NFL Fans Rejoice: Carrie Underwood Will Return to ‘Sunday Night Football’ for 12th Year

For NFL enthusiasts, it isn’t Sunday Night Football without Carrie Underwood. The “Cowboy Casanova” singer has performed “Waiting All Day For Sunday Night” since 2013, when fellow country star Faith Hill passed the torch. Underwood’s performance was noticeably absent from the 2024 playoff season—and for many fans, it just wasn’t the same. So, social media breathed a collective sigh of relief when the American Idol champ announced she would return to their screens for the 12th straight year.

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‘Sunday Night Football’ Touts Carrie Underwood’s Return

Sunday Night Football returns Sept. 8 on NBC and Peacock, and Carrie Underwood will be there to welcome it.

[RELATED: A Breakdown of Carrie Underwood’s 3 NFL, Sunday Night Football Theme Songs]

The program shared the news Wednesday (Aug. 21) in a joint post with Underwood and the network, writing, “It’s a road show like no other!”

Fans took to Instagram to share their enthusiasm. “The greatest intro song in sports is returning! Let’s go!” one user wrote. Another declared Underwood “queen of country and football.”

Earlier this month, Underwood delighted NFL fans by performing “Waiting All Day For Sunday Night” live for the first time ever. The eight-time GRAMMY winner opened with the song during her Concert for Legends headlining performance at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.

A Look At the History of the ‘Sunday Night Football’ Theme Song

From antennas to streaming, the Sunday Night Football theme song has sparked excitement among NFL fans. Carrie Underwood has performed the tune since 2013, when she took over for Faith Hill.

“Waiting All Day For Sunday Night” is a re-worked rendition of Joan Jett’s 1988 hit “I Hate Myself For Loving You.” The current iteration was the original theme song choice in 2006 before NBC decided to experiment with a few other tunes. The network finally returned to the Jett remake in 2019 and hasn’t wavered since.

Pop-rock star Pink performed the theme song when Sunday Night Football first aired on NBC in 2006. Faith Hill replaced her the next year with a new arrangement of the track. The “Breathe” singer performed the song every season before passing the torch to Underwood in 2013.

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