Country music fans who tuned in to Monday Night Football this week were in for a surprise, as the program now has a new intro courtesy of Chris Stapleton, Snoop Dogg and Cindy Blackman Santana.
The trio teamed to cover Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight,” with Stapleton singing and playing guitar while Snoop Dogg added a football-flavored verse and Blackman Santana handled the track’s iconic drum part.
The show open includes NFL stars, game highlights and dramatic moments intercut with performances from all three artists — Stapleton watching some big screens before heading to a microphone stand with his guitar, Snoop Dogg in a parking lot with a fleet of dancers and Blackman Santana on her own stage at her drum kit.
Watch Chris Stapleton, Snoop Dogg And Cindy Blackman Santana Collaboration Below
The open was produced by ESPN’s Creative Content Unit in conjunction with Stapleton, Snoop Dogg, Blackman Santana and Grammy-award winning record producer Dave Cobb.
The reimagining of Collins’ classic hit debuted for the first time on Monday (Sept. 18) ahead of the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers’ matchup on ESPN and the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers game on ABC.
The Collaboration Will Serve As New Monday Night Football Show Opening
The new intro will be used to open Monday Night Football broadcasts this season, as well as ESPN’s Week 18 Saturday Doubleheader, Super Wild Card, and its first Divisional playoff game.
Despite the new intro, fans won’t be without Monday Night Football‘s longtime instrumental theme “Heavy Action.” That piece of music will be used multiple times throughout each telecast including following the new open and leading into Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Lisa Salters’ call of the game.
Timbaland And Justin Timberlake Also Have Music Airing During Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is also collaborating with Timbaland and Justin Timberlake, whose music will run in Monday Night Football promotional spots, live telecasts and pre-game shows for seven weeks this season.
ESPN, the home of Monday Night Football, has an overall collaboration deal with Stapleton, featuring his song “White Horse” during Week 1 of MNF.
Stapleton Is A Longtime Fan Of Snoop Dogg
While he’s now one of country music’s biggest stars, Stapleton previously revealed in a 60 Minutes interview last year that he was a big fan of rappers like Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg as a teen.
When Sharyn Alfonsi told the singer it was difficult to imagine him listening to those artists, he replied, “Yeah, it was, you know… it was some of the realist. It was so real, that it translated even to some kid in eastern Kentucky who had no notion of the things that he was talking about, you know. It was dangerous too, and real and dangerous are very appealing to you know, 15-16-year-old kids.”
“White Horse” is the first single from Stapleton’s upcoming album Higher, scheduled for release on November 10. The song made a historic debut at country radio, achieving the biggest add day of 2023, the biggest add day of the last 12 months, the biggest add day of Stapleton’s career and the biggest add day for Mercury Records since 1997. It received 135 adds and marked Stapleton’s highest Mediabase debut with an entry at No. 31.
Additionally, Stapleton has already performed some tracks from Higher on the road including the album closer “Mountains Of My Mind” and will continue to do so on his stadium run with George Strait, which was recently extended through 2024. Strait, Stapleton and Little Big Town have announced nine stadium shows in 2024, beginning with a May 4 concert in Indianapolis and ending in Las Vegas on December 7.
