Carrie Underwood surprised the audience when she joined Darius Rucker to perform a beloved Christmas hit on the historic Grand Ole Opry stage in Nashville, Tennessee. The performance was part of comedian Nate Bargatze’s star-studded holiday special.

Underwood shared a clip from the show on Instagram on Thursday afternoon (December 19), hours before Nate Bargatze’s Nashville Christmas airs on CBS. In the clip, Bargatze says there’s time for one more song, and Rucker suggests “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town,” but “with a Nashville flair. …why don’t we get Carrie Underwood to come sing this one?”

The former American Idol champ — and new judge in the upcoming season — joined Rucker and Bargatze on the festively-decorated stage in a red dress. The Opry crowd stood and cheered for Underwood, who said the song is not on her Christmas record, but she’d “give it a shot.” Underwood released her holiday album, My Gift, in 2020, and an extended version in 2021. She included “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee,” “Little Drummer Boy,” featuring her eldest son Isaiah Fisher, “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” “Silent Night” and other Christmas classics.

Bargatze’s Christmas special will also include Saturday Night Live stars Mikey Day and Ashley Padilla, comedian Derrick Stroup, the Tennessee Titans, and artists Noah Kahan, Martina McBride and Jelly Roll.

Nate Bargatze’s Nashville Christmas is slated to air on CBS on Thursday, December 19 from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET/PT. It will also be available to stream on Paramount+.

Bob Delmont