Iowa woman’s a cappella anthem earns her Nashville recording session, national spotlight

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Gray News) — A 20-year-old Iowa woman is trading her hometown stage for a professional Nashville recording studio after winning a nationwide search for the country’s best a cappella performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Lily Schloss of North Liberty, Iowa, was named the winner of Gray Media’s Star-Spangled Sing-Off, a contest launched to celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday. Schloss entered through KCRG in Cedar Rapids, one of dozens of Gray-owned stations across the country that took nominations for the competition.

The sing-off unfolded in three rounds. Local stations gathered nominees, viewers voted locally, and a regional round narrowed the field before Schloss emerged as the national winner.

“Oh, I did not think I was going to win,” Schloss said after the news set in. She called the opportunity “a dream come true.”

KCRG surprised Schloss with a pep-rally-style celebration at the station to break the news.

From there, she made the trip from Cedar Rapids to Nashville, where the prize package was waiting: swag bags, hair and makeup styling, and a personalized recording session in a professional studio.

The payoff is a polished studio recording of the national anthem — performed entirely a cappella, in Schloss’s voice.

Gray Media stations nationwide will air Schloss’s rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” throughout September.