Exactly 17 years ago, Carrie Underwood’s life changed in a major way. On Instagram, Underwood honored the 17th anniversary of her American Idol win. To mark the occasion, she posted a photo of the diary entry that she wrote on the night that she became the Season 4 American Idol winner.
Underwood was only 22 years old when she won American Idol. After wowing the judges (with the original panel consisting of Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson) with her audition, the “Before He Cheats” singer continued to wow America all the way through the competition. In the end, Underwood was named the winner of the season, beating out runner-up Bo Bice. Now, the 39-year-old is reflecting on that star-making moment by sharing what went through her head when Ryan Seacrest called her out as the winner.
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In her diary entry, Underwood first shares her excitement over being given the keys to a red convertible 2005 Mustang. She then got to the story at hand and recalled how she took a look into the crowd as she waited for Seacrest to share the results. Once he did call out that she was the 2005 winner of American Idol, the tears began to flow. Underwood wrote, “I immediately started crying. It was a beautiful moment. All the other contestants were sent out to hug me. I was crying the whole time.”
Underwood reflected on the amazing moment in her caption for the post. She wrote that she wanted her fans to take a look at what was going through the mind of a “22-year-old farm girl who just had the most incredible night!” The singer added, “I still feel the excitement through the pages!” Underwood ended her post by thanking those who voted for her back in 2005 and changed the course of her life in the process.
American Idol looks a bit different from when Underwood was first on the show. The series has since moved to ABC after airing on Fox. While Seacrest remains the host, the judging panel now consists of Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan. Underwood’s reflection comes as another contestant followed in her footsteps, as American Idol recently named its next champion. The final two came down to Noah Thompson and HunterGirl. Seacrest then announced 19-year-old Thompson as the winner.
