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Carrie Underwood subtly 'judged' a mentor during her 'American Idol' performance — and fans noticed

‘American Idol’ viewers are convinced Carrie Underwood threw subtle shade during this mentor’s big moment

Carrie Underwood is one of the most successful country singers of the 21st century. It's quite poetic that Underwood's musical journey started with her winning 'American Idol' season 4, which kickstarted her career and made her a star. It's been more than 20 years since then, and Underwood is back again on 'American Idol'; however, she is on the other side of the judges' table this time. However, as Underwood was rising to glory, somewhere on another reality show by the name of 'Nashville Star,' another star was growing.

This was Miranda Lambert, who, similar to Underwood, started her career with a reality singing show and was also a country music singer. Lambert then went on to release her first album, 'Kerosene,' which was a hit. Since then, the two have shared a similar career path, even releasing a duet, 'Somethin’ Bad,' in 2014. Lambert and Underwood's paths crossed again as Lambert was called as a mentor on 'Idol.'

Lambert had the entire 'Idol' audience grooving to her tunes as she delivered a powerful performance of her iconic song 'Kerosene.' While all of this was happening, Underwood watched with a dull face as she stood at the judges' table, clapping. Fans took to social media to highlight how unenthusiastic Underwood looked. This is not the first time the newly cast 'Idol' judge is facing flak for her actions. She has previously come under scrutiny for having ties with Trump and not being as good as Katy Perry.

"I’m sorry, if I were Carrie Underwood, I would have been up on my feet dancing. She looked like she was watching an audition! It’s MIRANDA FREAKING LAMBERT," one person said on X (formerly Twitter), as reported by the US Sun. Another person shared the sentiment as they hilariously added, "Someone needs to tell Carrie that her inside thoughts are on the outside..."  It has also been revealed that Underwood was not the producers' first choice to replace Perry as a judge. “They spoke with a handful of other A-list artists in pop and country before landing on Carrie. It was not a unanimous decision,” a production insider stated.

That said, while it's not clear what Underwood feels for Lambert, the 'Kerosene' singer was all praise for Underwood when asked on an Instagram reel for her oldest 'American Idol' memory. "My idol memory is Carrie Underwood." Lambert said in an Instagram reel, "Honestly, I remember watching her and voting for her and thinking, 'This gal's going to go do some big stuff.' And here we both are twenty years later, still at it."