Carrie Underwood fulfilled a lifelong dream at Stagecoach Festival on Saturday (April 30) when a rock legend joined her on stage.
The country superstar and Oklahoma native shocked the capacity crowd with a two song duet alongside Guns N’ Roses’ frontman Axl Rose, a rock n’ roll legend that she previously dubbed her “dream duet partner.”
Underwood, wearing a custom rhinestone emblazoned Guns N’ Roses shirt, shouted “Welcome to the greatest night of my life! Give it up for Axl Rose,” as she welcomed the “Welcome To The Jungle” singer to the massive main stage.
The superstar pair then kicked off the collaborative performance with Guns N’ Roses’ hit “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” a track solely written by Axl Rose himself, featured on Guns N’ Roses’ debut album, Appetite For Destruction.
Underwood sang the first verse by herself then Axl Rose joined her to sing the second verse before teaming up on the chorus. The country superstar and rock n’ roll icon dominated every inch of the massive festival stage.
@musicmayhemmagazine @carrieunderwood singing a duet of #SweetChildOMine alongside @Guns N’ Roses’ #AxlRose at Stagecoach. 🎥 Courtesy of Stagecoach/YouTube
The 39-year-old “Ghost Story” singer and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer then delivered an exhilarating performance of Guns N’ Roses fan-favorite hit, “Paradise City,” a song the group released in 1989.
“You thought we were finished?” Underwood shouted before exploding into the track. The pair then delivered an unforgettable performance of the Platinum-certified rock hit, which you can watch HERE.
“Oh my goodness, I need a minute,” Underwood said as she took a minute to catch her breath after two show-stopping duets with Axl Rose.
“I don’t know why we put more songs after that,” she joked before going into a performance of “Smoke Break.”
Her jaw-dropping Stagecoach set also featured a visually stunning production as well as performances of fan-favorite hits such as “Jesus, Take The Wheel,” “Before He Cheats,” “Blown Away” and more. She even showcased her forthcoming new album, Denim & Rhinestones, with performances of “Crazy Angels,” her latest single “Ghost Story” and the project’s title track.
The mother of two even paid tribute to the late Naomi Judd, one half of the legendary country duo, The Judds, with a special performance of “See You Again.” Watch the performance below.
@musicmayhemmagazine @Carrie Underwood dedicated her performance of #SeeYouAgain to the late Naomi Judd during her #Stagecoach set. ❤️ 🎥 Courtesy of Stagecoach/YouTube
Following the epic performance, Underwood took to social media to gush over the once-in-a-lifetime moment.
“Best. Night. Of. My. Life!!! I am still freaking out!!! Thank you, Axl, for making this lifelong dream come true!!! You rocked that @stagecoach stage harder than anyone has ever rocked it before! ❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥 #SweetChildOMine #ParadiseCity #AxlRose”
Guns N’ Roses, with reunited members Axl Rose, Slash, and Duff McKagan, headlined the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2016.
Carrie Underwood Previously Dubbed Axl Rose Her “Dream Duet Partner” & Says His Music Helped Her Find Her Voice
In 2015, Underwood, an avid fan of classic rock, told E! Online an interview that she found her voice from listening to artists like the Guns N’ Roses’ singer.
“I’ve covered enough Guns N’ Roses stuff, and it was people like him who taught me how to sing,” Underwood previously told the outlet. “I look at people like him and Freddie Mercury, those people who were doing all these crazy runs. It was so different.”
Two years ago, while chatting with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Underwood talked about flying to Las Vegas to see her favorite band, Guns N’ Roses, for the first time and she declared it was “one of the best nights” of her life.
“We were nowhere near Las Vegas, so naturally I said, ‘Let’s go to Las Vegas with the band and go see GN’R play,’” Underwood told Fallon at the time. “It’s kind of a life-long dream of mine I never thought would happen. Couldn’t waste that opportunity, so I abandoned my husband, abandoned my children, went to Vegas, and saw Guns N’ Roses. Amazing.”
Additionally, Underwood is gearing up to release her ninth studio album, Denim & Rhinestones, later this year.
Arriving on June 10 via UMG Nashville, Denim & Rhinestones will feature 12-tracks, including the project’s lead single “Ghost Story,” as well as the just-released title track and “Crazy Angels.”
“We cover a lot of ground on this album. We have a lot of songs that have a bit of a ‘throwback’ feel, but they sound super fresh,” Underwood shared of the project in a press release. ”I grew up listening to so many different kinds of music and that is extremely evident in this body of work. These are musical influences that are all in me and work their way out, and I just decided this time not to get in their way. I think this whole album ended up being a big reflection of me as a person and as an artist.”
Underwood added, “After spending over two years with My Gift and My Savior, which were such passion projects and so close to my heart, putting together REFLECTION: The Las Vegas Residency was really the catalyst for this album. I was just ready to have fun and to write songs that make me happy to listen to and happy to sing.”
Underwood’s album release date is a pretty significant date for the “Ghost Story” singer as this year will mark her 17-year anniversary since her Grand Ole Opry debut, which took place on June 10, 2005, just two weeks after Underwood won American Idol.
The chart-topping hitmaker will return to Resorts World Theatre in Las Vegas later this month for her REFLECTION: The Las Vegas Residency.
