Jon Batiste was born and raised in the New Orleans area. He is a member of a “New Orleans musical dynasty” that includes Lionel Batiste, Milton Batiste and Russell Batiste. He attended the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, and his debut album is titled "Times in New Orleans."
Batiste has done it all. He’s a five-time Grammy Award winner, the musical director at The Atlantic, the Creative Director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, a co-composer of the Pixar animated movie "Soul," and the former bandleader and musical director of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." Performing the Super Bowl national anthem in your hometown, though, is a tremendous honor.
Super Bowl National Anthem Over/Under Result
- Over 120.5 Seconds (+154)
- Under 120.5 Seconds (-200)
The OVER hit based on FanDuel's criteria, but it was tight. Jon Batiste's anthem clocked at a few seconds over 2 minutes.
The under hit at some sportsbooks, though, depending on how it was graded. It's important to note that FanDuel (Ontario) clarified the bet will be "settled from the first note played (instrument or voice) to last note (instrument or voice)," which is why the over hit.
BetMGM graded it as the under hitting, though, because it went off Batiste's singing and not the overall music.
Super Bowl National Anthem History
Four straight Super Bowl national anthems have eclipsed the closing total, all four performances coming from country singers.
| Super Bowl | Performer | Over/Under | Actual Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 58 | Reba McEntire | 90.5 | 95 |
| 57 | Chris Stapleton | 119.5 | 121 |
| 56 | Mickey Guyton | 95.5 | 115 |
| 55 | Jazmine Sullivan & Eric Church | 119.5 | 136 |
Before that, pop singers Demi Lovato, Pink and Lady Gaga stayed under the closing total in a four-Super Bowl span. Fellow country singer Luke Bryan stayed under a monster 129.5-second total in Super Bowl 51, while R&B performer Gladys Knight went over a lower 107.5-second total in Super Bowl 53.
Now, 120.5 seconds is a relatively high total, the seventh-highest over the past 18 big games. Then again, eight of the past 12 anthems have cracked the two-minute mark.
Anthem Click Track
Alica Keys ripped off a 156-second National Anthem before Super Bowl 47. Gaga pieced together a 142-second rendition before Super Bowl 50.
Since then, I believe the powers that be have cracked down on anthem lengths. Anything closing in on 2 1/2 minutes has been deemed too long.
Each National Anthem singer since Gaga has utilized a click track in their renditions, which essentially is a metronome device in the performer’s ear that helps them keep time — in turn, that takes a bit of the “creative freedom” away from the singer.
In that regard, the last eight National Anthem singers have landed between 105 and 135 seconds, generally in the 65-to-70 beats per minute range. Six of those have finished between 108 and 122 seconds, and four have stayed under the two-minute mark.
Additionally, the National Anthem performer is almost always accompanied by a supporting band, which helps keep the singer from straying too far from the pre-decided tempo given the group and singer have to perform the anthem in synchronous rhythm, pace and set.
I feel that Batiste won’t buck that trend, given his status as a bandleader, but it’s also likely he’ll support himself with his piano, as Chris Stapleton did with his guitar in a 121-second performance before Super Bowl 57.
My point is that any Batiste ad-libbing may not be the deciding factor in the anthem’s length. Instead, a pre-decided tempo will likely determine when the anthem starts and ends.
That said, let’s talk about the musician.
Jon Batiste Anthem Preview: What To Expect
Given his musical background, family legacy and setting, one has to think Batiste will opt for a more jazzy rendition of the anthem.
I quite liked his interpretation of Beethoven’s "Für Elise," which shows his willingness and ability to interpret historical musical compositions and impart his unique genre-bending style upon them (in a stunningly beautiful manner, I might add).
He did a whole series called Beethoven Blues. They’re outstanding.
Similarly, his past renditions ofThe Star-Spangled Banner" have their own flair. For example, he’s not afraid to mix in other musical instruments and elements, as shown by his performance ahead of the 2020 NBA Restart in the bubble:
National Anthem Bet Grading
The key to the handicap is how the sportsbook will grade the wager.
Many sportsbooks measure the anthem from the start of “O say can you see” to the final vocal note of “Brave.” However, FanDuel Ontario has it listed as: “Settled from the first note played (instrument or voice) to the last note (instrument or voice).”
If your sportsbook uses the former rule, the under is a near lock. To that note, I found two examples of Batiste’s vocal renditions.
The first comes from the 2017 NBA All-Star game:
He opened with a beautiful 20-second piano solo and closed with a loud vocal outro followed by six seconds of ripping keys. But the length of the vocals was snappy, checking in at just under 90 seconds.
Additionally, he performed in a quartet at the Rickwood Field MLB game last summer, and that vocal rendition lasted just under 100 seconds.
Typically, the Banner is written in a three-quarter time signature at 106 beats per minute, checking in closer to 80 seconds. It’s a relatively uptempo tune at its core, and it takes some real breath support to draw it out beyond two minutes (even as so many past musicians have done before).
I’m partial to believing any of Batiste’s creative musical innovations will come before and/or after the vocals, as the actual singing of the anthem will be at a predetermined click-track tempo, and past evidence points toward a brief vocal performance.
But if your sportsbook grades as FanDuel does, past evidence also points toward a lengthy, dazzling musical intro and outro.
Take this rendition from the 2015 Aspen Ideas Festival:
That one clocked in at 142 seconds from the first musical note to the last, with an obvious detour in the middle, but not enough to compensate for the winding road he pursued.
His 2020 NBA Restart performance lasted 103 seconds without vocals. I imagine a combination of singing and playing would increase the length.
Ultimately, his 2017 NBA All-Star Game performance — including vocals, intro and outro — landed on precisely 120 seconds, making the FanDuel line very sharp.
How To Bet Jon Batiste's Anthem Prop
But it’s hard to imagine Batiste won’t pull out all the stops for his performance, especially given his musical range, improvisational skills and willingness to use both on a track like the Banner — not to mention he’s on the biggest stage in front of his hometown crowd.
So, when it comes to the latter grading system, I have to take the over.
Batiste has shown time and time again his ability and willingness to take a piece of music and bend it to his will. There are nearly limitless possibilities for Batiste’s Super Bowl performance. And considering the setting, I’m banking on a jazzy, lengthy stunner.
- Bet Over 120.5 Seconds If Instrumentals Included
- Bet Under 120.5 Seconds If Words Only
