The college football season is finally ending. Notre Dame and Ohio State will face each other in the College Football Playoff National Championship tonight at 7:30 p.m. EST. Both teams were not favored to make it this far in the inaugural 12-team playoff, though contrary to popular belief the Fighting Irish and the Buckeyes are there and ready to take home the trophy.
In addition to the result of the game, another sought-after piece of information is who will be singing the national anthem. In previous years, Fantasia, The Pentatonix, Natalie Grant, and Lauren Daigle have performed the national anthem on college football’s biggest stage. However, this year the CFB has seemingly leveled up, as Grammy-winner Coco Jones will sing the national anthem.
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Coco Jones and The College Football Playoff
According to the College Football Playoff, Coco Jones will not perform the anthem in isolation. Joining her will be composer and arranger, Music Director Adam Blackstone, and a Joint Armed Forces Color Guard from the United States Central Command who will be presenting the Nation’s colors.
The selection of Coco Jones comes as no surprise given her decorated career and demanding star power. The 27-year-old R&B artist has garnered chart success and a Grammy Award for her hit single, “ICU.” Furthermore, Jones also received nominations at the BET Awards, the Soul Train Awards, and the NAACP Image Awards. This year, Coco Jones will return to the Grammys for her single, “Here We Go (Uh Oh),” which was nominated for Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Song.
Lastly, Jones just wrapped her first major feature film production as an actor and producer in the upcoming romantic comedy, That’s Her. So, as much of an honor as the national anthem seemingly is to Jones, this is a blimp on her career’s radar.
In addition to Jones’ performance, the Spelman College Glee Club will perform “America The Beautiful” under the direction of Dr. Kevin Johnson. To see the game, Jones, and the Glee Club tune into ESPN tonight at 7:30 pm EST. The game and the performances will surely not disappoint.
Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET
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