Charlie Puth’s national anthem rendition hit all the right notes.
After the “We Don’t Talk Anymore” singer performed the patriotic tune ahead of the 2026 Super Bowl Feb. 8, he revealed who inspired his soulful take on the song.
“Thank you everyone for your kind words,” he wrote on X Feb. 8. “It was an honor to sing The National Anthem. I wrote the arrangement in a very specific way to honor Whitney Houston- I hope that was heard.”
Charlie—who is currently expecting his first baby with wife Brooke Sansone—also thanked the talented musicians who brought his set to life.
“Thank you to the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, the Sainted Choir, the Color of Noize Orchestra, Steve Hackman, and Kenny G for joining me on stage,” he continued. “And thank you Adam Blackstone for writing such a beautiful choir part. I love music so much.”
The 34-year-old’s display of gratitude comes after dominating the field at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. Ahead of the face-off between the New England Patriots and The Seattle Seahawks—who took home the Lombardi Trophy in a 29-13 win—Charlie stepped up to a sleek keyboard to begin the moving rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
During the powerful performance, the camera panned to NFL players on both teams as they took in the “Attention” hitmaker’s gospel-esque performance.
Also in the opening festivities were “Lift Every Voice and Sing” performer Coco Jones and Brandi Carlile, who joined in with “America the Beautiful.”
But not everyone was confident in Charlie’s ability to measure up to the late “I Will Always Love You” singer, which may have motivated him to pay tribute to her legacy.
After all, ahead of the Grammy winner’s appearance, some critics questioned the choice, with one social media user writing in December, “Man we’ve fallen from when Whitney Houston sang at the Super Bowl. Charlie Puth? He’s not gonna give us vocals I’m afraid.”
But the composer took the skepticism in stride, responding to the user directly to say, “I’ll never claim to be as good of a singer as Whitney Houston ever was. But I assure you we’re putting a really special arrangement together—in D major. It’ll be one of my best vocal performances.”
