Contrary to his tweets, Mount Prospect's American Idol will not be singing the National Anthem at Sunday's NFC Championship game at Soldier Field.
Fox Sports said late Tuesday that the honor will will go to Blackhawks favorite Jim Cornelison, who performed the Star Spangled Banner at last weekend's game with Seattle.
"There's a depth to the sound, just this rumble, you know, because there's so many people, and man, they were ready to pop on Sunday," Cornelison said during a telephone interview with NBC Chicago.
The "American Idol" champion will instead perform during halftime.
"It's about the fans, and they love the anthem when Jim does it, and this is the biggest championship game ever, so we want it to start right"said Bears spokesman Scott Hagel, according to Chicago Sun-Times sports columnist Sean Jensen.
Speculation arose as to who would perform the National Anthem after DeWyze took to Twitter on Monday:
"National anthem at home, yes. Go Bears. How is everything going? Looking forward to everything coming up."
But it wasn't long before many fans began clammoring for a Cornelison encore. Bears Safety Chris Harris publicly addressed the NFL on Twitter:
"Dear NFL @LeeDeWyze is a great singer and is very talented but Jim Cornelison is #ThatGuy #Amazing #Unbelievable #TheBest #Electric"
Cornelison said he appreciated the vote of confidence.
"Chris, thank you so much. That's fantastic."
The Bears, of course, take on the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
