INDIANAPOLIS – Multiple Grammy Award-winning superstar Kelly Clarkson will perform the national anthem before the start of the 103rd Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on May 26 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Clarkson will sing on race day in the traditional spot before the 33 drivers are called to their cars in front of the largest single-day spectator sporting event crowd in the world.
The performance will take place on the heels of the May 21 season 16 finale of NBC’s “The Voice,” where Clarkson serves as a coach on the hit show.
A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Clarkson first rose to fame in 2002 as the winner of the inaugural season of “American Idol.” She has grown to become one of the most popular artists of any era, with 18 singles boasting multi-platinum, platinum and gold certifications around the world and total sales of more than 25 million albums and 36 million singles.
Clarkson also is the first artist to top each of Billboard’s pop, adult contemporary, country and dance charts.
She has won three Grammy Awards, four American Music Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards, two Academy of Country Music Awards, two American Country Awards and one Country Music Ass’n Award.
Clarkson is quickly becoming a familiar and celebrated figure at the world’s most famous racetrack. This will be the second consecutive year and third time overall Clarkson has performed the anthem before the Indianapolis 500.
She also sang in 2011 with Seal, while accompanied on piano by David Foster.
“It’s a pleasure to welcome Kelly back to IMS on Race Day to sing the national anthem for hundreds of thousands of fans in the stands and millions of viewers around the world,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles said. “She is a global icon and an incredible singer, and our fans have loved her performances of the anthem last year and in 2011.
“We look forward to her delivering another stirring, poignant rendition just before engines are fired for ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.'”