna save this country as a people, we have to be reminded on some level that deep down we love it.<\/p>\n
Brandi Carlile speaks onstage during the Super Bowl LX Pregame & Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Press Conference at Moscone Center West on February 5, 2026 in San Francisco, California. Getty Images<\/p>\n
There\u2019s obviously controversy around the Super Bowl music this year. Some MAGA people are unhappy enough about Bad Bunny to be having a alternative halftime show. I don\u2019t know if you\u2019ve experienced any controversy personally, but I can sort of imagine that, on the one end, there might be at least a few people out there on the MAGA end of things questioning what it means to be having a gay person sing a patriotic song this year. And then on other end of the scale, there might be some of your most progressive fans wondering if their favorite singer should participating in anything patriotic right now, when the nation is troubled. Basically, there is some baggage connected to this year\u2019s Super Bowl.<\/p>\n
There is, you\u2019re right.<\/p>\n
But, obviously you\u2019re feeling very proud of being there, and you\u2019ve said that you feel like queer representation matters in a moment like this \u2014 the biggest show on earth, basically.<\/p>\n
Yeah. And I have my own moral code, my own moral imperative, that I have to answer to at the end of the day, as a wife and mother, and I believe in my ability and responsibility to do this, and that\u2019s why I\u2019m here. And the throughline to being queer and being a representative of a marginalized community and being put on the largest stage in America to acknowledge the fraught and tender hope that this country is based on, it\u2019s something you don\u2019t say no to. You do it.<\/p>\n
In researching the song, I know you took an interest in Katharine Lee Bates, who was a social activist and very involved in the world in that way, as well as being a poet. And people have speculated, \u201cWas she gay?\u201d or not, and there may never be a definitive answer to that\u2026<\/p>\n
Clearly gay.<\/p>\n
Okay.<\/p>\n
Totally gay! [Laughs.]<\/p>\n
Knowing about her and what she stood for and, and how interesting her life was, that\u2019s something that\u2019s obviously not going to be known to most of America. There won\u2019t be factoids appearing on screen like it\u2019s a \u201cVH1 Pop-Up Video.\u201d But it\u2019s something that must help inform why you love the song, or at least it means something to you.<\/p>\n
Yeah, it absolutely does. You know, I feel called to a long line of contemplative and struggling people. I feel motivated by the fact that she was very likely gay, and a woman relying on her intellect in a time when that was difficult for women to do so, and living with a partner who was doing the same thing. And still choosing \u2014 even in that total oppression; even not being able to be married; even not even being able to say that she was gay, or to be elevated to the heights that she probably deserved to be elevated to in politics \u2014 and, during those times, to still love America and to still believe that it could get to a place of goodness. I won\u2019t say greatness, because that feels a little, you know, patriarchal. But goodness. And I believe the same thing. And I have a sliver of the struggle ahead of and behind me that she was facing in her day.<\/p>\n
So, you know, this is an interesting song. And it\u2019s an interesting decision that I\u2019m making. I definitely don\u2019t want to be seen as neoliberal or as someone who\u2019s glossing over the problems that we have in this country. I want to be seen as one of the people that\u2019s helping.<\/p>\n
Your fans likely understand you are not taking lightly what the mood of the nation is right now, or at least of different parts of the nation.<\/p>\n
No. But I\u2019m not gonna waste my time in the pit fights. My activism isn\u2019t gonna be in the comments section. And, you know, I may not be everyone\u2019s kind of activist, but like I said, I have my own moral imperative that I have to go to sleep with at night.<\/p>\n
Charlie Puth, Coco Jones and Brandi Carlile at the Super Bowl LX Pregame + Apple Music Halftime Show Press Conference on February 05, 2026 in San Francisco, California. Christopher Polk\/Variety<\/p>\n
Anything to say about the bill overall? It\u2019s such an eclectic, interesting collection of people, between you, Bad Bunny, Coco Jones and Charlie Puth. And, as previously stated, controversial in some ways.<\/p>\n
