The whole world is ready for the Super Bowl LII. A month before the sports event, Carrie Underwood has released the anthem titled "The Champion."
The song was made in collaboration with rapper Ludacris and was produced by Jim Jonsin. Country songwriters Brett James and Chris DeStefano wrote the lyrics. It was first heard by the audience during an NFL playoffs commercial last week.
However, on Thursday, Jan. 11, Underwood released the song's official lyric video. A full music video will be released during the opening of the 2018 Super Bowl in a few weeks.
"The Champion" will be used as the opening track for the massively popular sports event. The song will also be incorporated into NBC's coverage of the 2018 Winter Games.
"Our main focus was to celebrate athletes at the top of their game, but we also wanted the song to resonate with people in their everyday lives," Underwood said in a statement.
The Super Bowl LII will open on Feb. 4 and will feature performances from P!nk and Justin Timberlake.
Uniting Force
Fred Gaudelli, executive of Sunday Night Football, will develop the music video that will kick off the NFL telecast. He tapped Tripp Dixon to direct.
In an interview, Gaudelli recounted that the music video was inspired by red carpet appearances of celebrities during awards ceremonies and movie premieres. He mentioned E!'s Glambot which makes use of a slow-motion camera that shoots 300 frames per second. The entertainment news company use the technology to show-off celebrity fashion.
Gaudelli wants the same treatment for the stars of the NFL.
"It's going to be very dramatic, very slow, superhero-like action," he told Variety. "We're going to merge all of these very realistic worlds with these very surreal worlds. It's very symbolic of 'Sunday Night Football' — it's football, but it's football on performance-enhancing drugs."
The video was shot for three days at the Universal lot. According to rumors, it has a seven-figure budget.
Regarding "The Champion," Gaudelli believes that the song will become a classic that will be part of the games decades later.
"I think it's going to become a sports anthem," he added.
Awaited Appearance
Underwood has been performing the opening song for Sunday Night Football, but her appearance this year is special and is something that her fans have been waiting for. The country singer had an accident last year that required her to undergo an operation on her wrist.
Recently, Underwood also revealed that she also injured her face that needed about 40 or 50 stitches. She also warned her fans that she might look different even after the wounds have fully healed.
