Despite primarily being known as a country-pop star, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Carrie Underwood has actually covered quite a few hard rock songs in her time. From Mötley Crüe’s “Home Sweet Home” to Ozzy Osbourne’s “Mama, I’m Coming Home,” not to mention numerous live renditions of famous Guns N’ Roses tracks, Underwood has made no secret of the fact that she likes to take a ride on the wild side every now and then. However, her latest genre-defying cover has drawn a rather mixed reception from observers. In fact, for some, you could say that Underwood’s cover resulted in a day when they wish they hadn’t woken up.
During her performance at the Velocity Festival in Dyersville, Iowa, on September 5, Underwood performed a cover of seminal nü-metal band Limp Bizkit’s hit 1999 track “Break Stuff.” In addition to showing off her killer legs, she emulated the style of Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst by sporting his signature accessory: a backwards red baseball cap. However, Underwood did not emulate Durst’s notoriously filthy mouth, pointedly declining to use certain four-letter words in her performance of the profanity-laden song
In any case, social media had a bit of a field day. “She looks absolutely ridiculous,” one user wrote in response to a video of the cover posted on X. “If you’re going to censor yourself why even pick that song? Incredibly lame,” another commented. That being said, some users did come to Underwood’s defense. “I may be the only one supporting this…haha,” one individual wrote, noting the country singer’s past collaborations with Papa Roach, another prominent rap-rock act. “So she’s a country artist who likes nü metal…good for her!” they concluded.
Carrie Underwood isn’t the only country star to do rock covers
Notably, Carrie Underwood is far from the only country musician who’s been known to have a bit of fun on stage by performing covers outside of her usual genre. In fact, she’s not even the only country star who has tried her hand at Mötley Crüe’s “Home Sweet Home” — with the late, great Dolly Parton having directly collaborated with the iconic rock band on a reimagined duet version of the ’80s track. Meanwhile, Taylor Swift (remember when she made country music?) often busted out Eminem covers during her early-career concerts.
An even more relevant comparison would be Underwood’s fellow former “American Idol” champion Kelly Clarkson, who herself likes to go a little less country and a little more rock and roll from time to time. That being said, Clarkson’s efforts are often met with much more universal acclaim than Underwood’s cover of “Break Stuff” has received thus far. Take, for example, 2024, when Clarkson covered Metallica’s “Sad But True” for her talk show. The performance not only earned widespread praise, but even got a stamp of approval from Metallica themselves.
Of course, Underwood’s Limp Bizkit cover has a very different flavor to it, and the fact that her reputation has generally soured in recent years probably hasn’t helped it win people over. At the time of writing, neither Fred Durst nor his Limp Bizkit bandmates have publicly acknowledged the country singer’s rendition of “Break Stuff.” But one can only hope they decide to respond with a nü-metal cover of “Before He Cheats.”
