One of the contestants, YANI, performed a song that was near and dear to at least one judge's heart, introducing her song as a choice that, "perhaps is familiar. It's pretty deep." She then launched into the Sunday Night Football theme song.

It’s not the first time an “Idol” contestant took a gamble with an Underwood song. The same episode featured New York City singer JMarie winning raves and moving onto the Hollywood round after she belted out Underwood’s signature hit, “Before He Cheats.”

Carrie Underwood sent an American Idol contestant to the next round after they crushed their audition singing 'Sunday Night Football'

It's Hollywood Week on American Idol — and the Season 23 contestants have one shot to prove they have potential to be a global superstar. Judges Carrie Underwood, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan arrived at the Orpheum Theatre — the same venue Carrie began her journey to superstardom in 20 years ago — to make the biggest

That final audition for “American Idol,” the one that determines which hopefuls will actually compete on the ABC television show, doesn’t provide second chances.

Of the 144 remaining hopefuls, only 62 were chosen to move on to the next round, which meant that more than half of the artists were cut by judges Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood, and Luke Bryan. Everyone gathered at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles to compete in the Idol Arena,