🌟 “This Moment Has Haunted Me for 20 Years”: Carrie Underwood Breaks Her Silence on That Viral American Idol Clip
It’s been two decades since American Idol first introduced the world to Carrie Underwood, but fans — and Carrie herself — still haven’t forgotten one hilariously awkward moment from her earliest days on the show.
In a newly resurfaced clip shared by Idol on April 1, 2025, viewers were taken back to Hollywood Week, 2005, when a then 21-year-old Carrie had a now-iconic exchange with host Ryan Seacrest. The moment? Ryan asked if she’d seen any “stars” since arriving in L.A., and with full sincerity, Carrie looked up at the sky and said:
“It’s been pretty cloudy.”
Yep. She thought he meant actual stars in the sky — not celebrities.
“This moment has haunted me, literally for 20 years,” said Underwood, now 42, laughing as she revisited the clip in her Idol to Icon web series.
“We were talking about buildings and palm trees, so I was fully in ‘outdoor mode.’ He threw me a curveball! And sadly, no, it wasn’t scripted — that was all me,” she admitted.
Fans at the time thought it had to be a joke. Keyboard warriors online claimed no one could be that clueless. But Carrie set the record straight: it was 100% real, and she still remembers how awkward it felt.
🐄 From Farm Girl to Superstar
The clip also showed Underwood taking the stage at the Orpheum Theater for her first performance in front of judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson. Seacrest introduced her as:
“Farm girl Carrie Underwood, more used to feeding the cattle than singing on stage.”
And while she did momentarily forget the lyrics during her audition, Carrie says the key was powering through.
“It’s not about the mistake — it’s how you recover. You get back on the horse and keep going.”
That moment earned her a unanimous yes from the judges, and just weeks later, she would go on to win the entire season.
Her debut single Jesus Take the Wheel dropped soon after — and the rest, as they say, is country music history.
