No college football game can proceed without “The Star-Spangled Banner.” But New Orleans artist Samyra’s hometown national anthem performance at Caesars Superdome carried extra weight Thursday (Jan. 2.)

Officials postponed Monday’s (Jan. 1) Sugar Bowl matchup between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish after tragedy struck the French Quarter. At least 14 people died when an armed man drove a pickup truck through Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, during the early morning hours of New Year’s Day. About 36 hours later, the two teams readied to take the field Thursday (Jan. 2.) But first, Samyra breathed life back into the Big Easy with a vibrant national anthem performance.

Samyra Embodies the “Free Spirit” of New Orleans

If you’ve ever visited New Orleans, you know that there’s no place in the world quite like it. The city truly lives and breathes. And far too often, its people are called upon to model resilience in the face of despair for the rest of the nation. Still, somehow, they keep on singing and dancing.

Samyra, 26, is a product of that defiantly joyful spirit. She rose to social media stardom sharing messages of size inclusivity and self-empowerment. Leveraging her more than 2 million TikTok followers, the Crescent City native broke into the R&B/pop/rap scene with her hits “Supermodel” and “Plus-Size Freestyle.” Growing up in a musical mecca like New Orleans inspired Samyra to become a classically trained singer. After graduating high school, she attended the illustrious Harvard University, where she joined an acapella group called the Harvard LowKeys.

I always say that New Orleans raised me to feel like I can do and be whoever I want to be because the city has a free spirit about it. That allowed people to exist without shame,” she told BET last May. “Even if you walk down the French Quarter, you’ll see people tap dancing and drumming on buckets. People are always doing things to express themselves and their joy. I think that is the most beautiful thing about my city.”
She Has Performed the National Anthem in NOLA Before

It wasn’t the “Tequila in My Room” singer’s first time to take centerfield at Caesar’s Superdome. Last January, Samyra performed the national anthem ahead of a New Orleans Saints game..