What to Know
There is a universe in which Carrie Underwood ditches her cowgirl boots for a red backward hat and cosplays as Fred Durst, frontman of Limp Bizkit, for a music festival. And, it seems, we are in that very universe.
During the Velocity Festival in Iowa in August 2026, Carrie performed multiple alternative rock cover songs on stage, including “Break Stuff” by Limp Bizkit, and one of them was shared on TikTok.
Now, users are understandably confused. Why did Carrie feel the need to cover a Limp Bizkit song, and why does the video go on for so long? Maybe Carrie felt the need to remain relevant in a changing world and industry. Or, she just felt in the mood to cover not only Limp Bizkit songs, but also music by Linkin Park and Collective Soul. But for some, it’s like a car crash. They just can’t look away.
Carrie Underwood’s Limp Bizkit cover was surprising.
@jordycray Haven’t we been through enough? @Carrie Underwood #carrieunderwood #popculture #countrymusic #fyp ♬ original sound – jordycray
Carrie is seen on stage at the Velocity Festival, roughly singing into a microphone while wearing a backward red cap, not unlike the look Fred has rocked for decades as Limp Bizkit’s frontman. Carrie sings the lyrics into the microphone in a way that mimics Fred’s own special brand of singing and quasi-rapping, but for people who watched the performance on social media, it was a total no-go.
The user who posted the TikTok of Carrie during her Limp Bizkit performance jokes in the video, “Is she wearing a MAGA hat? Probably, right?”
To be fair, Carrie doesn’t appear to be wearing a red hat in support of Donald Trump and his ongoing MAGA movement. But she still doesn’t get any cool points from the creator.
“Jesus, come get your girl,” the user adds in the video, as a clear nod to Carrie’s hit song “Jesus Take the Wheel.” He also wrote in the caption, “Haven’t we been through enough?” and tagged Carrie herself.
Her haters had a lot to say about the Velocity Festival performance.
In the comments under the video showing Carrie’s music festival performance that literally no one saw coming, users shared their thoughts at seeing Carrie perform the Limp Bizkit song. Most were not here for the public display of genre-bending.
“I thought this was Kid Rock,” someone commented on TikTok.
Another person joked, “Not even Jesus wants to take the wheel on this one.”
Someone also wrote that Carrie might consider herself not a “normal MAGA mom” but instead a “cool MAGA mom.”
“In what world does Carrie Underwood have such a small catalog that she has to resort to covering Limp Bizkit? What is happening?” a user also wrote. And they have a fair point, because what?
“This evolution is so sad,” a TikTok user added in the comments. “Like Carrie, why?”
People were also confused about the explicit lyrics in the songs that Carrie covered during her performance at the festival. In the video, she censors herself and moves the microphone away from her mouth when the lyrics reach parts of “Break Stuff” with swear words. Again, it makes little sense to those who watched the video on TikTok afterward.
Carrie Underwood also covered a Linkin Park song.
@bigdogwaddy Carrie Underwood covering Linkin Park's One Step Closer @Velocity Festival #carrieunderwood #linkinpark #velocityfestival ♬ original sound – Big 🐶
Apparently, Carrie’s tribute to rocker bands did not stop at Limp Bizkit. During her set at the music festival, she also performed “One Step Closer” by Linkin Park. And no, it was not better received on social media than her rendition of “Break Stuff.”
For those who follow Carrie as fans, it was pretty random. For those who already don’t love her as a performer or, well, as a person, Carrie’s cover performances were just poorly done and made no sense.
Apparently, they prefer her to stick to the status quo and stay inside her country comfort zone rather than dip her toes into alternative classics.
READ NEXT: Carrie Underwood’s Patriotic Message Triggered an Unexpected Wave of Criticism