Carrie Underwood Reveals ‘American Idol’ Snafu With Ryan Seacrest That Still Haunts Her 20 Years Later
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Carrie Underwood is a Hollywood star — as in, a celebrity — who still cringes when she thinks of a gaffe she made on American Idol two decades ago.
In a recent Instagram video in the reality show’s #IdolToIcon series, Underwood rewatched a clip from her Idol debut in 2005, when she won the competition’s fourth season.
The clip shows a getting-to-know-you Q&A with Underwood and host Ryan Seacrest.
“A lot of people take photos of the sidewalk, the stars, the sign,” Seacrest says in the clip, as he interviews the country singer on a Los Angeles sidewalk.
“Not me!” a 21-year-old Underwood responds.
“You take pictures of the trees,” Seacrest says. “Any of the stars? Have you seen stars?”
“I mean, it’s been pretty cloudy,” Underwood says, examining the sky.
“No, I mean celebrities,” Seacrest clarifies.
“Ohhhhh,” a laughing Underwood says. “OK, no. Just you!”
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In the Instagram video, Underwood paused the clip to explain herself. “This moment has haunted me, literally, for 20 years. People still bring it up,” she said. “It just was what it was. We were talking about buildings and palm trees and things that were outside, and then all of a sudden he threw me a curveball and is talking about celebrities. My brain was still in outdoor mode.”
She added: “A lot of people, actually, I remember, at the time, were like, keyboard warriors, like, ‘Nobody’s this dumb, surely this is scripted.’ I’m sad to say it was not scripted.”
Underwood overcame that embarrassment to win American Idol Season 4, and now she’s a superstar singer with four No. 1 albums, seven certified-Platinum releases, and eight Grammy Award wins out of 16 nominations. And she has returned to the stage that made it all happen, joining the Idol judging panel for the ongoing 23rd season.
“There are things I still see in her that remind me of the first time I met her,” Seacrest recently told TV Guide Magazine. “She’s still curious, gets excited about little things, and has that charming awe about her when she’s watching other talent.”
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