Who sang the Orange Bowl national anthem, halftime show for Notre Dame-Penn State?

There was quite a bit of controversy among college football fans over the quarterfinal matchups in the College Football Playoff in regards to the national anthem. No, the "Star-Spangled Banner" wasn't done poorly or wrong, but it most importantly wasn't shown on the ESPN broadcasts. That seemed like the most egregious decision for the postponed Sugar Bowl that was delayed a day following the heartbreaking terrorist attack in New Orleans on New Year's Day.

My best guess, though, would be that ESPN and the CFP won't make the same mistake moving forward, especially given that we've often seen the national anthem performed for CFP semifinal games back when this was the four-team Playoff. So it would be a likely probability that we see it performed ahead of the Orange Bowl on Thursday night before the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Penn State Nittany Lions face off in the first semifinal of this year's CFP.

But who will be given that honor at the Orange Bowl? Let's take a look at the two performers who will take center stage for this game both in singing the national anthem and then later on performing the halftime show for Notre Dame-Penn State.

Who is singing the Orange Bowl national anthem before Notre Dame-Penn State?

Young musical theater star Ellie Rose will be performing the national anthem at the Orange Bowl ahead of the matchup between the Fighting Irish and Nittany Lions in the first CFP semifinal. The 14-year-old is best known for her work as the star of the famed musical Annie for the Broadway National Tour. She has performed all over the country in that role and in many others, though she's performed most frequently in her home state of Florida.

Rose, despite her young age, is not new to singing national anthems as she's performed the Star-Spangled Banner for the Florida Panthers, Miami Marlins and even the Denver Broncos in her burgeoning career.

Who is performing the Orange Bowl halftime show at the CFP semifinal?

While Rose is performing the national anthem, it'll be country music star Nate Smith. The 39-year-old first gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic when his song "Wildfire" went viral on TikTok and then, subsequently, other social media platforms. Since then, he's released two full-length albums in 2023 and 2024, including his self-titled debut that reache No. 6 on the US Country charts in 2023 following its April release.

Beyond that, Smith has had two songs from that album, "Whiskey on You" and "World on Fire", that reached No. 1 on the US Country Airplay charts in 2022 and 2023, respectively. He's also released singles in the past few years alongside other stars like Lee Brice, Avril Lavigne and Alesso, among others.