Carrie Underwood is a modern day superstar in country music, and it’s all thanks to her incredible run on American Idol‘s fourth season that she catapulted into the spotlight.
All the way back in 2004 (feel old yet?), a 21-year-old Carrie Underwood auditioned in St. Louis, Missouri by singing the Bonnie Raitt classic “I Can’t Make You Love Me.”
The classic judges consisting of Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson were wowed by the audition and quickly sent her to the next round.
It’s crazy to see a nervous Underwood preparing for her audition, knowing the powerful, confident performer that she is today.
Take a look:
American Idol was arguably at its height of popularity when Underwood made her run on the show, singing “Could’ve Been” by Tiffany and the 1980’s number one rock hit “Alone” by Heart along the way to the show’s final round.
While she was dominating the fan voting and winning each week by large margins, typically closed-off judge Simon Cowell at one point early in the competition said that Underwood would eventually win the competition and go on to outsell all of the show’s previous winners.
For her final song, the now country music icon sang “Bless the Broken Road” by Rascal Flatts, and then it was up to the viewers of the show (and her fan base “Carrie’s Care Bears”) to decide the winner of the singing competition.
Then, on May 25th, 2005, the winning moment aired to fans across the country on FOX, with Underwood beating out the show’s other finalist Bo Bice and taking home the crown of American Idol‘s season four winner.
She walked away from the show with a recording contract valued at around one million dollars, access to a private jet for a year, and even got to take home a new Ford Mustang convertible.
All of those things are great, but clearly the most valuable thing she walked away with after the show was a blossoming country music career, which has gone rather well for Underwood.
The 8-time Grammy winning artist has sold over 66 million records worldwide, has 28 number one singles, and is one of the most recognizable artist in country music and the music industry in general.
Things have really “come up Underwood” for the artist, and it all started on the American Idol stage, with the official winning moment linked here:
