Brad Paisley Stuns National Audience with Powerful Rendition of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ at World Series Game 1

The 2024 World Series kicked off on Friday night (October 25) with an exciting Game 1 matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees. A lifelong Dodgers fan, Brad Paisley had the special honor of singing the national anthem at Dodger Stadium just before the first pitch.

Standing center field with only his electric guitar, Paisley delivered a flawless, heartfelt rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” that stayed true to the original arrangement, a detail fans appreciated. His simple yet powerful performance struck a chord, letting the anthem’s beauty shine through.

Before taking the field, Paisley admitted to Fox News Digital that while he wasn’t feeling nervous, he was aware of the “viral potential” that often accompanies national anthem performances. “You totally think about the viral possibility, but anything viral on the national anthem is not usually good,” he joked. “The best you can hope for is this is like relegated to the back page of YouTube quickly and that there are five home runs tonight.”

In recent years, country renditions of “The Star-Spangled Banner” have indeed gone viral. Chris Stapleton’s soulful version before Super Bowl LVII in 2023 was praised as one of the best ever, standing alongside Whitney Houston’s legendary 1991 performance.

Country singer Ingrid Andress’s performance went viral for a different reason. The Grammy-nominated artist performed before the MLB Home Run Derby in July and received quite the opposite reaction from Chris Stapleton.

But Brad Paisley had nothing to worry about. Fan reaction was overwhelmingly positive, with many praising him for staying true to the song and delivering a smooth performance.

Paisley, who has now sung the national anthem for four World Series games during his career, he didn’t want his performance to be a distraction from what he called “a Titanic sort of clash” between Major League baseball’s best teams.

“This is the kind of thing where everybody wants a good national anthem and a good game. I’m not alone out there in that sense,” he said.

Paisley added that being asked to sing at the event is “the honor of a lifetime.”

Watch Brad Paisley sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the opening game of the 2024 World Series in the video below.