A historically impeccable performance which will live on forever at the top of the “greatest Super Bowl National Anthem’s of all-time” performances. Leave it to  Chris Stapleton to produce a performance like that on the world’s biggest stage, which occurred on February 12th, 2023. Ahead of Super Bowl LVII, where the Philadelphia Eagles took on the Kansas City Chiefs, Stapleton moved everyone so much with his rendition that it even brought Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni to tears, among others, and it remains the most-watched anthem of the decade. Of course, after a performance like that, most of us wish he could do it every year, but the 10-time Grammy winner has officially retired from singing the Anthem, and honestly, I don’t blame him. I think there’s more pressure on the person singing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl than the halftime performance… those are so subjective, and how much you like it probably depends purely on how much you like the artist performing. While the ever-humble Stapleton would never give himself too much credit, even though he should, he did tell Rolling Stone in a recent interview that he thinks he did “an all right job” with it, adding that he’s poud of himself for remebering all of the words. He explained that he thinks what worked so well about his rendition is that he “played it as a song,” rather than making it into a huge production which tends to happen at an event as big as the Super Bowl: “I did an all right job with it, and I remembered all the words. But I also took it back down to a song. I played it as a song, not as a production, and I think maybe that is why it resonated.” I think he’s selling himself very short, but I think many of us can agree that the soulful, stripped back nature of his performance, and that generational voice, just felt so reverent and resonated very deeply. And this year, he’s paying homage to that legendary performance with a Super Bowl commercial for his whiskey, Traveller Whiskey. The 30-second commercial features soulful guitar riffs of the “Star Spangled Banner” while Stapleton bestows some wise words that perfect moments don’t just happen, they are made: “There is a time. Time spent doing the work that nobody sees. Playing the long game. Because perfect moments don’t happen. They are made. Traveller Whiskey. Made for the moment.”  Accompanying Stapleton’s silky-smooth dialogue is imagery of him working behind the scenes for his national anthem performance, followed by an announcer introducing him as he walks out of the tunnel to deliver a performance of a lifetime. Just as Stapleton poured hard work into making sure he nailed the “Star Spangled Banner,” the commercial features behind-the-scenes footage from Buffalo Trace Distillery, highlighting that hard work also goes into making great whiskey and bourbon. The 30-second ad was filmed in real life, and he notes that it’s very much a “non-AI commercial”: “It’s a very non-AI commercial.” Well, it definitely isn’t “AI,” but it’s certainly expensive, as it’s been reported that a half-minute Super Bowl ad in 2026 will run advertisers right around $8 million to air, and it’s well-known that Super Bowl commercials are the highest premiums around. Sazerac Company, which is the alcoholic beverage company that oversees Traveller, is footing the bill for the TV spot, and Stapleton explained to Rolling Stone that they wanted to put it out on the world’s biggest stage in order to drive their message home: “The Super Bowl is historically the big stage for commercials, so I think we’re hoping to create a moment. The ‘made for the moment’ thing is really a discussion of the quiet moments and the work that goes into all the things that we do.” And when it comes to why he’s done with the anthem, during an appearance on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Dirty Mo Media podcast a little while back, he explained that after nailing the performance, he wants to go out on top, so to speak… and he also credited the editing of the performance as part of its magical appeal: “Oh yeah, I practiced that one. I don’t get nervous to play, necessarily… that one, I was like I’m gonna make sure I’m as prepared as I can be for this. I would have people ask me to sing the National Anthem for various things, and I jokingly always said, ‘No, I’ll just do it when it’s time to do it at the Super Bowl,’ you know. And I just turned it down a lot, and I do say now that I’ve officially retired from it as well. And I have to give credit to, and I’m not saying my version wasn’t wasn’t good, I think it was good, but all the TV editing that they did while I was doing it was just spot on. Everything that they did to make that moment feel as big and nice as it could, they did it. And they executed flawlessly. So, yes, I prepared for that, and yes, I worked on that. Genuinely nerve-racking, and I was live live. There was no pre-recorded anything.” It’s clear how honored Stapleton was to get that gig, and he certainly “made a moment” with it that is as timeless and perfect as it could ever be. We all know he has an incredible voice, so I was not the least bit surprised at how incredible it was, but I’m gonna need him to start giving himself a little more credit. When you’re in conversation with Whitney Houston as the best to do anything, you’ve ascended to a level most of us mere mortals could only ever dream of. His new commercial is set to run right before kickoff on NBC and Telemundo this coming Sunday ahead of the Super Bowl, and you can check it out here: And of course, I must leave you with this… The post Chris Stapleton Says He Did An “All Right Job” With Legendary Super Bowl National Anthem Performance first appeared on Whiskey Riff.