Cornelison to return for 'Back Home Again in Indiana'

Chicago Blackhawks anthem singer Jim Cornelison will return to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a second straight year to perform "Back Home Again In Indiana" before the start of the 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil on May 27, 2018.

"Jim perfectly captured the powerful emotion behind one of race day's most iconic moments, and barely a day has gone by without a fan asking us to bring him back for next year's race," IMS President J. Douglas Boles said. "We're happy he's returning to IMS and we're grateful to our friends with the Blackhawks organization for working with us to make this happen."

Cornelison will become the first performer to sing "Back Home Again in Indiana" in consecutive years since the retirement of Jim Nabors in 2014. Nabors, a beloved figure in the Indy 500 pre-race activities, sang the tune 36 times during Indy 500 pre-race ceremonies between 1972-2014.

"I have chills knowing I'm coming back now!" Cornelison said on Twitter. "This was a great experience and the IMS people [were] such a great pleasure from start to finish."

A 1992 graduate of the Master of Music program at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, Cornelison has been the exclusive singer of the national anthem before all Blackhawks' home games at the United Center in Chicago since the 2008-09 season. He has performed before games for every major Chicago professional sports team.

Cornelison, a tenor, sang with numerous opera companies before becoming one of six accepted apprentices from more than 800 applicants for the Lyric Opera's Apprenticeship Program in Chicago in 1995. The native of Washington state has performed nationally and internationally with some of the biggest names in opera, including Placido Domingo and Zubin Mehta, and with opera companies in the United States, United Kingdom, Belgium, France and many other locations.