American Popstars Chris Stapleton and Snoop Dogg Make NFL’s Monday Night Football Debut

The “Two Games, One Night” special on Monday night just became a bit more thrilling. Chris Stapleton, recipient of a Grammy Award, Snoop Dogg, and famous percussionist Cindy Blackman Santana performed a cover of Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” in a new music video that debuted to start the evening.

In order to ring in the double game night, Blackman Santana’s drum solo is accompanied by rap lyrics about football that Snoop Dogg adds to the piece between Stapleton’s nostalgic song’s chorus.

The opening number debuted prior to the Saints vs. Panthers game at 7:15 p.m. ET and the Browns vs. Steelers game at 8:15 p.m. ET. It will be played before all “Monday Night Football” games for the rest of the season, ESPN’s Week 18 Saturday doubleheader, Super Wild Card weekend, and its first divisional playoff game.

According to Julie McGlone, vice president of creative content production at ESPN, the creative content team came up with the concept for a new theme in 2021.

The “Monday Night Football” crew granted the concept the go-ahead but suggested that it take its time and find something that would have the same excitement as Carrie Underwood’s “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night” on NBC.

It was difficult, according to video producer Rico Labbe, to fulfill their goal of thrilling millions of fans remotely in a modern manner.

 

 

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“We just wanted to make sure we heard everybody’s voices – whether it was the fans’ voices, whether it was the artists’ voices, whether it was staying true to the ‘Monday Night Football’ brand over the years,” told USA Today Sports, Labbe. “We just wanted to make sure we meshed all that together. It could be a challenge. But we think we hit the sweet spot.”

After the new opening, the theme will keep playing and introduce the audience to Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, and Lisa Salters.

 

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The natural build to the drum change is significantly quicker in the video than it is in the original song because the video will only play for a 90-second window before cutting to the sports commentators.

“I think it’s an amazing moment in music to have different sounds – country western and hip-hop and rock – it’s like a big gumbo,” Labbe said. “I feel like that’s the United States.”

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