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Carrie Underwood won American Idol in 2005 as a 21-year-old farm girl from Oklahoma. Twenty years later, she sat down at the judges’ table beside Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan, and, according to Richie, the transition was not as smooth as it might have looked.
Carrie Underwood’s Unpopular Audition
In an interview on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Richie playfully called her out. “I will now rat on her,”
He said, before describing the moment it became clear
CARRIE HAD A PROBLEM SAYING NO
“The first contestant? ‘Yes. Go through.’ Second contestant. ‘Yes. Go through.’ Third contestant… Ohhh.” He and Luke sat back and laughed. “We said, ‘She’s got to say no.’ And she said, ‘Well, she’s so cute. She’s so adorable.'”
Watch what Lionel Richie reveals about Carrie Underwood
Carrie did not disagree. She described herself as a “people pleaser” and admitted the role was difficult from the start. But she also explained why!
She knows exactly what it feels like to stand in that room, singing for your life in front of strangers who hold your future in their hands.
SHE MEMORIZED HER AUDITION NUMBER
She still has the journal she kept during her run on the show.
Richie said she did eventually get past it, finding the balance between kindness and honesty that the job demands.
Season 24 marks her second year on the panel.
She returned alongside Bryan and Richie, and the three will all be back when the finale airs on May 11.
THE FINAL WORDS
For Carrie, the role has never just been about judging talent. It has been about remembering what it felt like to be the one standing on that stage, hoping a yes was coming.
