Carrie Underwood Reveals Her Life's Greatest Fears: American Idol "Was Probably the Most Horrifying Thing"

"Heartbeat" singer says winning reality show is one of life's biggest accomplishments

By Samantha Schnurr Oct 23, 2015 4:23 PMTags
Carrie UnderwoodMichael Loccisano/Getty Images for Almay

While she's now a Grammy award-winning household name, performing globally to sold-out arenas, Carrie Underwood admits there was a moment when she didn't even think she'd sing full-time.

"I always kept in my head, if nothing else ever comes of this, I got to do the coolest thing ever and I won American Idol," the singer told Parade, reflecting on a decade-long career in the music industry. "I was like, OK, I will just have fun with this and save up as much money as I can and finish school and get a real job because I am always a practical thinker and would never allow myself to think it would turn out OK all the time."

To her surprise, it all turned out better than OK. After winning the American Idol title in 2005 during the show's fourth season, the then 22-year-old shot to immediate fame when her first single "Inside Your Heaven" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Her career has assumed a steady rise ever since. 

However, the international star admits that while the show was ultimately the opportunity of a lifetime, it was a personal terror all the same. 

"Idol was probably the most horrifying thing, because I had never been away from my hometown like that before," she says. "I was in L.A., of all places, by myself, putting myself out there, which is a scary thing for anybody to do. My first plane ride was when I was going out to L.A. alone."

Fortunately, she did get on that plane. Fast forward 10 years later and she's released her fifth studio album, Storyteller. When it comes to deciding on songs for her musical projects, Underwood does what any 17-year-old girl with a shiny new license would do.

"I test out songs to know how much I like them or if they're the right fit, by getting in my car," she said. "I want to get in my car and hear things, and hear things back-to-back."

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Though she said Idol was her life's first great scare, her second came out of the recording studio with the birth of her first child, Isaiah Michael Fisher, with husband Mike Fisher in February.  

"I remember talking to Mike when I was really pregnant. ‘Can I do this? Will I have that instinct?' He was always very reassuring," the singer said of her husband, whom she has been married to for five years. "But I guess that is a huge fear until you are actually holding your child in your arms and you're like, ‘Wow, I just met you yesterday, but I would do anything for you.' I feel like we learned, at the end of the day, we aren't going to break him."

While her personal life has certainly changed since she took her first flight to Los Angeles, the country star assured that though she's a mom now, she still the same girl from Oklahoma. 

"Ever since being pregnant and having Isaiah, the No. 1 question I get is, ‘How has he changed your writing or your song choices or your musical tastes?' I am still me. I still have the same voice and I still like the same music I liked before," she confirmed. "I didn't lose any edge, I just gained another dimension."

Watch: Carrie Underwood Celebrates 5-Year Milestones