Before Carrie Underwood became a country music superstar, she was just another hopeful contestant auditioning for American Idol—and even she wasn’t sure she’d make it through. Looking back on that pivotal moment, Underwood recently reflected on her experience singing in front of judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson during the show’s fourth season.
In a newly released American Idol video, the Grammy-winning singer, now set to judge season 23 of the competition, revisited the nerve-wracking day that changed her life. At the time, the fresh-faced Oklahoma native—sporting her signature curls—stepped into the audition room and performed Bonnie Raitt’s I Can’t Make You Love Me. But before she could even finish the chorus, Cowell cut her off.
“Okay, that was very good,” he said in his trademark blunt fashion, leaving Underwood momentarily unsure of where she stood.
Jackson then asked who her favorite artist was, and she immediately named country star Martina McBride. That’s when Cowell made a surprising admission: “I was saying to someone the other day, ‘I'm surprised that we haven't found a good country singer in this competition yet.’ I think you're very good.”
For Underwood, those words were a relief. Leading up to her audition, she had been warned about Cowell’s well-known distaste for country music.
“One of the executive producers told me, ‘You know Simon hates country music, right?’” she recalled. “And I was like, ‘Yes.’”
Because of that, she had carefully chosen her audition song. I Can’t Make You Love Me wasn’t country, but it was still in her wheelhouse. “I thought maybe if I sang that song, it would still feel like me, but also be something he might appreciate.”
Looking back, Underwood appreciates that Cowell didn’t let his personal preference cloud his judgment.
“I feel like he deserves a lot of credit for that,” she said. “Instead of being like, ‘I don’t like country music, so I’m not going to put you through,’ he saw a country artist and the value of country music.”
The Before He Cheats singer also marveled at her own courage to audition in the first place.
“I was a baby!” she said with a laugh.
In the emotional clip, Underwood reads from an old journal she kept at the time, reflecting on the overwhelming yet life-changing experience.
“But you’re gonna do fine, kid! You’re gonna be okay. Just hold on.”
And hold on she did—straight to superstardom.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
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