{"id":60601,"date":"2026-02-12T14:44:48","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T19:44:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=60601"},"modified":"2026-02-12T14:44:49","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T19:44:49","slug":"moment-of-a-lifetime-alumna-sings-national-anthem-with-charlie-puth-and-choir-at-super-bowl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2026\/moment-of-a-lifetime-alumna-sings-national-anthem-with-charlie-puth-and-choir-at-super-bowl\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Moment of a lifetime\u2019: Alumna sings national anthem with Charlie Puth and choir at Super Bowl"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As the lead singer of the soulful, bluesy pop band Erin Rae & The Heartbeets<\/a><\/strong>, EMU social work grad Erin Murray \u201908 <\/strong>has performed in plenty of large venues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She and her band have performed for legions of fans before Seattle Reign (National Women\u2019s Soccer League) games and at Seattle Kraken (National Hockey League) games. But singing the national anthem as part of a choir with Charlie Puth<\/strong> at Super Bowl LX\u2014in front of 70,823 fans at Levi\u2019s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, and 124.9 million viewers watching on TV\u2014was the largest audience she had ever played for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the massive crowd, she said she didn\u2019t feel any nerves. \u201cIt\u2019s harder for me to perform in a small space or more intimate setting,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Erin Murray \u201908 says she made friends with many of the performers dressed in grass suits who were part of the set for the Bad Bunny halftime show.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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\u2018All under wraps\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So how was the EMU alumna able to land such a high-profile gig?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since March 2023, Murray has been a member of the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir<\/strong><\/a>, directed by Terrance Kelly<\/strong>, which for the past four decades has made it its mission to inspire joy and unity through Black gospel and spiritual music traditions. Murray typically sings tenor in the choir but sang alto for their national anthem performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said the production team working with Puth\u2014the singer of such hits as See You Again<\/em> and We Don\u2019t Talk Anymore<\/em>\u2014reached out to the gospel choir and selected 10 performers. Ten members of the Sainted Trap Choir<\/a><\/strong>, an ensemble based in Charlotte, North Carolina, directed by Dennis Reed Jr.<\/strong>, were also chosen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis was all under wraps; we couldn\u2019t talk about it or anything,\u201d Murray said. \u201cBut all of this happened within a week and a half, so we didn\u2019t actually get our arrangements or parts until the Monday before the Super Bowl.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Friday, two days before Super Bowl Sunday, performers from the two choirs boarded a bus from Oakland, California, to Levi\u2019s Stadium for sound check, where they were fitted for in\u2011ear monitors and the robes they would wear on the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was such a huge production,\u201d said Murray. \u201cIn the same time span Brandi Carlile<\/strong> was singing America the Beautiful<\/em>, we were singing our part with Charlie and the orchestra, and they were practicing videography for the flyover. All of that was being rehearsed at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was pretty wild to have Brandi\u2019s vocals live in my in-ear monitors because she\u2019s one of my favorite contemporary singer-songwriters,\u201d Murray added. \u201cShe\u2019s a force to be reckoned with, so it was special to be in her orbit that way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Performers from the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir and Sainted Trap Choir sang the national anthem with Charlie Puth at the start of Super Bowl LX on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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The big day<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On Sunday morning, the choirs arrived at the stadium, passed through security, and prepared for their performance at a nearby soccer field that had been turned into a green room. They shared the space with the orchestra and the performers dressed in grass suits who were part of the set for the Bad Bunny<\/strong> halftime show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They walked through the same tunnel that Green Day<\/strong>, Carlile, and Bad Bunny used to enter the stadium. When the TV cameras cut to commercials, that\u2019s when they took their places on the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch their performance below!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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