And it shouldn\u2019t be. It shouldn\u2019t be. It looks exactly like America! It looks exactly like the United States. It looks like the players on the field, and it looks like the people that are watching the sport. And that\u2019s how it should look, with a lot of demographics represented, and a lot of enthusiastic people excited to celebrate a huge game on a unifying day. And I think that the folks that put together the entertainment portion of the Super Bowl this year just did a bang-up job. It\u2019s really good. Bad Bunny\u2019s incredible \u2014an incredible spirit and performer. It\u2019s gonna be a fabulous halftime show.<\/p>\n
On the most trivial level, you were approaching this not just thinking of social statements, or what songs and performers in the mix, but as a football fan.<\/p>\n
Maybe more so than ever.<\/p>\n
Your hometown rooting interest is well-established. You\u2019re not going to wear a Seahawks jersey while you sing, are you? You probably couldn\u2019t get away with that?<\/p>\n
You\u2019re not allowed to. But I\u2019ll have a Seahawks jersey on in my heart. You know, people say to me, \u201cOh, isn\u2019t it complicated and difficult to get involved in something like the Super Bowl in these times?\u201d And there\u2019s a lot of validity to that observation. I don\u2019t disagree. But it does get a little easier when it\u2019s your team. [Laughs.] You\u2019d be really surprised, right?<\/p>\n
After it\u2019s all over, you get to go take it easy and relax for a few weeks, right? Sorry, that\u2019s a joke. Your first arena tour kicks off two nights after the Super Bowl, in Philadelphia. We saw a preview of the tour set at your Girls Just Wanna Weekend festival in mid-January, and it seemed extremely well-rehearsed, so you probably don\u2019t have jitters about going directly into that in just a few days.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m so glad it came off as well-rehearsed to you. That was our first one, and then we had some rehearsals after that, and I think it\u2019s even gotten better. So, yeah, I\u2019m really anxious and excited to get out on the road. I don\u2019t think I will relax until I get the first show or two under my belt.<\/p>\n
The 1911 lyrics for \u201cAmerica the Beautiful\u201d:<\/p>\n
O beautiful for spacious skies,<\/p>\n
For amber waves of grain,<\/p>\n
For purple mountain majesties<\/p>\n
Above the fruited plain!<\/p>\n
America! America!<\/p>\n
God shed His grace on thee<\/p>\n
And crown thy good with brotherhood<\/p>\n
From sea to shining sea!<\/p>\n
O beautiful for pilgrim feet,<\/p>\n
Whose stern, impassioned stress<\/p>\n
A thoroughfare for freedom beat<\/p>\n
Across the wilderness!<\/p>\n
America! America!<\/p>\n
God mend thine every flaw,<\/p>\n
Confirm thy soul in self-control,<\/p>\n
Thy liberty in law!<\/p>\n
O beautiful for heroes proved<\/p>\n
In liberating strife,<\/p>\n
Who more than self their country loved<\/p>\n
And mercy more than life!<\/p>\n
America! America!<\/p>\n
May God thy gold refine,<\/p>\n
Till all success be nobleness,<\/p>\n
And every gain divine!<\/p>\n
O beautiful for patriot dream<\/p>\n
That sees beyond the years<\/p>\n
Thine alabaster cities gleam<\/p>\n
Undimmed by human tears!<\/p>\n
America! America!<\/p>\n
God shed His grace on thee<\/p>\n
And crown thy good with brotherhood<\/p>\n
From sea to shining sea!<\/p>\n
Source: RhinoEasy News<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" No \u201cJoke\u201d: Brandi Carlile is one of the few vocalists out there with so powerhouse of a voice, she could<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1389,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rhinoeasy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rhinoeasy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rhinoeasy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rhinoeasy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rhinoeasy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1390"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rhinoeasy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1390\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rhinoeasy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rhinoeasy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rhinoeasy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rhinoeasy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}