Demi Lovato wows with flawless, confident national anthem at Super Bowl

Demi Lovato scored the first touchdown of this year's Super Bowl before the game even started. 

The pop singer delivered a flawless performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" to open Sunday's showdown between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs, once again reminding us she's one of the best vocalists in the industry today. 

Wearing a chic white pantsuit and oversize belt, Lovato was confident and smiling as she belted out the national anthem, which was never rushed but still managed to clock in at just under two minutes. She hit all the high notes with ease – her "and the rockets' red glare" was particularly rousing – and even added some of her own riffs to the last "home of the brave," giving a rendition that was uniquely and phenomenally hers. 

Of course, we probably shouldn't have been surprised that she nailed the famously difficult song: Last weekend, Lovato stunned at the Grammy Awards with the debut performance of her new single, "Anyone." The searing, emotional ballad was written just four days before she was hospitalized in 2018 after an apparent drug overdose. 

Lovato's national anthem won raves on Twitter. A 2010 tweet from the former Disney Channel star in which she seemingly put out into the universe that she'd like to perform at the game went viral. 

"One day, I'm gonna sing the National Anthem at a Super Bowl," Lovato tweeted in 2010. She wrote Sunday that her next goal is headline the halftime show. 

Gospel legend Yolanda Adams, meanwhile, took on "America the Beautiful" with a children's choir before the Super Bowl LIV kickoff. The performance was a bit of a mixed bag, as she occasionally sounded strained and flat, but she managed to impress with soulful vocal runs.