Carrie Underwood Almost Backed Out of ‘American Idol’
Carrie Underwood is a successful singer and entrepreneur. She’s the picture of confidence when she’s performing. However, Underwood almost didn’t get where she is today. Here’s why she was close to backing out of American Idol auditions and why she cried before her trip to Hollywood.
Carrie Underwood almost gave up on her dream of becoming a singer
Underwood wanted to become a singer, but she almost gave up on her dream. In her book, Find Your Path, she says she became more realistic about her chances of making it in the entertainment industry. After high school, she talked herself out of pursuing her dreams.
“My dreams of being a country singer were fading as I got older and more practical and realistic,” wrote Underwood. “I imagined I would become a journalist, or maybe a reporter or even a news anchor. I’d always had good grades, and I wasn’t going to blow it now for some silly dream of stardom. Sometimes, when I missed performing, I would tell myself, ‘Everybody wants to be famous.’ What makes you think you’re so special? And I’d go back to studying.”
Why Carrie Underwood almost didn’t audition for ‘American Idol’
Before her senior year of college, Underwood saw a television advertisement announcing American Idol auditions. However, when she looked for details online, she saw that the auditions would be held in St. Louis, Missouri. Since Underwood lived in Oklahoma, she felt the trip would be too far.
“I got online and saw that the auditions closest to me were in St. Louis,” wrote Underwood. “‘That might be fun, I thought.’ Just to see. I called out to my mom, ‘How far is St. Louis?’ She said it was six or seven hours away and I thought, ‘That’s too far.’ Out of the question.” Underwood says her mother offered to drive her if she changed her mind. The singer decided to go to the first round of auditions.
Carrie Underwood cried before leaving for her Hollywood audition
Another reason Underwood almost didn’t go through with the audition is because she wasn’t sure she was doing the right thing. She was afraid of being away from her family and she had moments of doubt. Underwood said there was a moment when she broke down in tears right before she was supposed to leave for Hollywood. Her father said she didn’t have to go if she didn’t want to. However, Underwood pulled herself together and went after her dream.
On the way out of town, we stopped at a grocery store so my mom could run in and grab me some lip liner. I sat in the front seat with my dad, just the two of us, and suddenly I thought, ‘What am I doing? This is scary! Am I really doing this?’ And I started to cry.
My dad turned to me and said, ‘Carrie, we can go home right now, and we don’t ever have to talk about this again.’ I took a deep breath. I didn’t want to be afraid. ‘No,’ I said. ‘I’ll do it. I’ll go.’ And so, I did.
Carrie Underwood in ‘Find Your Path’
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