Carrie Underwood Pays Emotional Tribute to Naomi Judd During Stagecoach Performance

Carrie Underwood performed at the Stagecoach music festival on Saturday, and the country music superstar took an opportunity to pay tribute to Naomi Judd, who died earlier that day. During her performance, Underwood sang “See You Again,” and dedicated it to the country music legend. “This next song goes out to everybody who’s ever lost someone that they loved, which is everybody,” Underwood said before singing, per Today.

“I feel that’s one of the few human experiences that we all share,” she continued. “But just because the people that we love are not here with us does not mean that they are not here with us, and that does not mean that you will not see them again someday.” The former American Idol champion then asked the crowd to hold up lighters or cell phones, as a way of paying homage. “Let’s light up this place in memory of all those that we miss,” she said. “I know all of country music will be lighting something up for Ms. Naomi Judd.”

Judd’s death was reported on Saturday, with her daughters Wynonna and Ashley issuing a joint statement. “Today we sisters experienced a tragedy. We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness,” the statement read. “We are shattered. We are navigating profound grief and know that as we loved her, she was loved by her public. We are in unknown territory.” At this time, no cause of death has been reported.

Following the news, The Judds — Naomi and Wynonna — were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. During the Sunday night induction ceremony, Wynonna and Ashley spoke about their late mother. “My momma loved you so much and she appreciated your love for her and I’m sorry that she couldn’t hang on until today,” Ashley said while fighting tears.

“My heart’s broken and I feel so blessed,” Wynonna added. “At 2:20, I kissed her on the forehead and I walked away and this is the first place I’ve been. The last thing we did together as a family was with her, we all gathered around her and we said, ‘The Lord is my shepherd.’” Notably, the Judds were a powerhouse country music duo, but they quit performing in the early ’90s following Naomi being diagnosed with Hepatitis C. They recently reunited for a performance at the 2022 CMT Awards in April.