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FOR 14 YEARS, CARRIE UNDERWOOD HAS OPENED SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL. WHAT MOST FANS NEVER KNEW: SHE RECORDS AN ENTIRE SEASON’S TEAM MATCHUPS IN ONE NASHVILLE SESSION — ABOUT THREE HOURS. That means before the season really gets rolling, Carrie sits in a Nashville studio and records the different team names and matchups NBC may need for months of Sunday nights. This year, the familiar opening is changing, too. After three straight seasons filmed at her Las Vegas residency theater, the 2026 version takes her through three different worlds: a recording studio, a small live-music venue, and finally a packed football stadium. Carrie called the whole experience her ongoing “rock star fever dream,” and the new version leans harder into rock and roll. Fans got their first preview before the Hall of Fame Game. The full opening arrives September 13, when the New York Giants host the Dallas Cowboys.

Carrie Underwood’s Sunday Night Football Tradition Is Changing, But the Feeling Remains the Same

For many football fans, the start of Sunday Night Football has become as familiar as the opening whistle. For 14 years, Carrie Underwood has helped set that tone, turning a weekly broadcast intro into something that feels bigger than a simple television cue. It is part music, part sports ritual, and part sign that the NFL season has truly arrived.

What most viewers never see is how much work goes into that short opening. Carrie Underwood records the season’s team matchups in a Nashville studio in one focused session, spending only a few hours capturing the different names NBC may need across months of Sunday nights. It is a small behind-the-scenes detail, but it helps explain why the opening always feels so polished and ready for anything the schedule brings.

A New Look for 2026

This year, the famous opening is getting a fresh visual style. After three straight seasons filmed at Carrie Underwood’s Las Vegas residency theater, the 2026 version takes a different path. According to the new rollout, Carrie Underwood moves through three distinct settings: a recording studio, a small live-music venue, and a packed football stadium. The shift gives the opening a more rock-and-roll energy and leans into the kind of stage presence Carrie Underwood has built over years of live performance.

Carrie Underwood has described the experience as an ongoing “rock star fever dream,” a phrase that fits the new direction well. The updated opening is not trying to erase what fans already love. Instead, it refreshes the mood while keeping the same recognizable voice at the center of it all.

The best theme songs do more than introduce a game. They create a feeling people carry into the night.

The First Preview Arrived Early

Fans did not have to wait long to get a first look. A preview of the new opening arrived before the Hall of Fame Game, giving viewers an early taste of what is coming this season. That kind of rollout builds anticipation without losing the suspense of the full debut.

The complete opening will arrive on September 13, when the New York Giants host the Dallas Cowboys. For many fans, that matchup will mark more than just another primetime game. It will be the first full chance to see the new creative direction in action and hear Carrie Underwood carry Sunday Night Football into another season.

Why It Still Works

Part of the reason this tradition has lasted so long is simple: it feels both consistent and alive. Carrie Underwood brings familiarity, but each season also brings enough change to keep the opening from feeling stale. That balance has helped make the intro a small cultural marker, one that football fans and casual viewers alike recognize instantly.

In the end, that may be the real story here. The camera angles may change, the settings may shift, and the staging may get bolder, but the purpose stays the same. Every Sunday night, Carrie Underwood gives the season a voice. And in 2026, she is doing it with just a little more electricity.

 

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THE GRAMMYS GAVE DOLLY PARTON THEIR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD IN 2011. THE CMA FOLLOWED IN 2016. ON SEPTEMBER 16, AMERICANA WILL MAKE IT THREE. For more than six decades, Dolly Parton has been almost everything American entertainment could make someone — country star, actress, businesswoman, philanthropist and cultural icon. But the Americana Music Association is bringing the story back to where it started: the songs. At the Ryman Auditorium during AmericanaFest, Dolly will receive its Lifetime Achievement Award, joining another major honor to the Grammy recognition she received in 2011 and the CMA’s Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award presented to her five years later. Americana’s leadership pointed to the songwriter at the center of her legacy — the woman whose words have crossed generations and genres long after they left her notebook. Robert Plant will also be honored that night. Dolly plans to accept by video. After all the costumes, movies and fame, they are honoring what came first: the songwriter.

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ALAN JACKSON HAD ALREADY WON 21 ACM AWARDS. THEN THE ACADEMY CREATED ONE MORE, PUT HIS NAME ON IT — NINE DAYS LATER, HE LEFT THE ROAD. 415 DAYS LATER, HE SANG HIS FINAL FULL-LENGTH CONCERT. On May 8, 2025, Alan Jackson walked onto the ACM Awards stage and sang “Remember When.” His balance was no longer what it once was. Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease had been weakening his legs and making live performances increasingly difficult. But Alan stayed at the microphone and finished the song he had written about growing older beside his wife, Denise. Then Reba McEntire presented him with an honor that had never existed before: the inaugural Alan Jackson Lifetime Achievement Award. The Academy had created a permanent award bearing his name, honoring artists whose careers leave an extraordinary impact on country music. Alan became its first recipient after already collecting 21 ACM Awards. Nine days later, on May 17, he played Milwaukee and told the crowd it was the final road show of his career. But there was one goodbye left. On June 27, 2026, Alan returned to Nashville for one final full-length concert at Nissan Stadium, surrounded by friends, fellow stars and thousands of fans. For decades, country music put Alan Jackson’s name on trophies. In the end, it put his name on an honor meant to outlive the road itself.

