APNewsBreak: Lady Gaga to sing national anthem at Super Bowl

Lady Gaga will perform a little before kickoff. Before that, we learned that the game’s halftime extravaganza would feature Beyonce and Coldplay.

This year at Super Bowl 50, one of the most notable music icons today will be front and center to sing “The Star Spangled Banner”. Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, has also won six Grammy awards.

Super Bowl 50, which will be played between the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers, kicks off at 6:30 PM ET. The Grammy Award-winning singer will be joined by Academy Award-winning actress Marle Matlin, who will perform the National Anthem in American Sign Language alongside Gaga.

“We had already booked Lady Gaga on this year’s show, but when David passed – nearly in a single moment – we knew we had to change direction”, Ehrlich explained in a statement.

Lady Gaga has increasingly traded her ostentatious stage persona to focus on singing pop classics, performing duets with 89-year-old Tony Bennett.

Idina Menzel did the honors in 2015, while past stars who have belted out the track at the Super Bowl have included Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson and Carrie Underwood.

The Super Bowl will air on CBS this Sunday.