When Carrie Underwood recreated what many called the greatest American Idol performance 20 years later, she again showed why she’s the biggest star to emerge from the show! The country hitmaker gave fans all the nostalgic goosebumps singing Heart’s hit “Alone” on American Idol in April 2025, and the powerhouse performance felt like a well-deserved victory lap. Underwood originally performed the song as a fresh-faced 22-year-old, and her 2025 performance really showed her growth as a performer.
Underwood began by showing some vulnerability in the opening verse, before delivering the power and the passion in that sky-high chorus. As the Oklahoma star nailed the chorus, she walked out into the crowd, and you could see from the big smiles all around that the crowd knew they were in one of those iconic moments. The Music Man readers won’t want to miss the thunderous final chorus, where Carrie really let loose with her pipes on the big a cappella outro.
American Idol uploaded Underwood’s “Alone” cover on April 28, 2025, and it has since been viewed almost a million times. Fans raved about her voice, adding comments such as “Vocal master class, incredible power, clarity and tone. Carrie Underwood is all of that” and “Perhaps the most memorable and iconic Idol performance. It brings me right back to when we all knew Carrie would become a superstar.”
The Music Man would be remiss if we didn’t drop Underwood’s original 2005 show-stopping rendition of “Alone,” which you can enjoy in all its glory below. Underwood brings a gentler feel to the opening verse in the original performance and then turns up the fire for that huge chorus. The backing vocals in both versions on the main hook really make the performance cook, as several of the top comments noted.
Underwood’s original performance of “Alone” got rave reviews at the time, with judge Randy Jackson saying it was one of her best performances yet on the show. Simon Cowell showed off his impeccable ear for talent at the time by telling the young Underwood that “Not only will you win this show, you will sell more records than any other previous Idol winner.” In behind-the-scenes footage from American Idol, Underwood shared that before the 2005 performance, she was worried that the judges would take poorly to her “Alone” rendition, given it represented a move into rock, while she was then known for her country performances. Underwood later shared that she wrote a journal entry at the time noting that she was “really surprised” by Cowell’s praise and prediction, which of course turned out to be 100% correct.