It’s becoming a tradition: The Chicks will perform “The Star Spangled Banner” on the final night of the Democratic National Convention Thursday evening, just as they did at the DNC four years ago.

This performance is expected to be much more emotionally impactful, however, as the group will be singing it live, unlike the somber version that was pre-recorded in 2020, for the pandemic edition of the convention.

The news was initially reported by CNN .

At the time of the 2020 DNC appearance, Variety described their version as “turning the National Anthem into the harmony Olympics.”

But the group, formerly known as the Dixie Chicks , has a history with the National Anthem that extends much further back than just four years ago — most famously with a rendition at Super Bowl XXXVII that has been often cited as among the greatest televised versions of Frances Scott Key’s anthem ever.

While widely praised at the time, their universal acclaim was short-lived. Just a few months later, controversy erupted over a remark by Natalie Maines regarding then-president George W. Bush and the Iraq war, deeply dividing their fan base and triggering conservative boycotts.

The 2020 DNC appearance, then, marked a form of redemption, even within a convention setting that wasn't prepared to reconcile with Donald Trump and other Republicans.

As Variety reported in 2020 : “At a Democratic convention, the Chicks represent much more than just familial harmony. They're the original ‘nasty women’ of the early 21st century, known for facing backlash for voicing their opinions about a Republican president. … Ultimately the group emerged stronger from the controversy, winning Grammys, embarking on sold-out tours and gaining new fans who might not have followed them otherwise. However, they remained divisive enough that a return invitation from the NFL (or any other major sports league) was out of the question. It took the DNC for the Chicks to find another large audience that would appreciate their rendition of the anthem as deeply moving — and recognize these battle-anthem singers as veterans themselves.”

Variety further said of the 2020 DNC rendition, “Their performance made the anthem feel — maybe for one of the few times since it was codified into the American canon — like something was deeply at stake, besides whether or not the singer would blow it on the final notes. It felt like a declaration of war on who gets to claim the mantle of patriotism. It felt, in other words, like the latent sorrow, anger and tempered hope underlying the entire Democratic convention.”

Pink has also been announced as performing at the closing night of the 2024 convention, with an appearance expected to precede Kamala Harris’ final speech. The first three nights of the DNC included performances by John Legend, Jason Isbell, Patti LaBelle, Maren Morris, Common and Mickey Guyton, with a cameo by Jon B during a music-filled roll call .