Queen Latifah Shines With National Anthem At MetLife Stadium

Source: Mitchell Leff / Getty

Queen Latifah thrilled the crowd at MetLife Stadium with her rendition of the National Anthem on Sunday night and sparked rave reviews online in the process.

The Emmy Award & Grammy Award-winning artist was on hand to perform the anthem before the New York Giants vs. Dallas Cowboys game on Sunday night (September 10th). Dressed in an immaculate all-white suit, Queen Latifah went into a classic rendition of the composition before the sold-out audience in the stadium as members of the New York Police Department and Fire Department stood behind her in tribute to those lives lost on 9/11.

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The performance, which was nationally televised as part of NBC’s Sunday Night Football coverage, was interspersed with shots from the crowd and footage of the Statue of Liberty. The Newark, New Jersey native was greeted with hefty applause once she finished, and those watching online were also wowed.

Latifah’s performance even sparked a social media conversation as a Black conservative on X, formerly known as Twitter, shared an image from the performance with the caption “Last I heard, Queen Latifah was a rapper.” The comment brought swift rebuttals from many who pointed out a couple of the 53-year-old’s numerous musical achievements. “Queen Latifah literally sang the theme song on, “Living Single”, has two jazz albums, and has been in many a Broadway musical. You all cannot be serious,” wrote X user Kevikev in response.

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Queen Latifah has been a multi-hyphenate performer for decades. She earned two Grammy Award nominations for jazz albums – The Dana Owens Album in 2004, which debuted at No.16 on the Billboard 200 chart, and for Trav’lin’ Light in 2008. She also dazzled audiences in the 2002 motion picture adaptation of the musical Chicago as Matron “Mama” Morton, which got her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She’s been busy on the musical front as Hip-Hop celebrates its 50th anniversary, recently delivering a wonderful set at the Rock The Bells Festival in New York City last month which featured her singing as well as performing her hits like “U.N.I.T.Y.” with Monie Love onstage.