Carrie Underwood Reveals Why She Still Drives the Mustang She Won on ‘American Idol’
Nearly two decades have passed since Carrie Underwood released her debut album. Yet the veteran country singer seems as grounded now as she was early on. In fact, as she recently revealed, Underwood still drives the Ford Mustang she won as a contestant on the long-running singing competition series American Idol.
When did Carrie Underwood win ‘American Idol’?
Underwood appeared in American Idol Season 4. During that batch of episodes, she ultimately emerged victorious, beating Bo Bice. Although both artists have released music since their time on the show, Underwood has become arguably the most successful musical artist to come out of American Idol, with nine studio albums and eight Grammys under her belt.
Perhaps Underwood’s best-known song is the breakup anthem “Before He Cheats.” The song’s story of a jilted lover getting revenge and Underwood’s ferocious vocals make it a standout. But it isn’t the singer’s highest-charting song. Rather, it’s “Inside Your Heaven,” Underwood’s only number-one hit and a tune with ties running back again to American Idol.
Carrie Underwood still drives the Mustang she won on ‘American Idol’
During a recent appearance on Today’s Country Radio with Kelleigh Bannen, Underwood talked about how she started her career on American Idol. And the topic turned to the Ford Mustang she won during her time on the show.
“I do still have the car that I won when I won American Idol. So I have my blue Mustang. And every once in a while, something will happen where I’ll have my [other] car getting serviced or whatever, and I’ll get to drive [the Mustang]. And it always makes me want to drive it more because it was such a pivotal point in my life. That was the car that I was driving around when I first moved to Tennessee, and I’m very, very glad I still have that car … Every time I get in it, I’m always like, ‘Why don’t I just drive this more often?’ just because it makes me feel good.”
Given her history with that car, it makes sense why driving it might make Underwood nostalgic. Even though it might not be the newest or most expensive vehicle she owns, the memories tied to that Mustang serve as the foundation for so much of what her life has brought since then.
‘Out of That Truck’ keeps the car trend going
Of course, Underwood’s fans know cars have been an ongoing theme in her music. Notably, there’s a fiery lyric in “Before He Cheats” about taking your anger out on your ex-lover’s “pretty little souped-up four-wheel drive.” And even Underwood’s latest country single, “Out of That Truck,” touches on the nostalgia tied to places or things, she explained.
“We all have … something that reminds us of people, whether it’s like a former relationship or people that are in your life … if it’s a familiar space,” Underwood told Today’s Country Radio. “And if you’re spending a lot of time with somebody in a vehicle … it definitely would be a space that … would just make that person always think of you and your time together.”
