Jordin Sparks is set to sing the national anthem at the 2024 Indianapolis 500.
This won't be the American Idol winner's first go-round at the racetrack. In 2015, she sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" before the Memorial Day weekend race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
J. Douglas Boles, president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation, championed Sparks in a statement announcing that the singer would take on the national anthem.
"We know that Jordin's voice and performance will deliver an emotional and stirring rendition of the national anthem as part of pre-race ceremonies for the Indy 500," he stated, before continuing to praise the importance of the national anthem, explaining that the song is an important piece of the car race.
"The national anthem moment pays honor to the country we love, sets the stage for the hair-raising US Air Force Thunderbirds flyover, and gets us one step closer to those final, dramatic, and electric moments leading up to the start of the Indianapolis 500," he continued.
She sang the national anthem before the third game of the 2023 MLB World Series; most recently, she took on the iconic song at a Kansas Jayhawks and the Texas Longhorns in Kansas City, MO. She released three singles last year, "Stadiums," "Deux" and "Call My Name," along with an EP, The Gift of Christmas.
Sparks boasts an impressive resume, having won American Idol in 2007 at only seventeen-years-old. She is the youngest contestant to ever win the show. Her singles "Tattoo" and "No Air" are multi-platinum hits that charted across the world.
Sparks took a five-year hiatus from music before signing with Louder Than Life, a record label under the Sony Music umbrella. She released the #ByeFelicia mixtape in 2014.
The "Battlefield" songstress has also starred on Broadway in Lin-Manuel Miranda's In the Heights, as well as Sara Barreilles' Waitress. She has been nominated for multiple Grammys and won several awards for recording tracks like "No Air" and "Celebrate" and writing songs like Ariana Grande's "The Way," which earned her the BMI Pop Award for Best Songwriting in 2014.
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Last year, country singer Jewel sang the national anthem at the Indy 500. Other notable performances from the race's lengthy history include Steven Tyler, Jessica Simpson, Julianne Hough, Sandi Patty, LeAnn Rimes and fellow American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson. From 1960 through 1981, the Purdue All-American Marching Band from Purdue University performed; from 1993 to 1997, actress Florence Henderson sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" before the 500-mile race commenced.
The 113-year-old Indy 500 is billed as The Greatest Spectacle in Racing and is a part of the Triple Crown of Motorsport, which includes the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France and the Monaco Grand Prix.
The Indianapolis 500 begins at 12:45 p.m. on May 26, with coverage from NBC starting at 11 a.m. The race typically lasts three hours.
