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As American Idol season 23 narrowed down to its Top 14, judge Carrie Underwood looked back on her own journey as a Top 12 contestant.
On February 26, 2025, ABC announced Carrie would host a new social media series called Idol to Icon. In the April 24 episode, she watched her 2005 performance of Alone by Heart, where judges gave her high praise. Simon Cowell even made a bold prediction about her future success.
After her performance on American Idol, Simon stated that she would not only win the competition but also sell more records than any previous winner.
"You know, you’re not just the girl to beat, you’re the person to beat. I will make a prediction. Not only will you win this show, you will sell more records than any other previous Idol,” said Simon.
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Carrie recalled feeling a mix of emotions after hearing Cowell's comment.
"On one hand, I think at the time I thought it was amazing. And then about five seconds later, I thought, 'I have a target on my back now, everybody's gonna hate me,'" recalled American Idol's Carrie Underwood.
Despite her concerns, Carrie remembered sleeping well that night, pointing out that the compliment had a more significant impact than her fears.
American Idol judge Carrie Underwood recalls her days as a contestant
Carrie Underwood went on to win the fourth season of American Idol as she impressed everyone through her performances. Later, an Idol to Icon producer behind the camera asked about her feelings on winning the singing competition and selling more records than any other winner.
Carrie emphasized the show's positive impact on many artists. She noted that the competition had been a life-changer for numerous participants, both winners and non-winners. The country singer expressed her enthusiasm for seeing future artists achieve great success, hoping that someone would eventually break her own records.
"Now, I would love to, at the end of this, have a winner that you know beats us all you know, in in sales and numbers. That would be absolutely incredible to be a part of that for somebody else,” said the current American Idol judge.
As mentioned previously, Carrie Underwood rewatched her performance of Alone from the Top 12. Pondering on her decision to sing a rock song, she felt that stepping out of her country music comfort zone helped her. Carrie recalled that she felt it quite challenging to choose such a song for the competition, as she anticipated the audience to compare her version to Heart's original version.
The season 4 winner recalled being criticized by the likes of Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul, and Simon Cowell, who were part of the judging panel then. They shared their critique with her for playing it safe with her song choices, but she believed that delivering a good performance was what truly mattered.
"It’s like, ‘Well, does that matter if I do a good job?'” Carrie Underwood stated.
The present American Idol judge reflected on her thought process before performing, remembering that she had anticipated a negative reaction from the judges and the audience. She took out her journal from that time when she wrote about doing a "wonderful job" in front of the fans.
Watch new episodes of American Idol season 23 on Sundays and Mondays at 8 pm ET on ABC.
