Jennifer Hudson returns to the spotlight

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Jennifer Hudson returned to the spotlight Sunday with a flawless performance of the national anthem before the Super Bowl.

Wearing a flowing white top with black pants and a cropped black jacket, the 27-year-old singer/actress took a deep breath before launching into the anthem.

Hudson used the Super Bowl's massive television audience for her first public appearance since the October slayings in Chicago of her mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew. Her estranged brother-in-law has been charged in the killings.

Hudson, who clocked in at 2 minutes, 13 seconds, looked relieved when she was through.

Singing the national anthem at the Super Bowl is considered a prestigious invitation, with all artists trying to match or better Whitney Houston's 1991 version, performed in Tampa during the first Iraq war.