How long did Mickey Guyton take to sing the Super Bowl national anthem? Why the answer is trending

Country superstar Mickey Guyton performed the national anthem at this year’s Super Bowl, and there was more than one reason viewers tuned into the trailblazing singer-songwriter‘s powerful take on “The Star Spangled Banner.”

The length of the national anthem — how long Guyton’s version lasted — was the subject of many sports wagers Sunday. For the record (and the bet): The Times’ wholly unofficial estimate had Guyton singing for 1 minute, 50 seconds.

The scene inside SoFi Stadium as Mickey Guyton sings the National Anthem.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

In the last 15 years, piano man Billy Joel has clocked the shortest national anthem performance at 1 minute and 30 seconds; pop superstar Alicia Keys delivered the longest rendition at 2 minutes and 35 seconds, according to statistics provided by TheScore.com. On average, Super Bowl national anthems have tended to go for 1 minute and 56 seconds. Before the game, the betting line set Guyton’s over-under at 1 minute and 38 seconds, according to CBS News.

In the run-up to the big game, Guyton told The Times she was dubbed “the national anthem girl” in high school after performing “The Star Spangled Banner” a number of times. The singer, nominated for three Grammys this year, has revolutionized the predominantly white, male country genre with her hit single “Black Like Me.”

“What does patriotism mean? Anybody can wave a flag, but is that patriotism?” she pondered in the recent Times interview.

“I can buy a flag right now on Amazon, so is that patriotism? For me, it’s deeper. I feel like a patriot is loving everybody, a patriot is someone who sees people hurting and wants to do everything in their power to fix it. And patriotism is inclusion.”