While the focus of Super Bowl XLVII is the game and the halftime show and those funny commercials, two wonderful performances happened pregame. Prior to kickoff, Jennifer Hudson took center field to perform "America The Beautiful" with students of Sandy Hook Elementary. The recording superstar sang with the chorus of Sandy Hook, the site of the tragic school shooting Dec. 14. 26 members of the elementary school lended their voices to the heart-breaking rendition of the song. It was a touching way to pay tribute to those lost that day. Jennifer Hudson belted it out perfectly.
Alicia Keys then took the field to give a beautiful performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner." Keys gave her own rendition of the song that was extremely powerful. As she sang, images of soldiers overseas appeared along with the emotions of the athletes. Much can be said about performing a perfect version of the song. Consider the time Christina Aguilera flubed the lyrics during the 2011 Super Bowl. Then there is the recent controversy of Beyonce lip-syncing to a pre-recorded track of the song. Keys had no issue getting the lyics accurate and on first sight, she apeared to be singing live as she hit every note on point. How did Key's version compare to performances of past?
