ESPN has switched up its soundtrack for Monday Night Football with a new opening theme in which Chris Stapleton, Snoop Dogg, and Cindy Blackman Santana perform a “reimagining” of Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight.” Check out a preview below.
If you really nit-pick this, the unlikely cover actually makes a decent amount of sense: Stapleton and Snoop have both performed at recent Super Bowls, with Stapleton performing the National Anthem this year and Snoop a part of the Halftime Show in 202. “In the Air Tonight” obviously needs a powerful drummer like Santana, who’s performed with legends including Pharoah Sanders, Lenny Kravitz, and — you guessed it! — Santana.
Why Collins’ 1981 smash hit was chosen as ESPN’s new hype anthem, however, is a bit of a head-scratcher. In a statement, the network said “In the Air Tonight” has a “deep relationship” with football, “having been cited in the past and present as a song that helps players shift their mindset to prepare to compete.”
The full version of Stapleton, Snoop Dogg, and Santana’s “In the Air Tonight” will premiere this evening during Monday Night Football.
For many years, Hank Williams Jr.’s reworking of “All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight” was synonymous with Monday Night Football, but it was replaced by Virginia band Butcher Brown’s take on Little Richard’s “Rip It Up” for the 2020 and 2021 seasons. Last year, the main theme song was created by electronic producer Marshmello, who remixed the classic “Heavy Action” instrumental theme.
Now, the new opener will transition into a more familiar version of “Heavy Action,” which will in turn lead into the broadcast itself.
Stapleton is planning on filling some stadiums in his own right during his 2024 co-headlining tour with George Strait; find tickets here.
The new Monday Night Football anthem that will debut tonight: pic.twitter.com/vZlfXdnD3f
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 18, 2023
