When Miranda Lambert first approached Carrie Underwood to sing with her, she believed she had gotten in over her head. Lambert sent Underwood “Somethin’ Bad,” written by Chris DeStefano, Brett James, and Priscilla Renea, and wanted to record it as a female duet.
“It took me forever to write the email to ask her like I was writing to someone I had a crush on and you don’t want to mess it up,” said Lambert. “It took a week for her to get back to me and I was telling [then-husband] Blake [Shelton], ”She hates me. She hates the song. She’s never going to talk to me again. She’s probably going to change her email address.”’
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Underwood finally responded and said “I think it’s awesome,” according to Lambert. “Let”s do it.”
Even though Underwood was on board, Lambert still felt anxious about their collaboration. “When she [Underwood] came in the studio I was writing to Blake, ”I’m in over my head,’” recalled Lambert. “I don’t know what I’ve done.’ When you respect someone like that you get so nervous. To hit the notes she hits, I would have to take off running and jump as high as I could.”
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New Orleans Bar Stomp
The harder rock song follows two women about to raise hell, bar hopping around New Orleans with money they pulled from under their mattresses.
Stand on the bar, stomp your feet, start clappin’
Got a real good feelin’ somethin’ bad about to happen
Pulled up to the church, but I got so nervous
Had to back it on up, couldn’t make it to the service
Grabbed all the cash underneath my mattress
Got a real good feelin’ somethin’ bad about to happen
Ran into a girl in a pretty white dress
Rolled down the window
“Where you headed to next?”
Said “I’m headed to the bar with my money out of the mattress”
Got a real good feelin’ somethin’ bad about to happen
“This song meshes our styles,” said Lambert. “It’s a great match of what she does and what I do.”
‘Thelma & Louise’
Though Underwood and Lambert made the song their own, it was initially written as a female-male duet. The duo asked the writers to rework the lyrics centered more around a Thelma & Louise-like adventure.
“We asked the writers to rewrite it for two girls and make it ‘Thelma and Louise ‘-themed and they did,” said Lambert in 2014. “It’s so perfect for us. It’s really rock and roll. We both have that theme on some songs throughout albums in our careers. If we’re going to collaborate, this is a great way to do it. She’s such a great vocalist and artist and really pushes me as a singer to be better.”
The duo even name-checked the iconic 1991 Ridley Scott film starring Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis in the song.
‘Bout to tear it up down in New Orleans
Just like a real-life Thelma and Louise
If the cops catch up, they’re gonna call it kidnappin’
Got a real good feelin’ somethin’ bad about to happen
Stand on the bar, stomp your feet, start clappin’
I got a real good feelin’ somethin’ bad about to happen
The drinks keep comin’, throw my head back laughin’
Wake up in the mornin’, don’t know what happened
Whoa, somethin’ bad
Whoa, somethin’ bad
Underwood and Lambert debuted the song at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards on May 18, 2014, and “Somethin’ Bad” topped the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, becoming Lambert’s fifth No. 1 Underwood’s 13th chart-topper. The song was also the first country female duet since Reba McEntire and Linda Davis’ 1993 hit “Does He Love You” to reach No. 1.
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Sunday Night Football Theme Song
To open the 2016 season of NFL, Underwood switched up the annual theme song “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night” with a new song, “Oh, Sunday Night,” which pulls from “Somethin’ Bad.”
Photo: Mark Davis/Getty Images for ACM