For years, country fans have been hoping that the Super Bowl will name a major country star as the headlining act for its much-talked-about halftime show. Only few country stars in history have had the chance to perform during the biggest football game of the year. The 1994 Super Bowl was actually country themed, and featured big names such as Clint Black, Travis Tritt, The Judds, and Tanya Tucker.
It wasn’t until nine years later that another country artist took the stage for the Super Bowl halftime show, and she was the last to do so. Shania Twain entertained the millions that tuned in to watch the Super Bowl XXVII with her hit songs such as “Up!” and “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!”
With the headlining act for the 2017 Super Bowl still undetermined, country fans have been hopeful that it will be the year a country artist fills that important role. While we don’t know how that will play out yet, Australian country fans will get the chance to see one of their favorite artists headline their own “Super Bowl.”
On Tuesday (September 27), iHeart Radio reported that Keith Urban had just been tapped as the headlining act for Australia’s “Super Bowl,” also known as the National Rugby League (NRL) Telstra Premiership Grand Final.
Since Urban was born in New Zealand and grew up in Australia, he seemed like the perfect person to headline such a major sporting event. The Australian “Super Bowl” is a huge deal just like its American counterpart, and 100,000 fans are estimated to attend the game on Sunday (October 2) to see Urban perform in person.
All Access reports that Urban is set to perform songs from his latest album, Ripcord, during the pre-game festivities. Other performers include Richie Sambora, the former lead guitarist for Bon Jovi, and Orianthi, a Australian rock singer/songwriter and musician.
Urban is set to return to Australia in December, where he’ll be making several tour stops along with Carrie Underwood.
We know that Urban will rock his performance at the Australian “Super Bowl!” He’ll likely sing his latest single, “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” which you can watch the music video for below.
Who knows, maybe Urban’s performance in Australia will lead to him or another country star being named as the headliner for the 2017 Super Bowl! Which country artist or artists would you like to see sing during football’s big night? Let us know in the comments!