Jennifer Hudson wowed the World Cup final crowd with a rousing rendition of the American national anthem in front of president Donald Trump.
The singer – who is an EGOT having scooped an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award in her remarkable career – took to the stage ahead of the action between Argentina and Spain at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
There was some confusion from fans as to why the Star-Spangled Banner was performed, given the United States was dumped out of the tournament almost a fortnight ago.ย
But regardless of the national team’s failures on the pitch, Hudson herself was widely praised for the emotional performance, which left many at home misty-eyed.
She was an impressive booking from FIFA, given her A-list career as an actress, singer and daytime TV presenter. In fact, TIME have previously named her among the 100 most influential people in the world.
Her vocals were a far cry from the pregame ‘closing ceremony’ performances, in which the likes of IShowSpeed were panned by fans for their apparent lip-syncing on the World Cup final stage.
Post Malone and Swae Lee also performed ahead of the game, before the controversial halftime show will feature the likes of Madonna, Shakira and Justin Bieber.
More to follow…ย
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