Who’s singing the national anthem at the 2026 Super Bowl? All about Charlie Puth

Charlie Puth is bringing his musical talents to the 2026 Super Bowl on Sunday as he’s set to sing the national anthem before the New England Patriots face off against the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

The 34-year-old musician — known for pop hits like “See You Again,” “We Don’t Talk Anymore,” “Attention,” and “Marvin Gaye” — has called the national anthem “one of the most beautiful pieces of music.” But he’s also described it as “the hardest to sing.”

In a social media video Puth posted in November about his upcoming Super Bowl performance, he explained that the “Star Spangled Banner” requires an extreme vocal range. Puth said that while most songs will have a range of one octave, such as a low D to a high D, the national anthem goes from a low D to a high A.

Here’s what you need to know about the singer-songwriter:

Who is Charlie Puth?

Born in Rumson, New Jersey, Puth told CBS News in a 2022 interview that he realized he possessed musical talent from a very young age. His mother was a music teacher and his father a builder. He has perfect pitch, or absolute pitch — a rare gift for identifying or re-creating a given a pitch or musical note.

“My ten-year-old brain thought, ‘I could just listen to the record and play it back just by hearing it.’ And I thought that was a ‘normal’ thing!”  

In a 2015 interview with the Boston Globe, he also said that he grew up “down the street” from Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi.

The Grammy-nominated artist first gained notice for his vocal talent by posting videos to YouTube. His cover of Adele’s “Someone Like You” caught the attention of Ellen DeGeneres in 2011. He released his debut album, “Nine Track Mind,” in 2016.

In addition to writing his own music, Puth has also produced hits for other artists. He’s credited for Justin Bieber and The Kid LAROI’s “Stay,” “Celebrate” by Pitbull, “Slow Motion” by Trey Songz, “Lips on You” by Maroon 5 and “Bedroom Floor” by Liam Payne.

During the COVID pandemic, Puth embraced content creation on TikTok, dubbing himself “Professor Puth” in videos in which he talked about his songwriting process and other musical fun facts.

Who chooses the national anthem singer for the Super Bowl?

The national anthem singer for the Super Bowl is chosen by the NFL and Jay-Z’s entertainment and sports representation company, Roc Nation. 

In 2019, the league teamed up with Roc Nation on the Super Bowl’s entertainment presentations. In an interview with Rolling Stone last month, Puth said that he wanted to perform at Super Bowl LX, and sent a recorded demo to Roc Nation co-founder Jay Brown.

“I’ve been told this, I don’t know if it’s true, but he played it for Jay-Z and Jay-Z loved it,” Puth told the magazine. “And it got to [NFL Commissioner Roger] Goodell and they all said that I could do it.”

Who sang the national anthem for previous Super Bowls?

Last year, Jon Batiste sang the national anthem before the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles faced off in the 2025 Super Bowl.

In 2024, country music icon Reba McEntire put her own spin on “The Star Spangled Banner.” Another country singer, Chris Stapleton, had the honors in 2023.

Other superstars who have performed the song at the Super Bowl include Luther Vandross (1997), Cher (1999), Beyoncé (2004), Billy Joel (2007), Christina Aguilera (2011) and Lady Gaga (2016).

Puth will be the second New Jersey native to perform the song, following Whitney Houston in 1991.

“I’m going to be inspired by what Whitney did, but I can’t ever touch what Whitney did,” he told Rolling Stone in January. “That’s the best one ever done — that and the Chris Stapleton one.”

What has been the length of the national anthem in previous Super Bowls?

National anthem performances at the Super Bowl have varied in length over the years, but it can generally be expected to run somewhere between a minute and two minutes long.

The longest Super Bowl anthem performance recorded so far was that of Alicia Keys at Super Bowl XLVII in 2013, who took 2 minutes and 36 seconds, according to DraftKings. 

The shortest performance belonged to Neil Diamond, who sang it in one minute 2 seconds at Super Bowl XXI in 1987.