In a new lawsuit filed against Carrie Underwoodhis producer, the NFL and other parties, a struggling songwriter named Heidi Merrill claims Underwood’s theme song for Sunday Night Football was taken from a song she submitted to Underwood’s producer Mark Bright.
THE Blast has obtained court documents in which Merrill claims his song “Game On” was the basis for Underwood’s song of the same name, which served as the theme song for Sunday Night Football since Underwood first recorded it in 2018.
Merril’s filing claims that she and three other writers co-wrote “Game On” in 2016. She uploaded it to YouTube in March 2017, where it has since received just over 1,500 views. The recording was also featured on a broadcast of CBS Inside College Basketball.
The songwriter says she attended a conference in Nashville in August 2017 primarily because she knew Bright was scheduled to attend, and she claims she knew Underwood was looking for a new theme song for the upcoming season 2018 from Sunday Night Football. She alleges she told Bright about her song and he asked her to submit it via email to his assistant. Two months later, she says, she received an email forwarding the song to her.
Underwood then debuted a new theme song called “Game On” when Sunday Night Football returned on September 6, 2018. The superstar co-wrote the song with Chris DeStefano and Brett James. Merrill claims that the piece is “substantially – even strikingly – similar, if not identical” to his original work. Check out Underwood’s song below.
Merrill’s lawsuit names Underwood, Bright, NBC, the NFL and other parties, alleging copyright infringement. The filing seeks damages in an unspecified amount. Neither Underwood’s representatives nor the NFL had a comment when contacted by The Blast.
Merrill had previously enjoyed limited success with a song called “Strong Cornhusker” in 2015. In a interview with KSNB, local NBC affiliate in Hastings, Neb., Merrill said the song was inspired by his Nebraska roots. His video for the song has been viewed nearly 275,000 times on YouTube and has been shared by sports media outlets including 247Sports.com, Scout.com and Huskerspot.com.
In his filing, Merrill claims that “Game On” was intended to capitalize on more sports-oriented material. She also cited a previous trial filed against Underwood and Bright over Underwood’s No. 1 hit “Something in the Water.” That suit was later dismissed, according to the Blast.
Carrie Underwood also faced another lawsuit
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