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There were enough hints dropped by American Idol regarding this nostalgic performance, but still, it took fans by surprise. Carrie Underwood, who first appeared on the stage 20 years ago as a contestant, during her Rock and Roll week, performed Alone by Heart.
However, in the most recent episode of the show, which aired on April 27, 2025, Sunday, she did it again, but this time, as a judge.
Fans who have been following her journey from all those years since she had won the competition said they could feel "goosebumps" as she performed again. Carrie had done a cover of the same when she was in the Top 12, and the competition was higher than ever. A fan, regarding the recent performance, wrote on X,
"Damn. She took the season by storm 20 years ago with Alone and just did it all over again. Carrie Underwood giving the goosebumps!!!"
"Carrie underwood singing alone on American idol just feels so right," said a fan.
"Carrie Underwood rocked that performance of “Alone” by Heart tonight! Awesome as always!" claimed another.
"Glad we have Carrie Underwood as a judge on American Idol," expressed a fan.
American Idol judge Carrie Underwood reflects on her performance from 20 years ago
In an Instagram video dropped by American Idol, which was a huge hint at Carrie's upcoming performance, the judge shared how she felt stepping out of her comfort zone when she was just 21 years old.
At the time, Simon Cowell, who was on the judging panel and was known for not rolling out appreciation for any contestant that easily, told Carrie that she was going to win the season while also selling more records than any Idol ever crowned. This was a huge deal, especially coming from Simon.
Reminiscing about how it made her feel at the time, Carrie said that she was thankful for the comments but could not help but feel as if Simon had put a "target on her back." It was because she thought her fellow contestants might not like it after that. She said,
"At the time, I thought, ‘This is amazing,’ and then about five seconds later, I thought, ‘I have a target on my back. Now everybody’s gonna hate me.’ Just because that’s a such a bold tip me, you told me I was going to win the show. I remember thinking people might not like me after that, and being really nervous.”
However, this clip was shared by Carrie at a time when American Idol had shortlisted their Top 14. They are also entering the Rock and Roll week, where their expertise in the genre will be tested.
Talking about herself and the song selection, Carrie said that she stepped out of her comfort zone, which was country music, and did a performance of Alone by Heart.
It is a rock song, and writing in her journal, Carrie said that she did not feel very confident doing it and thought that the judges were going to hate it. But exactly the opposite of that happened.
On the American Idol video, Carrie used this anecdote as a factor to motivate all the current contestants to take risks and find out a new genre that they might be comfortable performing on the stage.
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American Idol Season 23 episodes can be watched weekly on Sundays and Mondays at 8 PM Eastern Time on ABC. Later, the episodes are available to stream via Hulu.
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