Source: Kevin Mazur / Getty
On the 30th anniversary of Whitney Houston’s earth-shattering rendition of the National Anthem at the Super Bowl, Jazmine Sullivan did what she had to do.
That was the consensus on Twitter immediately following Sullivan singing the “Star-Spangled Banner” at Super Bowl LV. In a crystal clear homage to the late singer, Sullivan belt out the song while rocking a white pants suit adorned with crystal-detailing and a crystal headpiece designed by NYC-based brand Area that was giving viewers The Bodyguard vibes. It showed Sullivan was well aware of the moment. During rehearsal, she was spotted rocking a windbreaker slightly similar to Houston’s one while she sang the national anthem.
But that’s where the similarities stopped. There was one huge difference from Houston’s performance Sullivan wasn’t alone in honoring the nation. Country music star Eric Church joined the singer for a rare duet version of the “Star-Spangled Banner” that was supposed to be viewed as a way of “uniting” the country.
Sullivan alongside Church delivered, but it was Sullivan who immediately trended on Twitter after the performance. There was plenty of praise sprinkled in with a bit of confusion about the Philadelphia native having to share the moment with someone else. Many viewers felt Sullivan should have performed the song all by herself, especially because it was the 30th anniversary of Whitney Houston’s Super Bowl XXV performance.
Singer and former Love & Hip Hop: Miami star Jessie Woo emphatically said in a tweet, “I DONT LIKE THAT JAZMINE SULLIVAN HAS TO SHARE HER MOMENT!!!!” Woo wasn’t done calling out the league adding in a follow-up tweet, “Jazmine Sullivan didn’t get to take her time and caress the anthem properly! Eric rushed her! We see right thru this robbery YALL are framing as “unity”! SHE WAS ROBBED AND I DONT LIKE YALL!!!! @NFL.”
https://twitter.com/TheJessieWoo/status/1358559176675442705?s=20
Huffington Post journalist Philip Lewis kept it simple and to the point, tweeting, “Jazmine Sullivan should have done this by herself #SuperBowl.”
Regardless, it’s been a great year so far for Jazmine Sullivan, who is currently celebrating the success of her new project “Heaux Tales,” which reached number one on the R&B charts, her highest debut on the Billboard 200. Sullivan was also nominated for Outstanding Female Artist at the 52nd NAACP Image Awards. She will be competing for the award with Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, and H.E.R., who also showed out during her Super Bowl LV performance of “America The Beautiful.”
The queens shined last night.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
Photo: Kevin Mazur / Getty
