carrie underwood in gold dress

Carrie Underwood returned to her natural hair color for the first time in 30 years after undergoing a dramatic transformation.

The 42-year-old has ditched her bright blonde locks to go back to her roots and showed off the stunning results on Instagram.

Hair transformation

Carrie is now rocking a darker ‘do, which she dubbed “bronde”, a hair color in between brunette and blonde.

“Well, the last time I saw my natural hair color, I was probably about 12 years old, but I thought it might be time to give it a second chance,” she captioned two photos of her new look.

carrie underwood showing off blonde brown hair transformation© Instagram
Carrie returned to her natural hair color

“Thanks, @hairbykatelin_ at @parlour3beauty for helping me get back to my roots! #NewOldMe #Bronde,” Carrie added.

Her followers loved her natural hair transformation, with one commenting: “YASS!! I wish more women would embrace their more natural color! It looks great @carrieunderwood.”

A second said: “You’re gorge either way! But I am loving this natural look for fall!! So pretty!!” A third added: “So weird to see her not blonde but it’s a beautiful change!!!!”

carrie underwood showing off new blonde brown hair color© Instagram
Carrie looks gorgeous with her ‘bronde’ hair color

Carrie appears to have gotten over her fear of “shocking” people, as she revealed in 2012, it was the main reason she never experimented with her hair color.

“I’d love to do a little more with hair color,” she told Refinery 29. “I’ve always been blonde! The problem is, I don’t want to shock people – like if I dyed my hair brown, I don’t want people to think I’m turning dark and serious.”

She added: “I wish I had started changing my hair around in the beginning, then it wouldn’t be such a big shock if I did something like that now.”

Carrie Underwood on the season finale of season 23 of American Idol, May 2025© Getty Images
Carrie has had bright blonde hair for decades

Sunday Night Football

Carrie’s return to her natural hair color comes after it was announced that she will star in the Sunday Night Football show opener for a 13th consecutive year.

Carrie’s will perform a variation of the theme song “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night” on September 7 when the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills square off in a playoff rematch, NBC confirmed.

Carrie Underwood in pink mini dress© Instagram
Carrie was previously worried about changing up her signature blonde hair

Carrie recorded the upcoming season’s opener at The Resorts World Theatre in Las Vegas, where she wrapped up her Reflection residency in April.

Tripp Dixon, creative director of the SNF show open, said Carrie’s first performance will be extra special this year to mark SNF’s 20th season.

“For the 20th season of SNF, we wanted to set the tone for the night by reimagining the anthem sound in a way that plays to Carrie’s powerhouse vocals, while visually creating a seamless blend of stylized shots and behind-the-scenes moments evoking the national roadshow that is Sunday Night Football, week after week in the fall,” he said.

Carrie added: “We had a blast shooting the new opening at The Resorts World Theatre again. As always, Tripp and the creative team continue to raise the bar, bringing the high energy and stunning visuals that the Sunday Night Football audience has come to expect year after year. I can’t wait for the world to see it!”