Charlie Puth silenced critics with his rendition of the US national anthem at the 2026 Super Bowl, drawing widespread praise despite earlier scepticism. The 34-year-old pop star faced a wave of criticism on social media in the months prior, with many questioning his vocal talent. In response to one detractor, Puth wrote on X in December: 'I'll never claim to be as good of a singer as Whitney Houston ever was. But I assure you we're putting a really special arrangement together – in D major.'
Taking the stage before kick-off between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots, Puth delivered a jazzy arrangement accompanied by a choir and orchestra. Many viewers praised the performance on social media, calling it 'beautiful' and 'flawless'. However, some questioned whether he was lip-syncing to a pre-recorded track, a common practice in large stadium events due to acoustics and broadcast delays. Even Whitney Houston's iconic 1991 Super Bowl performance was later confirmed to have used a pre-recorded track.
Speaking at Apple Music's Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Press Conference on Thursday, Puth shared his approach to the anthem. 'The arrangement is everything for me,' the 'Attention' singer said. 'I always reverse engineer how I hear my own music in my own head.' He added that he hoped his performance made audiences 'feel inspired' and highlighted music's power to 'colour every aspect of your day so vividly.'
Puth, a four-time Grammy nominee, was added to the Super Bowl music lineup in December alongside Brandi Carlile and Coco Jones, who performed 'America the Beautiful' and 'Lift Every Voice and Sing', respectively. Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny is set to deliver the halftime show.
