H.E.R. to Open 2023 World Series With National Anthem Performance

After performing “America the Beautiful” at the Super Bowl in 2021, Grammy-winning R&B star H.E.R. is set to add another massive sporting event to her résumé. Via a press release on Wednesday (Oct. 25), Major League Baseball announced that the “Focus” singer will sing the national anthem ahead of Game 1 of the 2023 World Series.

H.E.R. will perform “The Star-Spangled Banner” on Friday at the showdown between the American League champion Texas Rangers and the National League champion Arizona Diamondbacks. Pearle Peterson, the 2023 Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s National Youth Talent Performer, will perform the anthem the following day (Saturday) ahead of Game 2.

The news of H.E.R.’s World Series performance comes in the midst of yet another exciting year for the acclaimed multi-hyphenate. Earlier this month (Oct. 2), she performed alongside surprise guest Selena Gomez at Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour stop in Pasadena, California. H.E.R. served as the primary support act for the band’s sprawling, record-breaking tour. A few weeks later (Oct. 17), the “Damage” singer surprised a sold-out crowd at New York City’s Madison Square Garden when she joined Daniel Caesar onstage for a heartfelt rendition of their Grammy-winning duet “Best Part.”

Currently, H.E.R. is gearing up for the release of The Color Purple. The film adaptation of the Broadway musical will arrive in theatres on Christmas Day (Dec. 25), with direction from Blitz Bazawule and production credits from Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones. The Color Purple is also set to star Halle Bailey, Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, Ciara, Aunjanue Ellis, Colman Domingo, Danielle Brooks and Phylicia Pearl Mpasi. H.E.R.’s silver-screen debut comes two years after she won her first Academy Award for best original song (“Fight for You,” Judas and the Black Messiah, 2021).

H.E.R. has earned nine entries on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking as high as No. 24 with her featured turn on Jhené Aiko’s “B.S.” On the Billboard 200, the “Slide” singer has charted seven titles, including the No. 6-peaking Back of My Mind — her highest-charting entry on the ranking to date.