Carrie Underwood is being sued by songwriter as country star is accused of 'stealing' the theme to Sunday Night Football
Carrie Underwood is being sued for 'stealing' the song Game On.
The country star, 34, debuted the single as the NFL's Sunday Night Football theme in 2018, but songwriter Heidi Merrill claims she came up with the ditty in 2016.
In the suit, Merrill says she submitted the song to Underwood's producer Mark Bright - who passed on using it - at an event in Nashville in August 2017, according to TMZ.
Hot water: Carrie Underwood, 34, is being sued for 'stealing' the song Game On; (pictured at CMT Music Awards in June)
Merrill was apparently 'shocked' in September 2018 to see Underwood and NBC promoting a new theme song called Game On for the football program.
Carrie's version is 'substantially -- even strikingly -- similar, if not identical' to her own song explained Merrill in the documents.
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Underwood, her producer Bright, NBC and the NFL are all named in the copyright infringement suit.
The amount Merrill is seeking is undisclosed at this time.
Her song: The country star, 34, debuted the single as the NFL's Sunday Night Football theme in 2018, but songwriter Heidi Merrill (pictured) claims she came up with the ditty in 2016
Merrill found success back in 2015 with the sports-themed song Cornhusker Strong.
Hoping to emulate that accomplishment, the Nebraska native focused on more sports-oriented music and eventually uploaded Game On to Youtube in March 2017.
But after being told Underwood's team didn't want to use her song and discovering they went forward with a 'similar' tune, Merrill was forced to turn to litigation.
Pass it along: In the suit, Merrill says she submitted the song to Underwood's producer Mark Bright - who passed on using it - at an event in Nashville in August 2017
Shocked: Merrill was apparently 'shocked' in September 2018 to see Underwood and NBC promoting a new theme song called Game On for the football program
Interestingly, some NFL fans were not pleased with Underwood's new theme song when it debuted back in the fall of 2018.
'Carrie Underwood was trying to do something new and I respect that... But if it ain't broke don't fix it!' one social media user wrote.
Others rated it a 'D+' and one fan requested: 'Please change the song or go back to old one.'
Line 'em up: Underwood, her producer Mark Bright, NBC and the NFL are all named in the copyright infringement suit
