Fans of the Los Angeles Rams weren’t the only ones left cheering after their NFC championship showdown against the San Francisco 49s.
Fans of R&B had something to celebrate, too.
That’s because when singer Brandy took to the field at SoFi Stadium to belt out the national anthem before the big game, she not only nailed her performance, she also appeared to honor another musical great in the process — the late Whitney Houston.
The 42-year-old singer was dressed in a white Prada tracksuit with black and red detailing when she sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” Sunday, and it didn’t take long for Brandy’s fans to notice just how much the look borrowed what Houston wore when she performed the national anthem at Super Bowl 25 in 1991.
Brandy even retweeted some of those who recognized the similarity on Twitter and added other nods to her Instagram stories.
And fans of both R&B stars took note of even the tiniest details in the apparent tribute, like the small cross earring Brandy wore in her right ear to mirror the one Houston had worn.
Houston's memorable performance took place at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida, before the championship game between the New York Giants and the Buffalo Bills.
Last year, Rickey Minor, who was Houston's longtime musical director, told TODAY that the singer's low key outfit wasn't intended to dazzle — it was intended to be comfortable.
“Whitney’s thing was, she was there to cheer on the New York Giants,” Minor said. “She was there for that and after she performed, she wanted to be comfortable to go and sit in her box and relax and watch the game. So it’s like not putting on the makeup and the gowns and stuff... it was really, I’m at a football game. I’m not at the Met.”
While Brandy didn’t speak about Houston Sunday, she's never been shy about expressing her admiration for the superstar singer who died in 2012.
In fact, it was Houston who gave Brandy her first movie credit, casting her in the title role of 1997's "Cinderella."
“My childhood dreams were to be a singer, touch as many people as I could and to meet Whitney Houston, just meet her...” Brandy recalled in a 2020 cover story for People.
“So to meet her, hang out with her and sing with her, it was unbelievable. For her to cast me in such a role, the first Black princess, I don’t know the words to really describe what that feels like.”
