Photo: ABC
Carrie Underwood took a look back at her Top 5 performance from her 2005 American Idol run, and reacted to then-judge Simon Cowell’s critique that she appeared “a little robotic” on stage.
Underwood reacted to the nostalgic video in the latest installment of Idol To Icon. The online series shows the country star looking back at her most memorable Idol moments 20 years after she won the show’s fourth season and launched her career. This season, Underwood made a full circle return to the competition show as a judge for the first time, joining judges Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan, and reuniting with longtime host Ryan Seacrest.
Underwood delivered a rendition of Rascal Flatts’ “Bless the Broken Road” for her Top 5 performance when she competed on American Idol 20 years ago. Now an eight-time Grammy winner, Underwood noted that she was wearing a ring that then-judge Paula Abdul gave her (and she still has it today). Abdul and fellow judge Randy Jackson applauded Underwood’s Rascal Flatts cover. Cowell told Underwood the performance was “very good, other than the fact that the performance was a little robotic. You sang it beautifully.”
“I will say, he wasn’t wrong,” Underwood said with a laugh. “It was Top 5. It was like, ‘OK, you know, I don’t know if it’s the time to go out on a limb and do anything crazy.' So (you're) picking something that you’re comfortable with, and then trying to, like, work with the staging. But then also, I consider myself a vocalist. I want to sing things well, and if I ever think too much about what I’m doing on stage, I feel like my vocals suffer. So, he was not wrong in his assessment. It was kind of a half compliment, half not. But it was correct. …I think in the moment, processing Simon’s critique of my performance, we had heard him say much harsher things to others and to me, as well. So, it was kind of like, ‘could’ve been worse.’”
Underwood’s latest Idol To Icon installment follows previous episodes that see the singer-songwriter reliving her audition with Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” her Hollywood week, her performance of Heart’s “Alone,” and more. The first-time judge has also shared nostalgic throwbacks to her time as a contestant throughout this season of American Idol. Underwood recently revived her “Alone” performance, and proved her finale dress “still fits” after two decades. Watch the latest episode of Idol To Icon here: