But the bigger problem seems to be getting people to accept one set of shared facts.Ī: And I don't know how that happens. Q: It's certainly the case that isolation hasn't helped anybody. And I think the reality of that is what happened at the Capitol. I can tell you from the concert standpoint, the longer we go without people being able to put their arms around the person next to them and have a moment of communion, it gets more tenuous and more dangerous. And because of COVID-19, we've lost the things that used to unite us: concerts, sporting events, trips to Vegas with the boys. But that's how you win elections - you have to create the division, to rile up a base. When I'm at a concert, I'm not thinking about how many people there are Republicans or Democrats. What were you thinking as you watched the events of that day?Ī: I feel like in this country, we've given up the common ground. Q: You said you agreed to do this after the Capitol riot. And it's a time in our country when we have to do that. If you do it by yourself, you say, 'Here's the key and here's how you do it.' But when you're in a duet, I'm giving, she's giving - that's the way that works. Basically, if I can stay out of her way, we're golden.Ī: Right, and keep in mind that neither one of us are gonna be in our natural key. And we're keeping it based around the melody. I've not met her in person we're both going down to Tampa midweek and we'll get together several times. Q: Have the two of you started formulating your rendition?Ī: We're doing that now. Then I did more of a dive, and God almighty she is good. Roc Nation sent me her new project, 'Heaux Tales,' which I dig - kind of a concept album with different voices and different female perspectives. Q: Were you familiar with Jazmine Sullivan prior to this?Ī: I'd heard her name but I hadn't really dug in. In an email, Sullivan said she admires the 'richness and grit' of Church's voice and is 'excited to blend our styles to create something original and new.'įor Church, named entertainer of the year at November's Country Music Association Awards, the Super Bowl gig comes just as he's announced the upcoming release of three studio albums - 'Heart,' '&' and 'Soul,' each due in April - that he recorded last year with his longtime producer, Jay Joyce, during a sojourn in the mountains of North Carolina, far from his usual setting in Nashville. (Other acts set for Sunday's game include the Weeknd, who will perform at halftime, and H.E.R., who will sing 'America the Beautiful.') Overseen by veteran musical director Adam Blackstone as part of Roc Nation's deal to shape the NFL's musical offerings, the performance will be only the second anthem duet at the Super Bowl, following Aretha Franklin and Aaron Neville's joint reading in 2006. On Sunday the two artists will collaborate in public for the first time before the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers face off in Tampa - the same Florida city where Whitney Houston gave an iconic rendition of 'The Star-Spangled Banner' 30 years ago.

National anthem super bowl