Cobra Kai season four landed on Netflix on New Year's Eve and fans wasted no time getting stuck into the new episodes of the Karate Kid spinoff show. However, it wasn't just seeing Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang dojos join forces to take on Cobra Kai that viewers enjoyed - plenty more were overjoyed when they spotted singer Carrie Underwood in the show.
MORE: 22 most exciting TV shows returning in 2022
In the penultimate episode of the new season, the country superstar makes a surprise cameo at the All-Valley Tournament to inspire the Cobra Kai kids with a new rendition of Survivor's The Moment of Truth, which featured in the original 1984 Karate Kid film.
WATCH: Are you watching season four of Cobra Kai?
While Carrie's on-screen appearance came as something of a shock to viewers at home, it turns out that some of the show's cast and crew also had no idea what was about to happen.
MORE: What the cast of Cobra Kai look like in real life
MORE: Carrie Underwood's vast $3million forever home has its own lake
Chatting to TVLine, executive producer and co-creator Jon Hurwitz revealed: "We had all these extras there, hundreds of people. Nobody knew that Carrie Underwood was about to perform in front of this audience, so the reaction that you see on screen is the reaction. It was natural, which was, 'Holy [expletive], what the hell is going on here?'"
The country superstar makes a surprise appearance in the penultimate episode of season foru
That was certainly the case for actor Jacob Bertrand, who plays Hawk. Speaking to People, he revealed that he and his co-stars only learned that the singer would be showing up just days before her performance.
"We knew a couple of days before when we read the script, but other than that, it was a complete shock to everybody. The background [actors] had no idea and they were freaking out when she came on," he said, adding: "And she fricking killed it on the day. My God, she was belting."
Carrie is a huge fan of the Netflix series
As for how the singer's walk-on role came about, Jacob revealed that it all started with a tweet from Carrie back in 2020, which prompted the show's creators to reach out on the off-chance she would say yes.
"Just started watching #kobraKai on Netflix. Ummmm... it's kinda awesome!" Carrie tweeted while watching season one of the show, which was quickly followed up with a second that read: "Guess I could've at least spelled it right. I promise I do know how to spell Cobra...I just legit thought that's the way it was spelled in the movie/show. I'll do better next time. #CobraKaiNeverDies."
MORE: Carrie Underwood is the envy of many in new workout video as she embraces the new year
"The writers were trying to think of people that they could have on to do the concert for the All-Valley and remembered that she's a mega-fan of the show," the 21-year-old actor said. "They offered it to her and she was like, 'Yes, of course, I will. I would totally do it.' That was really sweet of her."
Cobra Kai isn't the only TV series the 38-year-old singer-songwriter has appeared on; Carrie has previously made appearances as both herself and characters in the likes of Blue Bloods, How I Met Your Mother and Sesame Street.
Like this story? Sign up to our newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox