Wait. Stop for a second. If you close your eyes and think of Sunday night, you probably hear that high-octane drum fill and Carrie Underwood’s powerhouse vocals belts out "Waiting All Day for Sunday Night." It’s basically the national anthem of American primetime sports. But she wasn't the first. Honestly, she wasn't even the second.
If you’re trying to remember who sang the sunday night football song before carrie, you’re likely thinking of Faith Hill. For six long years, Faith was the face of the NBC intro. She owned it. But even Faith was stepping into shoes that had already been broken in. Before the glitz of the NBC era, there was a whole different vibe over at ESPN.
The history of this song is kinda messy. It’s a mix of 1970s rock 'n' roll, country crossover appeal, and a massive legal headache involving Joan Jett.
The Faith Hill Era: 2007 to 2012
Before Carrie Underwood took over the mantle in 2013, Faith Hill was the undisputed queen of Sunday night. She started in 2007 and stayed for more than half a decade.
It was a huge deal.
Hill brought a certain polished, Nashville-meets-Hollywood glamour to the broadcast. The song she sang, "Waiting All Day for Sunday Night," was a reworked version of Joan Jett’s "I Hate Myself for Loving You." It’s catchy. It’s aggressive. It’s perfect for football.
People forget how much work went into those intros. Faith didn't just record a track; she had to film these elaborate, high-budget sequences with NFL stars. You’d see her strutting down a CGI-enhanced tunnel while Peyton Manning or Ray Lewis looked intense in the background. It was a spectacle.
But by 2013, Faith decided it was time to let someone else take the mic. She tweeted out that she was leaving "a piece of her heart" behind, but she felt it was the right time to move on. That’s when the baton—or the microphone—was passed to Carrie.
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Pink: The Forgotten Pioneer (2006)
Here is a bit of trivia that usually trips people up. When NBC first acquired the rights to Sunday Night Football in 2006, they didn't go to Faith Hill. They went to Pink.
Yes, the "Get the Party Started" singer was the very first person to perform "Waiting All Day for Sunday Night" for the NBC reboot.
It was gritty. It was edgy. It felt a little more like the Joan Jett original than the versions that followed. Pink only did it for one season. Why? There’s never been a spicy, dramatic reason given; it seems like it was just a one-year deal that didn't get renewed. Maybe the NFL wanted something that felt a little more "middle America," which led them straight to Faith Hill’s doorstep the following year.
If you go back and watch the 2006 intro on YouTube, it feels like a time capsule. The graphics are a bit clunky compared to today’s standards, and Pink’s rock-star energy is a stark contrast to the country-pop vibe we've had for the last nearly twenty years.
The ESPN Years: Hank Williams Jr. and "All My Rowdy Friends"
To really understand who sang the sunday night football song before carrie, we have to look at the pre-NBC era.
Before 2006, Sunday Night Football lived on ESPN. It didn't have the "Waiting All Day" song at all. Instead, the vibe was defined by the legendary Hank Williams Jr.
Now, technically, Hank is most famous for "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight," which was the theme for Monday Night Football. But because the networks and rights were constantly shifting, his voice became synonymous with the entire concept of primetime football.
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ESPN’s Sunday night broadcast felt different. It was less of a "show" and more of a gritty, cable-TV sports production. They used various orchestral themes and rock tracks, but they didn't have the singular, female-fronted pop anthem that NBC eventually pioneered.
The Joan Jett Connection
We have to talk about the song itself. Whether it was Pink, Faith, or Carrie, they were all singing a modified version of "I Hate Myself for Loving You."
Joan Jett and Desmond Child wrote that song in 1988. It’s a classic rock staple. When NBC decided to use it, they had to rewrite the lyrics to fit football. "I hate myself for loving you" became "Waiting all day for Sunday night."
Interestingly, there was a bit of a legal scuffle years later. In 2018, a songwriter named Heidi Merrill sued Carrie Underwood and the NFL, claiming they stole her song "Game On" for the 2018 season intro (the one year Carrie didn't sing the Joan Jett cover). The lawsuit was eventually dismissed, but it goes to show how much money and ego are wrapped up in these few seconds of television.
Why Did the NFL Switch to Country Singers?
It’s a strategic move.
The NFL knows its audience. Country music fans and football fans have a massive overlap. By moving from a pop-rock artist like Pink to country superstars like Faith Hill and Carrie Underwood, the league solidified its brand as a piece of Americana.
Carrie Underwood has actually been doing it longer than anyone else now. She’s been the voice since 2013. That’s over a decade of "Waiting All Day." She has outlasted Pink and Faith combined.
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A Quick Breakdown of the Timeline:
- 2006: Pink kicks off the NBC era with the first version of the song.
- 2007–2012: Faith Hill takes over and turns it into a weekly tradition.
- 2013–Present: Carrie Underwood owns the slot, with a brief lyrical departure for "Oh, Sunday Night" and "Game On" before returning to the classic Jett-inspired tune.
The Short-Lived Lyrical Changes
For a minute there, NBC tried to get fancy.
In 2016, they moved away from the Joan Jett melody and had Carrie sing "Oh, Sunday Night," which was based on her duet with Miranda Lambert, "Somethin' Bad." It was fine, but fans are creatures of habit. They missed the old riff.
Then came 2018’s "Game On." People actually kinda hated it. It didn't have the same "punch" as the original. By 2019, NBC leaned into the nostalgia and brought back the "Waiting All Day for Sunday Night" melody. It’s been there ever since.
What This Tells Us About Football Culture
The theme song isn't just a countdown to kickoff. It’s a psychological trigger. When you hear those first few notes, you know the weekend is ending, but you've got one big event left.
The transition from Pink to Faith to Carrie represents the NFL’s evolution into a massive, polished entertainment machine. They don't just want a song; they want a brand ambassador. Carrie Underwood isn't just a singer; she’s part of the Sunday night ritual, just like Al Michaels (before he left) and Cris Collinsworth.
How to Find Your Favorite Version
If you want to do a deep dive into the evolution of the SNF intro, here is how you should actually track them down. Don't just search for "football song." You’ll get a mess of results.
- Search Archive.org: This is a goldmine for old broadcasts. You can find full intros from the 2006 Pink era that aren't on mainstream streaming sites due to licensing.
- Check the Composers: Look up John Williams’ "Wide Receiver." While it’s not the sung theme, it’s the orchestral piece that often plays coming out of commercials. It’s the "prestige" side of the SNF soundscape.
- YouTube Music Evolution: Several fans have created "Evolution of SNF" videos. Watch the 2007 Faith Hill debut side-by-side with the 2023 Carrie Underwood version. The jump in production value—from simple green screens to complex 3D environments—is wild.
- Listen to the Original: Go back and listen to Joan Jett’s "I Hate Myself for Loving You." Once you hear the original lyrics, it’s almost impossible not to accidentally sing them during the game.
The Sunday Night Football theme is one of the most valuable pieces of real estate in the music industry. It’s a guaranteed audience of millions, every single week, for four months straight. Whether it’s the rock roots of Pink or the country powerhouse of Carrie, that song is the heartbeat of the NFL's primetime.