Carrie Underwood is counting down the days to her surreal return to American Idol. While gearing up for her big night—the big two-hour Season 23 premiere—the 41-year-old country singer looked to the past for inspiration, wisdom, and all the feels. Specifically, she unearthed the very journal where she jotted down her thoughts during her pivotal 2005 run on the competition singing series.
“I just have to keep in mind that it will all be worth it and the life I’ve started will be great,” Carrie read from her journal in a clip posted to Instagram. “Most importantly, I have to remember that this has all been my choice and it’s something I’ve wanted ever since I was a little girl. I know I have some great things ahead of me, but right now, I’m just trying to live in the moment and appreciate it all. I never dreamed that all of this would happen to me. I love it.”
Her biggest takeaway from her trip down memory lane? “Opening up my journal from 20 years ago, I’m reminded still that @americanidol was and is always worth it,” she captioned the post.
Meanwhile, fans are reminded of just what an iconic career Carrie’s gone on to have.
“You’ve come a long way since winning Idol. But did you even imagine in your wildest dreams that you would’ve become this big of an international star?! [Continued] success, Carrie!! Can’t wait to see you back on tour in Detroit,” one fan commented. “‘I know I have some great things ahead of me’ might go down as the understatement of the century 😂 So cool to have kept that journal all these years,” another fan exclaimed. “I haven’t watched idol in years and this is bringing me back! Can’t wait,” someone else commented.
To celebrate her transition from an American Idol contestant to arguably one of the biggest country icons of 2025, Carrie is releasing #IdolToIcon, “an exclusive digital series where I reflect on my own season while guiding our new hopefuls as a judge,” she exclaimed on Instagram.
#IdolToIcon premiered on Instagram on Tuesday, March 4. American Idol Season 23 will premiere on ABC on March 9, 2025, at 8 p.m. ET. It will be available for next-day streaming on Hulu.
Rebecca Norris is a full-time freelance writer living in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Over the past 10+ years, she’s heavily covered a range of lifestyle topics, including travel, home, beauty, style, wellness, and celebrity news. She is a graduate of George Mason University, where she earned a B.A. in Media: Production, Consumption, and Critique, along with a minor in Electronic Journalism. When she's not writing, she can be found strolling with her Jack-Chi, Cash, sipping iced matcha lattes, indulging in delicious cuisine, perusing farmer’s markets and antique sales, collecting colored glass, getting lost within the pages of a book, and exploring new bucket-list cities.
