Alicia Keys To Sing National Anthem At Super Bowl XLVII

Alicia Keys will be singing the national anthem before the NFL Championship game on February 3.

The source who announced Keys’ involvement spoke on condition of anonymity because the the NFL has to make its own official announcement.

The Grammy winner released her fifth studio album, Girl on Fire, on November 27, 2012. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 159,000 copies sold in its first week. However, it was Keys’ lowest entry at the top of the charts. In 2009, The Element of Freedom sold 417,000 to debut at number one. Her third album, As I Am, sold 742,000 in its first week, marking Keys’ largest first week sales.

The teams playing in the Super Bowl will be determined this Sunday. The New England Patriots will face the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC championship game and the San Francisco 49ers will face the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC championship game.

Also performing at the Super Bowl this year is Beyonce, who will be the star of the halftime show. She confirmed the announcement on Twitter, posting a picture of herself with “Feb 3” and “2013” written in eye-black on her face. As we have previously reported, fifty contest winners will be chosen to get onstage with Beyonce. Each of these winners will be allowed to bring one guest to the game. The contest is sponsored by Pepsi, with whom Beyonce recently signed a $50 million deal.

The last time Beyonce performed at the Super Bowl was in 2004, when she sang the national anthem before the Patriots defeated the Carolina Panthers in her hometown of Houston, Texas.

Alicia Keys will be joining Whitney Houston, Neil Diamond, Christina Aguilera, and others who have performed the national anthem.

[Photo credit: Tom Begasse / Shutterstock.com]