Carrie Underwood reveals the surprising gift she received from Paula Abdul on ‘American Idol’
Now a judge on 'American Idol' season 23, Carrie Underwood debuted on the Idol's stage in season 4 as a contestant. Despite the longest gap in her return back on the show, she still recalls many special moments that hold a place in her heart. One such moment was when she received a special gift from judge Paula Abdul. "I just realized the ring on my finger Paula gave me,” Underwood recalled in her recent episode of the 'Idol to Icon' series on May 8. “She came by and gave all of us jewelry one time, and I still have that ring. It’s diamonds; it’s so pretty,” she added.
As 'American Idol' approaches to its end, going from Top 7 to Top 5 in the last episode, which aired on Sunday, to its grand finale, which is scheduled to air on May 18, the country singer is reminded how she fretted being in this stage during her time on the show. "I was, like, in the top 5. I don't know if it was time to, like, go out on a limb and do anything crazy, so picking something you are comfortable with was the thing." She added, "I think I was a little worried after that performance, after that night in general, that I’d be going home. I think it was, like, Top 3, to be honest, where I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I might win this thing.’ I think at the Top 5, I was still very cautiously optimistic."
While Simon Cowell called her performance "robotic," his fellow judges opined differently. Paula Abdul commented that Underwood played it safe with her song choice; however, she added that, "It’s a simple song that you sang eloquently, beautifully, and perfectly." “Another great, perfect performance from you,” another judge, Randy Jackson, said, as reported by TV Insider. He continued, “I would have bought that from you. Even though I know it’s a Rascal Flatts joint, I’d have bought your version, man.”
Even though many things have changed since Underwood won the show, one thing is constant. She was a fan favorite then, and she's a fan favorite now. After being a judge, Underwood's innate ability to relate to the contestants who are now performing on the 'American Idol' stage has earned her a bigger fan base. Per The Sun, after Underwood replaced Katy Perry, fans said, "Jukebox Carrie Underwood is way better than Katy Perry, sorry not sorry." Fans further drew more comparisons between the two female judges on the show. On a Reddit thread named 'American Idol crew prefers Carrie Underwood as judge over 'chaotic' Katy Perry,' fans didn't shy away from pointing out more qualities of Underwood that they believed were lacking in Perry.
One viewer wrote, "Totally. Carrie is a tremendous singer, 100% worthy of her win and success, but I’d expect she’s going to be mostly business; maybe her critiques will be better, but the fun component is sure to go down. Katy brought some wackiness to the broadcast, at the expense of the crew, apparently, but it made the audition weeks a lot more watchable." Another added, "I knew Carrie would be professional and no nonsense lol. I love Katy, but she wasn’t worth the price tag, and if it’s true, that drama."