ESPN enlisted Chris Stapleton, Snoop Dogg to put a fresh spin the Phil Collins 80's classic, “In the Air Tonight,” for this year's Monday Night Football anthem.
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The new Monday night hype track debuted ahead to the first game of a pseudo-doubleheader featuring the Carolina Panthers facing off the New Orleans Saints, and the Cleveland Browns taking on the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Stapleton handled the hook and the guitar, and well, Snoop did what he do. Percussion virtuoso Cindy Blackman Santana filled in for Collins on the drums.
“It was fascinating to me to see how one song could get you in that mode to go kick some tail,” said the Steelers’ Hines Ward in an ESPN feature about the song, While, Washington Commanders’ Terry McLaurin added, “I don’t care if you are the home team, the away team, you are hearing that song no matter what before the game.”
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The track will continue to lead into all Monday Night Football games, as well as ESPN’s Week 18 Saturday Doubleheader, Super Wild Card, and its first Divisional playoff game.
The new twist on “In the Air Tonight” isn’t the only music moment for Monday Night Football this season. As you might recall, ESPN has also teamed up with Timbaland and Justin Timberlake to curate music for select Monday Night Football games, to be featured in promotional spots, live telecasts, and pre-game shows for seven weeks throughout the 2023-24 NFL season.