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A touching rendition! R&B legend Babyface<\/strong><\/a> wowed the crowd with his rendition of \u201cAmerica the Beautiful\u201d at Super Bowl LVII<\/a>.<\/p>\n The \u201cEvery Time I Close My Eyes\u201d crooner, 64, took the stage at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on Sunday, February 12, right before the big game. For his performance, he used a custom guitar designed by Sue Tsai<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The producer\u2019s take on the classic tune began as an acoustic-only rendition that brought several audience members to tears, including Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni<\/strong>. About halfway through the song, Babyface was accompanied by a backing track with backup singers and additional instrumentation.<\/p>\n Ahead of his performance, Babyface admitted that he was \u201csurprised\u201d that the NFL asked him to participate in the pre-show alongside Sheryl Lee Ralph<\/strong><\/a> and Chris Stapleton<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was not on my bucket list and it was not anything I ever imagined I would do,\u201d he said on Friday, February 10, in a video interview with the NFL<\/a> alongside his fellow pregame performers. \u201cSo to get that call [I ask,] \u2018Are you sure? Me?\u2019 but I am so honored.\u201d<\/p>\n In the interview, the \u201cTwo Occasions\u201d singer went on to gush about working with the Abbott Elementary<\/em><\/a> star, 66, and the country singer, 44. Lee was chosen to perform \u201cLift Every Voice and Sing\u201d while Stapleton was tapped to sing the National Anthem.<\/p>\n While coming up with his plans, Babyface admitted he had a lot of ideas for what he could do with the patriotic song.<\/p>\n \u201cThe whole thing is that I have to think \u2026 \u2018What kind of arrangement are you going to do? Do you want [there] to be a choir? Do you want this? Do you do you want to do urban? Do you want this and that?’\u201d he reflected to Entertainment Tonight<\/em><\/a> on Tuesday, February 7. \u201cI just thought the best way for me to do it is to just pick up my guitar and sing it the way that I would have sung it when I was a kid.\u201d<\/p>\n However, the 12-time Grammy winner joked that his pregame performance \u201cwill differ a lot\u201d from the first time he sang the song in front of an audience back when he was a sophomore in high school.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not gonna try to do anything amazing,\u201d he teased at the time. \u201cI\u2019m just gonna keep it simple and heartfelt.\u201d<\/p>\n Babyface, for his part, also shared he hoped he could keep his nerves in check for the big performance but ultimately planned on doing his best.<\/p>\n \u201cWhenever you sing any of these songs, whether it\u2019s \u2018America the Beautiful\u2019 or \u2018Star Spangled Banner,\u2019 you get judged by it all the time,\u201d the songwriter said at the time. \u201cSo [the] only thing I can do is just be honest and be heartfelt and put the same love into it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n