Carrie Underwood had an unexpected answer to Simon Cowell’s harsh ‘American Idol’ critique: 'It was...'
'American Idol' judge Carrie Underwood is sharing her thoughts on Simon Cowell's assessment of her performance. During an episode of 'American Idol' Season 4, which aired in 2005, Underwood performed a rendition of 'Bless The Broken Road' by Rascal Flatts. At that point, Underwood was among the Top 5 contestants vying for the coveted trophy. According to TV Insider, when Cowell was asked to share his feedback on Underwood's performance, he went on to say, "Very good, other than the fact that the performance was a little robotic, you sang it beautifully." Eventually, Underwood went on to win the fourth season of the ABC singing competition, defeating Bo Bice.
Recently, Underwood, who is now a judge on 'American Idol' Season 23, shed light on Cowell's feedback in a YouTube video which was uploaded on May 8, 2025, as part of the show’s #IdolToIcon series. While looking back on Cowell's remarks, Underwood said, “I will say, he wasn’t wrong. I mean, it was Top 5. It was like, OK, you know, I don’t know if it’s the time to, like, go out on a limb and do anything crazy.”
Elsewhere in the YouTube video, the 'How Great Thou Art' hitmaker stated that at first she thought of doing something out of the box, but ultimately she picked a song that she was comfortable with. Underwood further elaborated, “But then also, I consider myself a vocalist. Like, I want to sing things well. And if I ever try to think too much about what I’m doing on stage, I feel like my vocals suffer. So he was not wrong in his assessment. It was kind of a half compliment, half not, but he was correct.”
Underwood wrapped up the video by flaunting some robot dance moves. The country singer asked Cowell, “All right, Simon. I mean, robotic then. Does this look a little more robotic to you?” On the other hand, the other judges praised Underwood's rendition of 'Bless The Broken Road.' While sharing his feedback, judge Randy Jackson told Underwood, “Another great, perfect performance from you. I would have bought that from you. Even though I know it’s a Rascal Flatts joint, I’d have bought your version, man.” Shortly afterward, Paula Abdul chimed in, "You know, at first I thought, well, it's a safe song, Carrie's going to sing it great, perfect. When I hear you sing, it’s a simple song that you sang eloquently, beautifully, perfect."
Since then, both Cowell and Underwood have come a long way. In a September 2024 interview with E! News, Cowell was asked to comment on Underwood replacing Katy Perry as a judge on 'American Idol.' Then, the 'America's Got Talent' judge had nothing but good things to say about Underwood, who had won the show nearly 20 years ago. Cowell simply remarked, "I think it's a good choice. Carrie, we go back a long way. I remember her audition like it was yesterday. She was so good, she's such a sweet person." At the time of writing, Underwood serves as a judge on 'American Idol' Season 23 alongside Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan.