Carrie Underwood’s Mother Convinced Her to Audition for ‘American Idol’ Even Though She Thought It Was ‘Stupid’
Carrie Underwood rose to fame after winning the singing competition show American Idol. Underwood won American Idol in 2005 and became one of the biggest names in country music. Even though Underwood got her start with American Idol, the singer almost didn’t audition for the show.
Carrie Underwood thought ‘American Idol’ auditions were too far
Years after her audition, Underwood is considered one of the most famous American Idol winners of all time. In an interview for American Idol Legends & Icons, Underwood revealed that she almost didn’t audition for American Idol because of how far away auditions were.
“I saw on the news, it was in the summer, I saw American Idol was about to start up again, and they were all these hopefuls. And I went and got on our dial-up internet at home, which my parents still have. I went and got on our internet, and after that hour was over and I found out where they were having tryouts,” Underwood said.
She continued, “I asked my mom where St. Louis was in relation to us like how far away it was. And she was like ‘Eh, it’s about seven hours drive.’ And I said, ‘Oh, never mind.'”
The singer’s mother encouraged her to audition for ‘American Idol’
Even though Underwood decided it was not worth driving to St. Louis, Missouri, her mother had other ideas. After Underwood backed off about driving to St. Louis, her mother pressed her for details.
“And she said ‘Why?’ Why would I ask her where St. Louis was? And I said ‘Oh, well they’re having American Idol tryouts are the closest. They’re all on the outside of the U.S. and then there’s St. Louis.’ And she said ‘OK’ and you know, went back to doing what she was doing,” Underwood said in American Idol Legends & Icons.
The singer continued, “Hours later, after I’ve already put it out of my mind and forgotten about it, she said ‘You know what, if you want to go I’ll drive you.’ And I was like, “No, no, no, it’s stupid, stupid. I’m not going to do that.'”
Still, Underwood’s mother persisted and the future American Idol winner ended up changing her mind.
“She, you know, said ‘Well, it’s out there. It’s on the table. I think you should and I’ll drive you.’ So she did. She drove me to tryouts and the rest is history. And that little stupid decision that I almost didn’t want to do changed my life forever,” Underwood said.
Carrie Underwood originally did not want to be a singer
At the beginning of her interview in American Idol Legends & Icons, Underwood shared she never had plans to pursue a career in music.
“I don’t know if I ever legitimately thought I could be a singer,” Underwood said. “I always liked it. You know, I’d sing at talent shows and people would always be like ‘Carrie, sing for us’ or things like that. But I don’t know if I ever really completely took it seriously.”
She continued, “Because I’m such a practical person. I’m a planner. I’m a thinker. I’m a ‘go to college, get a degree, you know, go start my career, go start my job.’ And I probably never would have actually given myself the chance to make this my career if it hadn’t been for American Idol.”
