Carrie Underwood is as proud of American Idol contestant John Foster as if she were his own mother. The 42-year-old is opening up about her affection for Foster, who has been impressing the judges week after week with his country covers.
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"He's so sweet and fresh-faced, and he's one of those people that I feel like... don't even really know how good you are kind of thing," Underwood tells People.
"Week to week, we have watched him progress so much," she adds. "We were talking after his performance, me, Luke [Bryan] and [Lionel Richie] and we were just saying he's probably the one that has grown the most since he's been here."
On Monday, April 28, Foster performed a cover of Randy Travis' "I Told You So." It was a risky move, since Underwood has also performed that song. Fortunately, Underwood and fellow judges Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie both loved Foster's performance.
"The fact that she was sitting there on the panel... the pressure was on," Foster admits. "She has such a great version of the song, but I knew that I had to sing to her and I knew that I had to let America know my passion for the song and music by connecting with her."
Carrie Underwood's Triumphant Return to 'American Idol'
Underwood is back on American Idol, 20 years after she was crowned the Season 4 winner in 2005. Underwood blew America away when she competed as a 22-year-old. Now, Underwood is still blowing people away, especially with her recent performance.
As part of Underwood's Idol to Icon series, Underwood is looking back at her time on Idol. She recently performed a cover of Heart's "Alone," a song that helped propel the Oklahoma native to success two decades ago.
"I, despite my mile-high hair, did a wonderful job tonight," Underwood reads from her 2005 journal. "All the judges praised me. Simon told me that I was not just the girl to beat, but the person to beat. He then went on to make a prediction that I would not only win the AI competition, but I would sell more albums than any other American Idol has. I was really surprised. I mean, I know that Simon loves me. That was a total shocker."
