Carrie Underwood is reminiscing about the early days of her career when she was a contestant on “American Idol.”
Before becoming a country music superstar and winning eight Grammys, Underwood was a bright-eyed young artist hoping to break into the industry when she auditioned for Season 4 of “American Idol” in 2005.
On April 6, the 42-year-old singer, who now serves as a judge on Season 23 of the singing competition show, shared a few behind-the-scenes throwback photos that she had never posted before from when she competed on “American Idol.”
In the first snap, Underwood smiled proudly with her “American Idol” audition sticker, number 14887, attached to her t-shirt. For another picture, she placed her hands inside a pair of handprints at the famous TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. She also included a photo of the marquee at The Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles — where the contestants compete during Hollywood week after earning a golden ticket — and a group picture with some fellow Season 4 contestants, like Sarah Lake (née Mather) and Jaclyn Crum.
“Check out never before seen personal photos from my #AmericanIdol Hollywood Week in 2005!” she captioned the slideshow and added a star-eyes emoji.
Lake, Crum and Underwood’s fans commented beneath the post.
“So many amazing memories!! That’s me in the brown teeee,” Lake wrote.
Crum said, “Lol everyone keeps tagging me, yes guys, that’s 16 year old me in the pink. i have the other photos.”
Many fans recalled supporting Underwood before she went on to be named the winner of Season 4.
“I voted for you on my flip phone back in the day. Lol,” one Instagram user said.
Another commented, “So awesome... the road to ICON.”
For Season 23, Underwood has taken a spot between Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan as the show’s newest judge. So far, she has been treated to multiple contestants auditioning with her songs. The March 30 episode featured Yani, a 26-year-old from Tabernacle, New Jersey, belting along to “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night,” the theme Underwood sings before NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” matchups begin.
In the same episode, a singer from New York City named JMarie performed her rendition of Underwood’s hit “Before He Cheats.” Both JMarie and Yani received enough yesses to make it through to the next round.
Round two, Hollywood week, kicked off on April 6, the same day Underwood was feeling nostalgic about her time as a contestant.
