Carrie Underwood was surprised by an American Idol contestant and left singing along to her own anthem, “Waiting All Day For Sunday Night.” The 2005 winner of American Idol was treated to a rendition of her famous song, which has been the theme of NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” since 2013.
“You’re clever. You’re like, “What have they not heard yet? That would be very different!'” Underwood told 26-year-old contestant Yani. However, Luke Bryan said no to Yani despite executing Underwood’s song because it was “quite theatrical” for American Idol.
However, Underwood balanced the books, giving the contestant a “yes” for her efforts. “I don’t know if you’re right for this show,” Underwood admitted. “But I can’t say ‘no’ to your voice.”
Lionel Richie delivered the final verdict, siding with Underwood to send Yani to Hollywood. Underwood’s “Waiting All Day For Sunday Night” has proven to be a highly lucrative song for the singer. It was previously reported that Underwood received $1 million per week, resulting in a whopping $18m per NFL season for using the song on NBC.
Underwood cleared up the speculation during an interview with Howard Stern. The host said, “And the money ain’t bad. Is it true that you make $18 million a year ($1m per week)?”
To which Underwood issued a firm denial, confirming, “For me? No! No! It’s pretty pro-bono. I wish I got that; that’d be great!”
The mom of two takes great pride in her sons being able to watch the NFL and hear her voice on a weekly basis. She said: “They love seeing me on TV.
“But even with younger kids who obviously did not see me on American Idol or early in my career, to some kiddos, [SNF] is what they know me from. So I’ll take it. That’s really amazing.”
DON’T MISS…
Underwood added: “I feel like they do such a great job year after year of reinventing and reinvigorating the open. People know it’s very comforting to see the open and kind of have a general idea of what it’s gonna feel like. But the way that they go in every year and do what they do to keep it fresh is really cool.”
The singer also enjoyed another historic moment earlier this year, singing ‘America the Beautiful’ at President Donald Trump‘s second inauguration ceremony. Underwood salvaged an audio blunder, singing without music and getting the attendees to join in after the music failed to play.
