Beyonce Knowles didn't even wait for the sentence to finish.

During a meeting with Super Bowl organizers, Knowles was asked if she wanted to perform in the halftime show or sing the national anthem.

"Before they could even say it, I said, 'Star Spangled Banner, I have to do it,"' said Knowles, a Houston native. ``It's going to be a special moment in my life.''

Knowles, nominated for six Grammy awards, spoke Friday at a news conference along with Aerosmith, Toby Keith and Willie Nelson to promote the Super Bowl pregame show.

For Knowles, the opportunity to make the anthem memorable was too hard to resist.

``One of my favorite performances ever is Whitney Houston in the Super Bowl singing the Star Spangled Banner,'' she said. ``I cried when I saw that. I said one day, I have to do that.''

With an 80-piece orchestra accompanying her on the recording, this version should rank near the top.

``I cannot wait to perform it,'' Knowles said. ``Every time I do it by the end, I have chills, I'm sweating, because it just takes so much out of me.''

While Knowles said she doesn't have a favorite in the game, Boston-based Aerosmith has a strong rooting interest in the Patriots.