Singing The National Anthem at the Super Bowl is considered one of the pinnacles of a musical artist’s career. This year’s performer is Jon Batiste. Set in New Orleans, Batiste wasn’t born too far from there, having been born and raised in Metairie, Louisiana, which is part of the New Orleans metropolitan area. The multi-Grammy winner is expected to perform at the Superdome, which is expected to attract an estimated 100,000 throughout the weekend. Another estimated 203.4 million U.S. adults plan to tune in to the big game.
Batiste has been in the music industry for a long time. He and his band, Stay Human, worked as musical director on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert from 2015 to 2022 in which he performed nightly. In 2020, he co-composed the score for the Pixar animated film Soul, for which he won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award and a BAFTA Film Award (all shared with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross). In 2022, Batiste won Album of the Year at the Grammys for “We Are.”
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He and his wife, Suleika Jaouad had to skip the awards this year to deal with her health. On Feb. 2, the couple — who tied the knot in February 2022 — shared a joint post to Instagram celebrating their wins for best music film and for song written for visual media for the documentary American Symphony.
“On this lazy Sunday, life is good!” they captioned a photo of them together. “We’re so honored to win the Grammy for Best Music Film (and also for Song Written For Visual Media too!). We couldn’t make it to the ceremony but we’re beaming love from our couch to yours, and sending gratitude to all who made this film possible.” Jaouad is dealing with her cancer returning.
Batiste is happy to take the field this year at the Super Bowl. He told Entertainment Tonight in January: “I’m excited to figure out an arrangement that lasts the test of time, and I look forward to sharing it. The week before is when I’ll just finally start to finalize it. And then it’s gonna fly.”
