The last game of the wild-card weekend brings the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Houston Texans for an ultimate showdown. The Steelers get extra attention as they haven’t lost a single Monday game in their home stadium since 1992. But before the football action kicks off at Acrisure Stadium, Norelle Simpson will captivate the audience with her rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner. Learn everything about the national anthem performer for the AFC wild-card game. 

Who is Norelle Simpson? National anthem performer at Steelers vs Texans 

Norelle Simpson will perform the national anthem before the Steelers and Texans lock horns on Monday Night Football. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Simpson is a singer, executive assistant, and also works in production. She developed a love for music early on, singing for the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Chorus and 93.1 WZAK’s youth choir. In 2003, she attended John Carroll University and performed regularly at BSIDE.

She later graduated with a degree in sociology and psychology in 2010 and put all her focus on advancing her music career. Her journey took off when she served as a backup vocalist for big shots like Rihanna and Alicia Keys on international tours. While on tour with Rihanna, Norelle Simpson crossed paths with drummer Chris Johnson, who later became her husband. The couple also welcomed a boy on February 27, 2022. 

Chris played a major role in her solo career, assisting her with the production of her 2018 EP Love, Norelle and the Black Friday Concert Series. 

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Beyond performing, Norelle has worked extensively in a mentorship role. Her LinkedIn profile reveals that she’s self-employed and works closely with emerging artists. She offers vocal coaching and guides the young artists in performing efficiently and building stage presence. 

What is Norelle Simpson’s net worth in 2025?

At the time of publication, there’s no viable information about Simpson’s net worth. But a major portion of her earnings likely comes from performing solo and serving in supporting roles for established singers.

Norelle Simpson’s music career and achievements

Norelle Simpson continues to build a steady and loyal fanbase. At present, she has 8,012 monthly listeners on Spotify and boasts over 46k followers on Instagram. As for her discography, she released five singles between 2020 and 2024. In 2021, she dropped her first and only album, A Story about Love. It was a seven-track project that also featured some of her previously released songs.

On the performing side, she shared a stage with Alicia Keys at the 2020 Grammy Awards. But that’s not all. The same night, Norelle achieved a terrific feat when Anderson. Paak won a Grammy for Ventura, the album she contributed to. She has also gained prominence on television, appearing on popular shows such as American Idol, The Four, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Meanwhile, Norelle opened up about aspirations in a 2021 interview with The NYC Lifestyle. 

“I would like to be recognized for the artist I am outside of background vocalist things that I’ve done,” she said. “I would absolutely love to be nominated for a Grammy as myself and win that Grammy as myself. I would love to go on tour as myself and venture off into other areas of creativity.” 

Despite her years of collaboration with popular artists, Norelle has openly expressed interest in working with some more names. These include producer D’Mile, as well as artists like Victoria Monét, H.E.R., and Drake.

What other major sporting events has Norelle Simpson performed at? 

Over the years, Norelle has emerged as a powerful performer in the NFL. In 2020, she hit the stage with Jennifer Lopez and Shakira for the Super Bowl Halftime show. Most recently, she performed at the game between the Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills on December 21, 2025. And yet, her performances go beyond football.

In August 2024, Norelle sang the national anthem at the boxing event in Los Angeles. She shared the clip on social media and wrote:

“I had the opportunity to perform the National Anthem at The Riyadh Season LA event headlined by Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov in front of more than 22,000 ppl!!! What a dream!!!!!”

Be it NFL stadiums or boxing nights, Norelle Simpson has consistently shown that she can own any stage.