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Monday, November 30, 2020 9:00am ET by  
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Carrie Underwood Reveals She Almost Quit ‘American Idol’ Due to Nerves Over the Finals

Carrie Underwood has revealed that she almost quit American Idol due to suffering from nerves about the finals.

The 37-year-old singer rose to fame after winning the fourth season of the televized talent competition in 2005, but has now revealed that her life could have been very different, as she almost didn't go through with her American Idol audition because she was petrified about performing to a large audience.

Recalling the moment that she decided to audition for the show, the country star said: “The summer before my senior year, I was home one day, watching TV and saw a news segment about people auditioning for the show 'American Idol'. I checked online. The closest auditions were being held in St. Louis. ‘How far away is St. Louis?’ I asked my mom. ‘Six or seven hours in the car,’ she said. Too far, I thought. Out of the question. ‘Why do you want to know?’ Mom asked. ‘They're having 'American Idol’ auditions there.’ ‛I'll take you.’ Just like that.”

Carrie said that she expected the process to be easy, but was left “terrified” of performing in front of the judging panel, and very nearly decided not to attend the audition.

She added to GuidePosts magazine: “It would be easy to say the rest is history, that it was meant to be. But it didn't feel like that at the time. Going through a slew of auditions in St. Louis, getting the ‘golden ticket’ to Hollywood, every contestant's dream, I was terrified.

“Every time I had to sing in front of the judges I'd get nervous the way I did in church that first time. Then I'd say a prayer and leave it in God's hands.

“All at once it was just too much. Going out to Los Angeles by myself, competing with all these other people who were so talented. I burst into tears. My dad turned to me in the backseat. ‘Carrie,’ he said, ‘we can go home right now, and we don't ever have to talk about it again.’ I took a deep breath. ‘No,’ I said at last. ‘I'll go.’”

And along with her fans worldwide, we're really glad that she did as her debut single, ‘Inside Your Heaven,’ went on to make her the only country artist in history to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the only solo country artist in the 2000s to claim a number-one song on the Hot 100.

Furthermore, her debut album (2005), Some Hearts, became the best-selling solo female debut album in country music history, the fastest-selling debut country album in Nielsen SoundScan history, and the best-selling country album of the last 17 years. She also won three Grammy Awards for the album, including Best New Artist.

This Thursday on December 3, HBO Max is spreading holiday cheer with the premiere of Underwood’s new music special My Gift: A Christmas Special From Carrie Underwood. Underwood is set to perform a combination of beloved traditional favorites celebrating the joy and hopefulness of the holiday, as well as new original material from her first ever full-length Christmas album, My Gift, which was released earlier this fall.

Listen/stream Carrie Underwood here now.

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