Update, May 7 4pm ET: NBC Sports and Carrie Underwood confirmed during a press call that the country superstar will be joining the Sunday Night Football team, starting this fall. Sunday Night Football producer Fred Gaudelli said on a press call, “Carrie Underwood will now open television’s highest rated show with a brand new version of ‘I’ve Been Waiting All Day For Sunday Night.” Carrie went on to say that this is a “perfect fit” and that this is a “very special” event. “Carrie Underwood was our first and only choice to perform the Sunday Night Football opening,” said SNF producer Fred Gaudelli. “She’s one of America’s most popular entertainers and the perfect fit for our show.” Underwood was actually considered back in 2006, but “stars didn’t align” at the time. Underwood’s debut will be on NBC’s September 8th opener.
Rumors are swirling and the puzzle pieces are slowly falling into place. Recently, NBC Sports announced that Faith Hill will no longer be a part of their Sunday Night Football team. The award winning country beauty has been doing the Sunday Night Football theme, “I’ve Been Waiting All Day For Sunday Night,” with NBC since the network since 2007. The Peacock gained the broadcast rights in 2006, where famed P!nk sang the theme for the inaugural season.
Once word came out that Faith Hill will no longer be doing the honors, rumors began swirling as to just might who take her place. The two most prominent seem to be fellow country superstar Carrie Underwood and Black Eyed Peas Will.i.am.
On Monday afternoon, NBC released a memo to us and other members of the press that a conference call will be held Tuesday afternoon to announce new talent on “Sunday Night Football.” Not long after, Carrie Underwood tweeted the following anticipatory tweet,
Carrie Underwood and NBC are already joining forces when the network plans to launch a live version of “The Sound of Music,” starring the country superstar, this December. Carrie Underwood also recently teamed with the NFL when she sang the National Anthem in 2010.
Sunday Night Football, which averaged 21.8 million viewers in the 2012 season, is primetime television’s No. 1 program.