It’s hard to imagine a time when Carrie Underwood wasn’t famous or a seven-time Grammy winner, but there was a period when no one knew who she was. Carrie was just a girl from Oklahoma with a love for singing and plenty of musical talent. She had done extremely well in school and attended college. At one point, she was offered a recording contract in Nashville, but she was young and things didn’t work out. By the time she was 21-years-old, she auditioned for American Idol, and it was more of a curiosity than Carrie pursuing her dreams. She wanted to see if she could make it — while never quite believing she would. She never imagined she would win.

In the summer of 2004, Carrie Underwood auditioned for American Idol Season 4. The auditions were held in Missouri, and she sang Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me.”

Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson adored Carrie from the get-go. You may see Carrie’s audition tape below.

Considering that Carrie almost landed a contract with Capitol records at 14-years-old, it seems she would have had the confidence to go into American Idol with the attitude that she would at least make it to Hollywood.

Carrie Underwood spoke at a Q&A session Nashvilles, 2020 Country Radio Seminar and she opened up about her American Idol experience and how she didn’t think she would win. Carrie stated the following.

“I would say not an ounce of me thought I would win. I come from the tiniest town in the world. I’d never been on a plane before. I like to sing, but lots of people like to sing. I wanted to be a famous country music singer, but a lot of people do. What I honestly thought would happen was, I would go there, and the door would shut, and I could move on with the rest of my life, saying, ‘Well, I tried.'”

Carrie’s words shocked many who felt from her very first audition at American Idol she would end up in the top ten or even top 5. Carrie was an early favorite for many with many vowing to vote for her from her initial audition.

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What do you think about Carrie Underwood’s remarks? Are you surprised that she never thought she would win?