Carrie Underwood’s latest Sunday Night Football performance arrived with a harder edge, and NFL viewers were quick to notice.
Before the Indianapolis Colts faced the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2, Underwood opened NBC’s broadcast with a new version of “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night.” Now in her 14th consecutive season as the voice of the Sunday Night Football opening, the country superstar brought a stronger rock influence to the familiar anthem.
The response from fans was immediate. One viewer declared, “The country will fall whenever they boot Carrie Underwood from the SNF intro,” while another wrote, “Carrie Underwood singing SNF and everything is right in the world again!”
The reaction reflected how familiar Underwood’s voice has become to the Sunday night football experience since she took over the opening in 2013.
This year’s rendition keeps the identity of “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night” intact while pushing the arrangement further toward rock.
That change was particularly noticeable to viewers watching the Colts-Chiefs matchup. One fan described the new version of the Sunday Night Football anthem as “pretty sick,” highlighting the rock-oriented approach to Underwood’s performance.
The musical shift was intentional. Tripp Dixon, the creative director behind the Sunday Night Football show open, said the 2026 production drew directly from Underwood’s long-standing appreciation for rock music.
The choice also connects with the history of the anthem itself. The Sunday Night Football theme originated from Joan Jett and the Blackhearts’ “I Hate Myself for Loving You,” giving the new arrangement a natural connection to the rock sound that inspired the song in the first place.
NBC’s 2026 show open was designed around three settings: a recording studio, an intimate small music venue and a concert performance in a packed stadium. Underwood’s performance ties those settings together as the broadcast moves from the music into the night’s NFL action.
