Carrie Underwood posing in front of colorful lights.

Winning “American Idol” is a life-changing moment for contestants, so they’re naturally gripped by anticipation while awaiting the final results. Carrie Underwood won the competition two decades ago, but her memories of that all-important moment are still very clear. In a YouTube video from June 2025, the contestant-turned-judge reveals the one temptation she resisted while waiting for those fateful results.

“The finale moment, when Ryan’s got the envelope in his hand, I wanted to look over,” Underwood says in the video. However, the singer chose to close her eyes and quietly wait for the results instead. “Those few seconds just felt like a lifetime,” Underwood said of the moments she spent waiting to learn who had won the competition. As one fan in the video’s comments section pointed out, the singer’s choice to close her eyes sets her apart from many other contestants. “Funny Carrie didn’t want to look like so many do,” the fan wrote. “What a moment.”

Underwood Was a Bundle of Nerves Waiting for the Results

Carrie Underwood, Bo Bice, and Ryan Seacrest on stageGettyRyan Seacrest (C) and the two American Idol finalists Bo Bice (L) and Carrie Underwood await the final decision onstage the American Idol Finale: Results Show held at the Kodak Theatre on May 25, 2005 in Hollywood, California.
Trying not to peek at the results envelope wasn’t the only thing Underwood avoided doing while awaiting her fate on “Idol.” “You know, I was trying not to pass out, or get sick,” the singer said of trying to control her anxiousness. Understandably, reliving the big moment moved her to tears.

In commenting on Seacrest’s part in the excruciating wait for results, Underwood believes he struck the ideal balance between suspense for the audience and relief for the contestants. “I feel like he dragged it out the perfect amount of time,” the singer said, smiling.

The Singer’s Future as an ‘Idol’ Judge is Still Uncertain

Carrie Underwood posing
GettyCarrie Underwood performs on ABC’s “Good Morning America” at Rumsey Playfield, Central Park on August 02, 2024 in New York City.
Underwood is fresh off her first season as a judge, and her ‘Idol’ journey has come full circle. However, in the weeks following the finale, fans couldn’t be sure if she would return to her judge’s seat a second time. On May 20th, Underwood spoke with Entertainment Tonight about the possibility. “I don’t know, there’s lots to contemplate,” the singer said.

Though she was very vague about returning, Underwood clearly made a positive impact at the judge’s table. As showrunner Megan Michael Wolflick shared with TVLine, the singer was clearly up to the task of taking over for Katy Perry. “I think she brought so much. She really had to carve out her own role. She was stepping into the shoes of a former judge, but she needed to be her own person, and she definitely did that.” For now, fans will just have to wait and see what the next chapter of “American Idol” holds for Underwood.