Carrie Underwood has reflected on a pivotal point in her American Idol journey, and has revealed the 90s country singer she credits for teaching her how to sing.
Videos by Wide Open Country
The latest episode of Idol to Icon is out, where Carrie Underwood reflects on her time as a contestant on American Idol. The past few weeks, she's looked back on her journey. And this time, she's rewatching her rendition of "Independence Day" by Martina McBride for her Top 10 performance.
"When it's Top 10 night on American Idol, you've gotta step it up and solidify your lane in the competition," she said. "I decided to keep it country with 'Independence Day' by Martina McBride."
She chose to sing some Martine McBride not just because she's a fan, but because her songs are challenging, and always pushed her. when explaining this song choice, Underwood explains that she gives McBride a lot of credit for helping Underwood become the singer she is today.
"I sang 'Independence Day' a few times on the show," she recalled. In her "home package," she's recorded singing it to the cows, and she sang it again at the very end of the show. So it's clear that the singer means a lot to the burgeoning star. And it still does today.
"She was somebody that I looked up to, [and] still look up to. I would want to sing her songs because they were difficult," she explained.
"So, in a lot of ways, she kinda taught me how to sing, because I was trying to sing her big songs with her big voice."
Carrie Underwood Singing Martina McBride Likely Got Her Through To The Auditions
Carrie Underwood even sang a Martina McBride song to get through to the official auditions.
"My very first audition, before I got in front of the cameras, I sang one of her songs, 'Phones Ringing All Over Town,'" she said. If you're unaware, there is a filtering process. And she credits McBride further by saying that she may not have gone through without singing her songs.
"If I had picked a different song, or artist, everything might have ended up a lot differently," she said.