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HE ARRIVED IN NASHVILLE WITH A GUITAR AND $14. HE LEFT BEHIND 45 CHARTED SINGLES, SIX NO. 1s — AND A DOOR LATINO COUNTRY ARTISTS ARE STILL WALKING THROUGH. In 1969, Johnny Rodriguez was 18 and sitting in a Texas jail for a minor offense. He sang in his cell anyway. Texas Ranger Joaquin Jackson heard him and helped connect him with Happy Shahan, who gave Johnny a job singing at Alamo Village. That was where Tom T. Hall and Bobby Bare heard the young Mexican-American kid from Sabinal. Soon Johnny headed to Nashville with almost nothing — one guitar and $14 in his pocket. Hall hired him as a guitarist and helped him reach Mercury Records. Then America heard the voice. Johnny sang country music in English and Spanish, becoming the first Mexican-American major country star. His first No. 1 came with “You Always Come Back to Hurting Me.” More followed. Fifteen consecutive Top 10 hits. Six No. 1s. Forty-five charted singles. Johnny Rodriguez died in 2025 at 73. He arrived with $14. What he left behind was worth far more.

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THE GRAMMYS GAVE DOLLY PARTON THEIR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD IN 2011. THE CMA FOLLOWED IN 2016. ON SEPTEMBER 16, AMERICANA WILL MAKE IT THREE. For more than six decades, Dolly Parton has been almost everything American entertainment could make someone — country star, actress, businesswoman, philanthropist and cultural icon. But the Americana Music Association is bringing the story back to where it started: the songs. At the Ryman Auditorium during AmericanaFest, Dolly will receive its Lifetime Achievement Award, joining another major honor to the Grammy recognition she received in 2011 and the CMA’s Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award presented to her five years later. Americana’s leadership pointed to the songwriter at the center of her legacy — the woman whose words have crossed generations and genres long after they left her notebook. Robert Plant will also be honored that night. Dolly plans to accept by video. After all the costumes, movies and fame, they are honoring what came first: the songwriter.

Chưa phân loại

FOR 14 YEARS, CARRIE UNDERWOOD HAS OPENED SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL. WHAT MOST FANS NEVER KNEW: SHE RECORDS AN ENTIRE SEASON’S TEAM MATCHUPS IN ONE NASHVILLE SESSION — ABOUT THREE HOURS. That means before the season really gets rolling, Carrie sits in a Nashville studio and records the different team names and matchups NBC may need for months of Sunday nights. This year, the familiar opening is changing, too. After three straight seasons filmed at her Las Vegas residency theater, the 2026 version takes her through three different worlds: a recording studio, a small live-music venue, and finally a packed football stadium. Carrie called the whole experience her ongoing “rock star fever dream,” and the new version leans harder into rock and roll. Fans got their first preview before the Hall of Fame Game. The full opening arrives September 13, when the New York Giants host the Dallas Cowboys.

Chưa phân loại

ALAN JACKSON HAD ALREADY WON 21 ACM AWARDS. THEN THE ACADEMY CREATED ONE MORE, PUT HIS NAME ON IT — NINE DAYS LATER, HE LEFT THE ROAD. 415 DAYS LATER, HE SANG HIS FINAL FULL-LENGTH CONCERT. On May 8, 2025, Alan Jackson walked onto the ACM Awards stage and sang “Remember When.” His balance was no longer what it once was. Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease had been weakening his legs and making live performances increasingly difficult. But Alan stayed at the microphone and finished the song he had written about growing older beside his wife, Denise. Then Reba McEntire presented him with an honor that had never existed before: the inaugural Alan Jackson Lifetime Achievement Award. The Academy had created a permanent award bearing his name, honoring artists whose careers leave an extraordinary impact on country music. Alan became its first recipient after already collecting 21 ACM Awards. Nine days later, on May 17, he played Milwaukee and told the crowd it was the final road show of his career. But there was one goodbye left. On June 27, 2026, Alan returned to Nashville for one final full-length concert at Nissan Stadium, surrounded by friends, fellow stars and thousands of fans. For decades, country music put Alan Jackson’s name on trophies. In the end, it put his name on an honor meant to outlive the road itself.

Chưa phân loại

HE ARRIVED IN NASHVILLE WITH A GUITAR AND $14. HE LEFT BEHIND 45 CHARTED SINGLES, SIX NO. 1s — AND A DOOR LATINO COUNTRY ARTISTS ARE STILL WALKING THROUGH. In 1969, Johnny Rodriguez was 18 and sitting in a Texas jail for a minor offense. He sang in his cell anyway. Texas Ranger Joaquin Jackson heard him and helped connect him with Happy Shahan, who gave Johnny a job singing at Alamo Village. That was where Tom T. Hall and Bobby Bare heard the young Mexican-American kid from Sabinal. Soon Johnny headed to Nashville with almost nothing — one guitar and $14 in his pocket. Hall hired him as a guitarist and helped him reach Mercury Records. Then America heard the voice. Johnny sang country music in English and Spanish, becoming the first Mexican-American major country star. His first No. 1 came with “You Always Come Back to Hurting Me.” More followed. Fifteen consecutive Top 10 hits. Six No. 1s. Forty-five charted singles. Johnny Rodriguez died in 2025 at 73. He arrived with $14. What he left behind was worth far more.