Country music star Luke Bryan is ready for the spotlight Sunday when he sings the national anthem at Super Bowl LI in Houston.
Unlike previous years, however, the Georgia native isn’t afraid to “Kick the Dust Up” by weighing in on which team he’s rooting for.
“I would always dodge the question and try to stay pretty neutral because I would have fans in both markets. But I gotta step out there and say I’m pulling for my [Atlanta] Falcons this year,” Mr. Bryan said, reported Rolling Stone Thursday.
The musician also addressed the criticism he received in 2012 after he appeared to have written crib notes on his hand while performing the “Star-Spangled Banner” at Major League Baseball’s All Star Game.
“I had just written down ’streaming’ and ’gleaming’ because for some reason during rehearsals I kept jumbling those up,” Mr. Bryan said, reported the music magazine. “Then I started psyching myself out on it. I thought I did a great job on the Anthem, but the unfortunate thing was people saw me checking those two words. I learned from it, and you know, I’m just gonna walk out there and sing it and go from there.”
“I had a few keys words written down to insure myself that I wouldn’t mess up. I just wanted to do my best. I promise it was from the heart,” Mr. Bryan tweeted shortly after the controversy exploded on social media, ABC News reported in July 2012. “If I offended anyone with my approach I sincerely apologize,” he added in a subsequent tweet, ABC noted. “Anytime I sing the anthem it is an honor and my heart beats out of my chest.”
• Ken Shepherd can be reached at kshepherd@washingtontimes.com.
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