Charlie Puth has promised “one of his best vocal performances at the Super Bowl.
The 34-year-old singer has been chosen to performer the United States’ national anthem The Star-Spangled Banner at next year’s big game on February 6, and he’s directly addressed criticism from fans questioning his selection.
One person argued on X: “Man we’ve fallen from when Whitney Houston sang at the Super Bowl. Charlie Puth? He’s not gonna give us vocals I’m afraid.”
But the Marvin Gaye hitmaker replied: “I’ll never claim to be as good of a singer as Whitney Houston ever was.
“But I assure you we’re putting a really special arrangement together- in D major. It’ll be one of my best vocal performances.”
Over the weekend, the NFL confirmed the official Super Bowl LX pregame lineup.
As well as Charlie on national anthem duties, Brandi Carlile will be singing America The Beautiful, with Coco Jones performing Lift Every Voice And Sing.
They are joined on the bill by Bad Bunny, as the Puerto Rican rapper was selected as the headline for the halftime show at the NFL showpiece.
He previously revealed he was in the gym when he received a call from Jay-Z confirming he had been booked to provide the entertainment.
He told Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, he said: “It’s crazy because I was in the middle of a workout. So I remember that after the call, I just did like a hundred pull-ups. I didn’t need more pre-workout s*** or whatever. It was very special. It was so special.”
The Dikiti hitmaker has promised to pay tribute to his Puerto Rican background in his performance.
He said: “I’m going to enjoy. I’m going to embrace the moment. I’m going to show what we have, our music, our culture. I’m just going to the stage to enjoy and have fun…
“I’m really excited for my friends, my family. Puerto Rico, all the Latino people around the world. I’m excited about my culture. I’m excited about everything, not just for me. You know what I’m saying.
“It feels really good the beach where we record is my hometown beach. So it’s a very special thing for us.
“I’m always doing everything with purpose, and of course, everywhere I go, I always represent and I always put my country, my music. I really am figuring out yet what I’m going to do on this show. But it’s going to be good.”