When she was a contestant for American Idol, Carrie Underwood didn't believe that she was going to win. As she progressed, she didn't have winning in her sights, but something else entirely.
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On the most recent Idol to Icon episode, Carrie Underwood explained her thought process as she advanced through the competition. Alongside revealing the '90s country singer that she credits for teaching her to sing, Carrie Underwood explained that she wanted something other than a singing career from the show.
"I don't think I let the 'win' scenario enter my brain until, like, Top 3 or 4," she explained. Even when she hit the Top 10, she thought she might be sent home. But that didn't matter too much, as she had a rough idea of what she wanted to do with the publicity gained from the competition.
Underwood explained that she wanted to push through each week of the competition. "There were certain levels you really wanted to get to, because different things would happen," she said. Each week she made it, she stood out more, and reaching the Top 10 was a defining moment.
But not because she thought she was closer to winning.
Carrie Underwood Thought Her Time On 'American Idol' Would Increase Her Chances Of Getting A Job
"I was a broadcast journalism major," she recalled. "I thought 'Okay, with every step, it's gonna be a little bit easier for me to get a job when I get sent home.' I was very practical in my thinking."
To think she'd go on to win it when she had already accepted she'd be sent home is crazy.
"Top 10 was a little more of a relaxing stage to be in, because it's like 'Okay, no matter what happens, like, this is Top 10. We're here, and nobody can take that away,'" she remembered. Having reached that milestone is quite a flex, and she was ready to flaunt it after being sent home.
But, of course, she never did.
"I was hoping to get into either being on your local news, or doing something in that realm, or advertising, or something," Underwood explained. But her plans changed when she went on to win the competition.
