Carrie Underwood Reacts to Ty Herndon’s Cover of ‘So Small’

Carrie Underwood is speaking out about Ty Herndon‘s cover of “So Small,” her No. 1 hit from 2007. Herndon, who credits the song with changing the trajectory of his life, included the song on his latest Got It Covered album, earning high praise from Underwood.

“When artists write & sing songs, we hope people will be able to relate to them…to find themselves in the lyrics,” Underwood posted on social media. “When another ARTIST relates so much that they want to sing it, too, it makes the song mean even more! I [heart emoji] this, ⁦@TyHerndoncom!!!”

Herndon previously revealed he heard the song at a moment when he was feeling despondent that he could not be a gay man in country music.

“I was having a tough time deciding whether or not I wanted to stay in a business that I loved so much,” Herndon said in a statement of recording the song. “I was in my truck on my way to a real estate class when I heard Carrie Underwood sing a song that changed the game for me. The message was incredibly strong and it was something I needed to hear. I had quite a few tears that morning in my truck.

“I let go of my fear and decided to stay in the music business,” he continued. “And it also gave me the courage to start the conversation about my own coming out process.”

Herndon’s video for “So Small” includes an appearance by the Rainbow Squad, a group of LGBTQ youth based in Nashville.

“I think the youngest kid is 10 years old in this video — I was battling so much in my head at 10 years old about being different,” Herndon told Rolling Stone. “When I redid ‘What Mattered Most’ and changed the pronouns, yes, it was a nice 25th birthday present for it. But I did that for all those kids out there who [might be thinking], ‘I want to be a country star one day. Gosh, I can’t be that and be gay.’ Yeah, you can.

“That was the biggest reason I did that,” he added. “And it’s the reason I put these kids in this video. I would have loved to have heard this message when I was that young: that you matter.”

Photo Credit: Getty images / Dave J Hogan