On Wednesday, Carrie Underwood celebrated the 17th anniversary of her American Idol win. “Today is the 17 year anniversary of my @americanidol win!” Carrie wrote in Instagram. “Where does the time go? Please enjoy a page from the journal of a 22-year-old farm girl who just had the most incredible night! I still feel the excitement through the pages! Happy anniversary to me and a forever ‘thank you’ to all who voted!”
In 2005, Carrie Underwood won the fourth season of American Idol, while southern rocker, Bo Bice came in second place. The young singer from Oklahoma was so overwhelmed when host Ryan Seacrest called her name, she burst into tears, lending a new perspective to the term “ugly crying.” But make no mistake, the singer was crying happy tears.
Carrie would become a country music superstar
Carrie would move on to become a country music superstar, winning 8 Grammys over the years and many CMT, CMA and ACM awards. She has sold more than 66 million records worldwide, recorded 28 #1 singles and has seven albums that are certified Platinum or Multi-Platinum by the RIAA.
In just over 15 years, she has already skyrocketed to the top of Gold and Platinum history with over 70 million certifications, continuing her reign as the number one certified Country female artist in music history for digital singles. She’s also been a member of the Grand Ole Opry for the past 12 years.
It’s no wonder the American Idol contestants were nervous to meet her when she mentored them for Top 5 week. Season 20 runner-up HunterGirl shared on Live with Kelly and Ryan recently “I lost my mind!” Hunter gushed about meeting Carrie saying her mind went blank. “Every word to your song I just forgot it, because I’m freaking out right now!” she told the country icon. Hunter was only 7 years old when Carrie won the show. “Watching her on TV, I thought, maybe I could do that someday,” Hunter said.
“That’s the decision that changed my entire life.”
After mentoring the eventual winner, Noah Thompson, Carrie got emotional. “I do feel like this show was created for people like me and people like Noah who didn’t know how to dream that big, but knew that they wanted to do something. It’s a beautiful thing. I think back. That’s the decision that changed my entire life. I have no idea where I’d be. And to see contestants get every opportunity they ever wanted is just magical.”
“It came down to the final moment. Ryan ad the gold card in his hand,” 22 year old Carrie wrote in her journal on that fateful night. “Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that they presented us with keys to 2 identical red convertible 2005 Mustangs! How cool is that?! Anyways, back to the story. Big moment. I took one more look at the amazing crowd and let it sink in for a few seconds. Ryan said something like ‘And your 2005 American Idol is…’ My heart beat fast and I closed my eyes. CARRIE UNDERWOOD!!! The crowd went wild . 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. Then I was asked to sing. I blubbered through ‘Inside Your Heaven’…”
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Watch the scene Carrie described–her 2005 winning moment.
