She’s back.
Tonight, Sunday Night Football on NBC officially returns for the 2026 NFL season, along with Carrie Underwood would return to sing the Sunday Night Football anthem for the 14th straight year. Unlike last year, which was filmed at The Resorts World Theatre in Las Vegas, this season’s open will feature scenes in the recording studio, an intimate, smaller music venue and a concert at a packed stadium, according to People.
Carrie says that this year’s rendition captures the “heart of rock ‘n’ roll,” and says it’s one of her favorite versions yet:
“This year’s show open welcomes Sunday Night Football into my ongoing rock star fever dream. I love this new version of the track and, once again, Tripp and the incredible team behind the camera brought it to life in a whole new way that captures the spirit of this iconic song and the heart of rock ‘n’ roll.
It’s one of my most favorite opens yet!”
It’s well-documented how much Carrie loves rock, so I’m not surprised to hear that:
Of course, Faith Hill was the SNF girl for many years, belting out “Waiting All Day For Sunday Night” every weekend on TV’s across America, but I’ve loved seeing Carrie step up and carry on the torch over the last decade. If anyone is on Faith’s level in terms of vocal ability, it’s Carrie Underwood.
She gets a decent amount of hate for it, which I really don’t understand, because I think she’s great and honestly I don’t think there’s anyone who could do it better… Faith Hill was incredible, but she can’t do it forever, and I think Carrie has really made it her own.
Carrie has opened the show for 14 consecutive years, and this year’s rendition is a reworked version of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts’ “I Hate Myself for Loving You,” which premiered ahead of the Dallas Cowboys game versus the New York Giants in New York City.
Carrie says it welcomes football fans into her “ongoing rock star fever dream,” calling it one of her favorite opens yet:
“This year’s show open welcomes Sunday Night Football into my ongoing rock star fever dream.
I love this new version of the track and, once again, Tripp and the incredible team behind the camera brought it to life in a whole new way that captures the spirit of this iconic song and the heart of rock & roll. It’s one of my most favorite opens yet.”
Tripp Dixon, who has helmed 14 years worth of Sunday Night Football show opens as creative director, said this season’s performance drew from Carrie’s love of rock music, and they wanted to really lean into that:
“Inspiration from Carrie’s deep, well-documented love of rock music – a perfect fit since our Sunday Night Football anthem was born from pure rock & roll. We’ve worked to match these two rock frequencies of past and present as they come together in Carrie’s high-energy performance. The greatest players and teams in the NFL will take it from there.”
Carrie starts out in the studio talking about the song, and then transitions to the stage with an all-black leather outfit looking gorgeous. I thought it was great, and of course, seeing this premiere once again means football season is in full swing (which as a Panthers fan, has already been traumatic). It’s probably going to be a long season, but I digress…
You can watch it here:
