INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

Carrie Underwood Talks About Her American Idol Experience, Calls It ‘Horrifying’

By Lindsay McCane
Published on: 03:42 PST, Oct 25, 2015

Carrie Underwood is now one of the top female artists in the country music industry. However, back when she was getting her start on American Idol, she admits that she wasn’t nearly as confident as she is now. She even went as far as to call the experience “horrifying.”

“Idol was probably the most horrifying thing, because I had never been away from my hometown like that before,” she told Parade Magazine during a recent interview. “I was in L.A., of all places, by myself, putting myself out there, which is a scary thing for anybody to do. My first plane ride was when I was going out to L.A. alone.”

Underwood, 32, was only 22-years-old when she became the next American Idol, beating out runner up Bo Bice. Little did she know that she would soon be thrust into a whole new world of recording and touring, learning the ins and outs of the music industry.

“I always kept in my head, ‘If nothing else ever comes of this, I got to do the coolest thing ever and I won American Idol,’ ” she continued. “I was like, ‘Okay, I will just have fun with this and save up as much money as I can and finish school and get a real job.’ Because I am always a practical thinker and would never allow myself to think it would turn out okay all the time.”

Underwood, who is the mother to 7-month-old Isaiah with her husband, Mike Fisher, admits that she still gets nervous when she takes the stage, especially in between songs, even though she is now a seven-time Grammy winner.

“I still haven’t figured out how to talk to the audience,” she said. “I just want to sing. I am a little awkward when it comes to speaking, because I am a shy person.”

To help with the butterflies, Carrie said she talks to herself, reminding herself that she is a strong person and she can do this.

“Talking yourself up is a big thing,” she said. “People might think you are nuts talking to yourself and telling yourself how awesome you are, but it helps to say, ‘I am strong.’ ”

Carrie Underwood released her first album, Some Hearts, in 2005. It quickly became the best-selling album of 2006 among all genres. Since then, she has released four additional albums, her most recent being Storyteller.

On November 4, Carrie will be taking the stage at the Country Music Association Awards for the eighth year to co-host with fellow country music singer, and longtime friend, Brad Paisley.

“Carrie is beyond brave,” Brad said of his friend. “Tackling things outside her comfort zone has become the norm for Carrie. All new artists should take a lesson from her fearlessness.”

“No one works harder,” Paisley added. “And this drive and confidence now comes from such a great place: It’s belief in herself tempered with total humility.”

On Thursday, October 22, Carrie attended the 2015 Inspirational Country Music Awards, which took place at Cornerstone Church in Madison, Tennessee. Carrie’s hit song “Something in the Water” took home Mainstream Song of the Year and Video of the Year honors during the ceremony, and Underwood was also named Mainstream Country Female Artist of the Year, Taste of Country reports.

Joey and Rory Feek were named the Mainstream Country Duo/Group of the Year. In a related post by the Inquisitr, the couple recently revealed that Joey’s cancer had returned, and spread, and they had made the decision to stop treatment.

[Photo by Rick Diamond / Getty Images]

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