Carrie Underwood Celebrates 'American Idol' Win Anniversary With Diary Entry

Carrie Underwood is reminiscing about the night that changed her life.

Many fans might remember voting for her when she appeared in the fourth season singing competition "American Idol" in 2005.

17 years later, the 39-year-old is marking the anniversary of her big win and reflecting on her achievements since then.

Underwood recalled the evening that launched her career by giving her Instagram followers a look at a diary entry she made hours after winning Season 4 of American Idol. 

The country singer started the entry by noting that she took an extra look at the "amazing crowd" and let the moment sink in for some seconds.

Just before Ryan Seacrest announced her as the winner of the music competition, the "If I Didn't Love You" singer said she closed her eyes as her heartbeat went fast. All that changed when she heard her name and started crying at that beautiful moment.

Underwood remained emotional as she performed her debut single, "Inside Your Heaven," right after her victory.

Fans recalled that the "Before He Cheats" artist got judged by Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson. She had to go head-to-head with Bo Bice in the finale in 2005. Alongside the diary post, the American Idol alum wrote in her caption:

"Today is the 17-year anniversary of my @americanidol win! Where does the time go?"

Underwood asked her fans to "enjoy a page from the journal of a 22-year-old farm girl who just had the most incredible night!"

She also wished herself a "happy anniversary" and thanked all the people who voted for her 17 years ago. The post has already garnered over 130k+ likes and 2k+ comments from her followers and fans.

Amid the congratulations, The Blast reported that the "Before He Cheats" was set to perform at the show's season 20 finale. Other music stars like Thomas Rhett, Micheal Bublé, and Sara Bareilles were expected to join her on stage.

The season's three finalists – Noah Thompson, Leah Marlene, and HunterGirl – hit the stage for the final time as judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, and Lionel Richie provided commentary. Thompson was declared the show's winner at the end of the night.

Unfortunately, Underwood could not make it to the show because somebody on her team got exposed to the coronavirus.

Despite that hiccup, the "Two Black Cadillacs" artist is living her best musical life. The Blast earlier disclosed that the Grammy Award-winning vocalist was preparing to launch another body of work.

The album, which she calls "Denim & Rhinestones," is the supposed start of a "fun, happy era" in her life. The singer spoke extensively about her work during this year's iHeartCountry Festival when she said:

"I love it when I get to make a body of work, and then I get to kinda live that out for a couple of years."

Underwood is even letting the project inspire her looks as she rocked a bejeweled denim jacket, purple tie-dye shorts, and denim boots to the event in its honor. She said that she was dressing the part and felt in character. 

The "Jesus, Take the Wheel" hitmaker recounted that the idea for the album got birthed when she went to her studio and her co-producer, David Garcia, asked what she wanted to do.

Underwood then mentioned that all she could think about was having fun, going on tour, and being in front of people who wanted to have a good time. She added that she wanted to have that in mind when making her album.

The last time the songstress went on was in 2019, when she went on in support of her sixth album, "Cry Pretty." Underwood gifted a part of the earnings to a Haitian children's foundation.

Regardless of her plans for a tour, "Denim & Rhinestones" is shaping into an intriguing collection of songs as it's getting contributions from prominent songwriters and producers such as Hillary Lindsey, Josh Kear, and Ashley Gorley, Michael Hardy, Garcia, and Chris DeStefano.

It is the latest project between Garcia and Underwood, having co-produced her critically-acclaimed "Cry Pretty" and her 2021 award-winning album of gospel hymns, "My Savior."

The album is due for a release later in the year.