Chris Stapleton's deeply soulful Super Bowl national anthem brings Eagles coach to tears

Is Chris Stapleton “only the best voice in the world,” as Babyface suggested at a press conference in downtown Phoenix Thursday morning?

To be fair, few singers could hope to live up to that level of hype. But Stapleton does have a wonderful voice, as anyone at all familiar with the Grammy-winning country singer’s catalog would surely testify.

And he used it to brilliant effect when he sang the national anthem at Super Bowl 2023 at State Farm Stadium without making it feel like he was out there to impress us with a show of vocal pyrotechnics.

It was more about the song itself, which as Stapleton said, can go horribly wrong.

This one didn’t.

The country star accompanied himself on electric guitar -- a Fender Telecaster! -- to perform a deeply soulful anthem, the grit in his vocal at times recalling Otis Redding as the camera settled on tears streaming down Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni's face, a testament to Stapleton’s ability to get inside a song and make you feel exactly what it means to him.

And he tossed in a really cool twangy run on the low strings of that Tele to accompany “O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,” a tasty bit of low-key flash.

Arizona native Troy Kotsur, who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for "Coda," performed the national anthem in American Sign Language.

Live updates from Super Bowl 2023:Chris Stapleton, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Babyface take the stage

Social media responds to Chris Stapleton's tear-inspiring anthem

Stapleton's soon-to-be-iconic, coach-destroying anthem was greeted with glowing reactions on Twitter.

Barstool Sports couched its concise review in football-friendly terminology: "Chris Stapleton really should've been named the MVP."

Several tweets called it one of the best anthems ever (which it clearly was). @TheChiefNerd tweeted: "Chris Stapleton just delivered one of the best National Anthem performances I've heard in a long time."

Yves Batoba said it was "up there on the same level as Whitney Houston," which it also clearly was.

And many talked about the ensuing tears, including this reporter.

How long was the Super Bowl 2023 national anthem?

According to a variety of online sources including DraftKings Nation, Chris Stapleton sang the national anthem at Super Bowl 2023 in two minutes and one second.

More:How long is the Super Bowl national anthem? Here's what to expect from Chris Stapleton

Babyface's understated 'America the Beautiful'

“America the Beautiful,” as sung by Babyface, was every bit as beautiful as promised.

To borrow a lyric from Stapleton’s biggest hit, the man’s voice is “as smooth as Tennessee whiskey.” And that suited his soulful arrangement.

Wearing a black tuxedo and shades and fingerpicking a red, white and blue guitar, Babyface eased into the ballad with an understated verse that underscored the beauty of the melody and the sincerity of his delivery before fleshing it out with a chorus and some subtle orchestration.

On Thursday in Phoenix, Babyface acknowledged that his favorite version of “America the Beautiful” was Ray Charles’ iconic rendition.

That speaks well of Babyface’s taste in music. But he made it clear that he had no intention of revisiting what Charles had already accomplished.

“I’m just gonna try to be as real as I can with it,” he said, “with my voice.”

Colin Denny, a deaf member of the Navajo Nation in Arizona, signed “America the Beautiful.”

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Sheryl Lee Ralph and her breathtaking 'Lift Every Voice and Sing'

Sheryl Lee Ralph, the Emmy-winning star of “Abbott Elementary,” got the pregame entertainment off to a breathtaking start with her version of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the Black national anthem, looking powerful in a flowing, off-the-shoulder red gown and matching gloves.

There was a lot of excitement surrounding Ralph’s performance of an anthem whose recent addition to the pregame entertainment program she praised in Phoenix on Thursday as “a major effort by the NFL to be truly inclusive, to say we’re going to represent all people on a day, Super Bowl Sunday, of 200 million people coming together.”

She added that the goal of her performance was “to make sure we could have a version for people to understand the great lyrics of this song and what it means.”

And that’s exactly how it went, a life-affirming testament to the profound meaning of those lyrics that was bolstered by the “Dreamgirls” star’s Broadway experience. If you didn’t understand those lyrics, you weren’t listening.

Justina Miles signed “Lift Every Voice and Sing."

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Reach the reporter at [email protected] or 602-444-4495. Follow him on Twitter @EdMasley.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Chris Stapleton's Super Bowl 2023 national anthem: How long was it?