DISTURBED's DAVID DRAIMAN Has Been 'Dying' To Sing U.S. National Anthem At SUPER BOWL

April 21, 2020

Last fall, DISTURBED shared a poll on U.S. music industry publication Billboard's web site that asked who should sing the anthem before the 2020 Super Bowl and encouraged the band's fans to write vocalist David Draiman's name into the poll. Asked in a new interview with "Whiplash", the KLOS radio show hosted by Full Metal Jackie, what makes that song an appealing challenge for a singer, Draiman said (hear audio below): "They say that it's one of the more difficult songs to pull off, first of all. Second of all, it's our national anthem, and I would be overwhelmed with honor and joy to be able to have that distinction and an honor of singing it. It's one of those bucket-list items that I've just been dying to do my whole life. Hopefully one day. You never know."

Draiman previously told Loudwire that he has "dreamt" of singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" in front of the Super Bowl crowd and to an estimated TV audience of about 100 million people his "entire life." He added: "[I've] been rehearsing it since I was a little boy. I love my country, and I would be honored beyond words to have the opportunity to try and inspire, strengthen, and give hope, at a time when we need those things more than ever. Plus…it would be nice to have rock represented on some level at the Super Bowl, and to prove to everyone that there are rock singers out there who can do the anthem as much justice as any pop artists out there, and even possibly take it higher."

The national anthem has never been performed by a rock singer at the Super Bowl. It was previously performed by Demi Lovato, Carrie Underwood and Billy Joel the last three times the game was played in Miami.

The national anthem performance is a pre-game tradition which has sparked a polarizing debate over recent football seasons.

In May 2018, the NFL mandated that all players must stand for the national anthem and if they didn't, teams could discipline them. However, ahead of the season, the NFL backed off the policy.

In recent months, TWISTED SISTER frontman Dee Snider has publicly complained that the rock genre has been excluded from the NFL's biggest event. "Week after week rock is the go-to music during games but gets no respect when it comes to the Super Bowl", Snider tweeted. He voiced his opinion after Jennifer Lopez and Shakira were announced as performers during this year's halftime show.

DISTURBED's latest album, "Evolution", was released in 2018 via Reprise.

Find more on Disturbed
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).