The Carrie Underwood era on NBC's "Sunday Night Football" is about to kick off.
The wildly-popular country star, who started her career as the Season Four winner on "American Idol," was recently announced as the singer for the weekly show's musical introduction, taking over for fellow country star Faith Hill, who announced last month she would not be back for a seventh season.
Underwood will sing a new version of "Waiting All Day for Sunday Night," the network said Tuesday. (Scroll to the bottom to see Hill's version of the intro.)
Producer Fred Gaudelli told USA Today that after Hill informed him of her departure in February, Underwood was the only replacement he wanted.
Underwood was, in fact, considered for the role back in 2006, when NBC began broadcasting the Sunday night National Football League games.
However, the show initially opted for Pink, who sang Joan Jett's "I Hate Myself for Loving You" that first season, before Hill replaced her.
NBC said it's sticking to the formula of having it's intro performed by a female country music performer, because it's worked quite well so far.
Gaudelli said he contacted Hill's reps Tuesday, informing them of his hire.
Underwood said she looks forward to getting SNF pointers from Hill the next time they meet.
"For me, it just always seemed like something that would be fun to do," Underwood said during a conference call and quoted by USA Today. "To watch Faith do it week after week, to see that hype for the game, it's something that's so cool."
Underwood said she plans to adapt the intro to her style, with the lyrics remaining the same. NFL stars will again appear in the opening video sequence, with Underwood providing the charged soundtrack
A six-time Grammy winner, Underwood, 30, is married to hockey star Mike Fisher of the Nashville Predators.
Underwood said her husband, who's friends with several NFL players, was thrilled about her new sports gig.
"He's a sports dude," she said. "Yeah, he plays hockey, but he definitely loves football, as do I."
The Oklahoma native Underwood sang the national anthem at the 2010 Super Bowl.
The first Sunday night game broadcast is Sept. 8, with the New York Giants visiting the Dallas Cowboys.
"Sunday Night Football," which averaged 21.8 million viewers last season, is TV's top-rated prime-time show.
Underwood is also signed to star in NBC's live broadcast of "The Sound of Music," later this year. she noted, however, the two deals weren't connected.