“No Way It’s Been 20 Years”: Carrie Underwood Recreates Legendary ‘American Idol’ Moment With Cover of Heart’s “Alone”

Although American Idol appeared to follow the same format over the years, season 23 marked a special moment in the show’s history. Welcoming back season 4 winner Carrie Underwood, the star found herself on the other side of the competition when she judged alongside Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan. On more than one occasion, Underwood looked to her own past on the show and how her life changed almost overnight. Recently, American Idol celebrated some of the most memorable moments. And for Underwood, she took the stage to recreate her iconic performance of Heart’s “Alone.”

Over two decades have passed since Underwood stood on the American Idol stage as a contestant. But although she went on to produce a glowing career in the music industry, she never forgot where it all started. On Sunday, the singer took the stage to perform “Alone.” For any fan of American Idol, they can quickly recall watching Underwood’s original performance as the singer insisted, “You might remember the high note, but you definitely remember the mile high hair.”

While fashion definitely changed over the passing years, Underwood’s amazing talents seemed to stay the same as fans commented, “AWESOME! I remember watching her perform this (no way it’s been 20 years…!?!?!?!) and FREAKING OUT because she held the note for so long as the camera guy walked 360 degrees around her through the hold! My Okie Sister! LOVE THIS!!!!” One person added, “Full circle moment!! This song sealed the deal for her – and she would go on to win America Idol ….and the rest is history!!!”

Carrie Underwood Considered Her Hairstyle In 2005 “Iconic”

Outside of looking back at the performance, thanks to the web series From Idol To Icon, Underwood also took a trip back to 2005. Remembering how stressful that time was in her life, the singer explained, “Every week we’d get our new theme and we’d get to work on what songs we wanted to sing, and somewhere throughout this competition, I think I’d made it to top 12, and I was like, I’m going to go buy a laptop so I can actually do some homework. So we kind of got our list of years, what the number one songs were, and I remember I always loved the song. I’ve always loved Heart.”

With Underwood recalling the performance and her hairstyle, she concluded, “It’s iconic. I wouldn’t change a thing, but kind of at the time, I was nervous. I hadn’t fully embraced the fact that I was kind of playing a character and getting into a role. Now I’ll do that at the drop of a hat, but back then it was, ‘oh my!’”

Don’t miss American Idol, airing Sunday and Monday at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

(Photo by Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty Images)