Axl Rose is mentoring Carrie Underwood as she works on a rock music project, according to sources who spoke to TMZ. The report arrived days after the country singer joined Guns N’ Roses on stage in Atlanta.
TMZ‘s sources did not give any further detail, and neither Underwood nor Rose has commented.
Underwood appeared at the band’s show at Truist Park on September 19, singing “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “Paradise City” with Rose. She thanked the band on Instagram afterwards.
“Yet another amazing show from Guns N’ Roses. Thanks, Axl Rose, Duff McKagan, Slash, Dizzy Reed, Richard Fortus, Isaac Carpenter and the whole crew for having us and for letting me try and keep up on stage! You are always so kind! Love you all forever!”
Keyboardist Melissa Reese has not been on the road with Guns N’ Roses this year. The band said in March that she would miss the tour for unforeseen personal reasons. Carpenter has been the band’s drummer since March 2025, when he replaced Frank Ferrer.
It was not the first time Underwood and Rose have shared a stage. She first joined Guns N’ Roses at the Stagecoach Festival in Indio, California, in April 2022, and did so again three months later at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. The following year Rose turned up at one of her own concerts in Los Angeles.
Her interest in rock has been increasingly visible on stage. Earlier this month at the Velocity Festival in Dyersville, Iowa, she played a four-song set of rock covers that ended with Limp Bizkit‘s “Break Stuff“. She recorded “Leave A Light On (Talk Away The Dark)” with Papa Roach in 2024, and has covered Ozzy Osbourne‘s “Mama, I’m Coming Home” and Motörhead‘s “Ace Of Spades“. As a judge on “American Idol“, she sang Drowning Pool‘s “Bodies” with a contestant last year, and appeared with Mötley Crüe on this year’s series finale.
She explained the pull of the genre to Audacy.
“I do have an affinity for rock music and metal, and I just love the energy more than anything. I love going to rock concerts because it feels like freedom to me. You never really know with me. I never say never about anything. I feel like certain influences work their way into different songs and different moments, even if they’re not songs that I record.”
The Atlanta concert closed the North American leg of the Guns N’ Roses 2026 world tour. The band return in November for dates across Asia and Australasia, with Airbourne supporting in Australia and New Zealand.
- Nov 14 – NICE Grounds, Bengaluru, India
- Novr 17 – Khanapara Veterinary Ground, Guwahati, India
- Nov 21 – Madya Stadium GBK, Jakarta, Indonesia
- Nov 25 – National Stadium, Singapore
- Nov 29 – Adelaide, Australia (with Airbourne)
- Dec 2 – Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville, Australia (with Airbourne)
- Dec 5 – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Australia (with Airbourne)
- Dec 8 – McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle, Australia (with Airbourne)
- Dec 11 – Marvel Stadium, Melbourne, Australia (with Airbourne)
- Dec 14 – Engie Stadium, Sydney, Australia (with Airbourne)
- Dec 17 – Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand (with Airbourne)
