Chris Stapleton, Snoop Dogg add new sound to 'Monday Night Football' anthem

ESPN is debuting a new “Monday Night Football” anthem that will lead into broadcasts, starting with the Week 2 twin bill.

Chris Stapleton, Snoop Dogg and drummer Cindy Blackman Santana cover Phil Collins’ classic song “In The Air Tonight” in an abbreviated version that will take viewers into the game's open with announcers Joe Buck and Troy Aikman.

Stapleton croons while Snoop inserts football-centric rap verses. Blackman Santana delivers the iconic drum solo that fuels the anticipation for that evening’s games.

The artists, and the song, were chosen in light of ESPN’s creative content team’s focus-group research that revealed the “MNF” brand contains a level of nostalgia dating back to the era in which announcer Howard Cosell called the games.

Finding a contemporary way to pump up the millions – visually and audially – from home was the challenge, according to video producer Rico Labbe.

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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,” Labbe told USA TODAY Sports. “We just wanted to make sure we meshed all that together. It could be a challenge. But we think we hit the sweet spot.”

The creative content team first pitched a new anthem for "MNF" in 2021, said ESPN vice president of creative content production Julie McGlone. The "MNF" team loved the idea, but told them to take their time to line up the release of the song – designed to fill a similar lane like Carrie Underwood's "Waiting All Day for Sunday Night" on NBC – with the start of the new broadcast contracts this season, which gives ESPN an expanded regular- and post-season portfolio.

Stapleton first popped on ESPN’s radar following Super Bowl 57 in February, when he sang the national anthem. The creative content unit attended his concerts and dissected his discography. But it was his appeal to multiple demographic groups that made him an ideal leader of the project.

“We really felt that he had this soulful feel to him that incorporated everybody,” Labbe said.

Snoop Dogg was an obvious addition because he fit the mold of someone both with both modern influence and decades on the scene, McGlone said.

Then there was the drum solo. Blackman Santana, one of the most accomplished touring drummers ever, cemented herself in McGlone's mind with her performance in Lenny Kravitz’s 1993 music video “Are You Gonna Go My Way?” The spot's producers desired a strong female presence, McGlone said, and Blackman Santana represents that for them.

“It was important to see some female representation that wasn’t a backup dancer or singer,” she told USA TODAY Sports.

And Blackman Santana ferociously bangs out the drop.

“We needed somebody who could hit those notes,” Labbe said.

“She really hits that drum change and you’re like, ‘Damn,’” McGlone said.

“In The Air Tonight” wasn’t decided upon until March 2023. The ESPN team realized many NFL players, along with the fans, associate the song with getting ready for a game. And Collins gave his blessing to the project once he had assurances it would not replace the “MNF” theme song – “the four notes,” as those on the creative content team call it.

Instead, this new spot will lead into that theme.

“I think everyone who’s a football fan knows ‘the four notes,’” McGlone said of the theme song, officially titled "Heavy Action." “Hopefully everyone now knows this as well.”

From the beginning, Labbe said, Stapleton made it clear of his intent to pay homage to Collins. One of the shots from the piece zooms in on Stapleton’s face with red lighting, recreating the album cover of Collins’ “No Jacket Required.”

The recording process took roughly five months. Stapleton and Blackman Santana worked together to nail the drumming sections, while Snoop was responsible for seven different rap sections that take about 17 seconds total.

“Chris was very inspired,” Labbe said. “He wanted to get it right and make sure he represented the song in the right way.”

Since the song must run in the 90-second window before cutting to Buck and Aikman – both of whom are Stapleton fans and were supporters of the project – it’s not a strict cover. Stapleton’s music producer Dave Cobb, co-director Mike Sciallis and producer Amanda Paschal helped structure the music in a way that the package works for a pregame introduction rather than a slow burn that drags.

This version has a natural build to the drum change, which arrives much quicker compared to the original. The anthem will play before every ESPN game aside from the Week 4 London game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Atlanta Falcons (on ESPN+) because kickoff is at 9:30 a.m. ET.  

“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.”