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As NFL fans already know, Carrie Underwood is no stranger to Sunday Night Football. The country music superstar has opened the popular sports program with a variety of musical segments since 2013, which sees Underwood belting out the 'Waiting All Day For Sunday Night' theme song.
Underwood is back for Sunday Night Football this year, as well, but this time the segment got an exciting overhaul. In the past, Underwood performed in front of a green screen and was unable to see any of the virtual elements that were added in later during postproduction. This year, however, the segment was filmed at the Industrial Light & Magic sound stage and the same groundbreaking technology used in The Mandalorian was put to work.
“Carrie could really see the world she was working in, rather than trying to imagine what we could do after shooting her on a green screen," Tripp Dixon, the NBC Sports creative director, explained in a statement. This year's segment will see Underwood making her way through a virtual football tailgate.
The 'Jesus Take the Wheel' singer gushed about getting to use the inventive virtual technology for the shoot. “I just love the fact that we get to reinvent it every year," she said. “The team behind these shoots is incredible and it’s always a really fun day, especially this year getting to work with such amazing state-of-the-art technology.”
The new segment will debut on Sunday, September 12, ahead of the Chicago Bears vs Los Angeles Rams game. Will you be tuning in?