Carrie Underwood is no stranger to standing up for what she believes in.
Over the last couple of decades, she's become one of the most popular country music artists in modern history, and she's done it while remaining strong in her Christian faith and refusing to compromise or apologize for her values.
In addition to her faith, she's stood up for causes she believes in — she's a huge animals rights supporter — and in 2025, she didn't let criticism, threats, and intimidation stop her from singing at Donald Trump's inauguration. If you'll recall, people left nasty comments on her social media accounts and said ridiculous things like, "I bet you'd perform for Hitler, too." (Yawn. Trump = Hitler stuff is so boring at this point.)
"I love our country and am honored to have been asked to sing at the Inauguration and to be a small part of this historic event," Underwood, always a class act, responded. "I am humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future."
Related: Carrie Underwood Saved the Day With This Mic-Drop Moment
If you'll remember, the music that was supposed to accompany her when she sang "America the Beautiful" malfunctioned, but she didn't miss a beat and sang it a capella, while most everyone in the room — Republican and Democrat — joined in. It was a rare unifying moment in our country, even if it only lasted for a minute.
*Music not playing*@carrieunderwood: “I can just sing it” pic.twitter.com/C8bu4laFNt
— Kit Maher (@KitMaherCNN) January 20, 2025
Now, Underwood is telling other Christian musicians that they don't have to compromise their faith for their music or even their careers. The country star is a judge on the singing competition show American Idol, and during Holy Week recently, an episode of the show centered around the theme "Songs of Faith." Contestants sang everything from classic hymns to modern Christian songs to songs with lyrics that simply inspired them. This episode also featured moments of prayer and worship.
(Side note: I haven't watched American Idol in ages, but good for them. I'm shocked this was allowed on network TV during prime time.)
After the show, she gave an interview with The Christian Post and she had a message for young musicians who are trying to get into the music industry: "You don’t have to … sell your soul to make it in the entertainment industry," she said. "You are going to have to stand strong in your faith and remember who got you here, because it wasn’t you."
In another recent interview with Fox News Digital, Underwood, who is 43, said that her faith is what has kept her grounded after two decades in Hollywood, which she says is not "real life."
Faith is the thing that can keep you grounded. When you’re in the entertainment industry, there’s a lot of things that, and I’ve said this before, it’s just not real life. You can get caught up in a lot.
You’re kind of in a self-serving business. Everybody around you is there to make sure you’re good, and you’re happy, and you have everything you need, and I feel like you can start to… you can lose your roots real fast, you know. So I think faith is the only way to keep you grounded.
Underwood has also reportedly faced some internal backlash about her desire to make faith a bigger part of American Idol in the past, but now that the show has embraced it, she couldn't be happier and is often credited with being the one who made it happen.
"I love that we were able to … just be joyful and, you know, kind of have some moments of just worship in front of the world," she told The Christian Post.
She added:
I mean, what’s not to love [about this night. I respect ABC and American Idol so much for being bold in this theme, because it’s not easy. I feel like in the world of entertainment in general … it’s not easy.
But I also love that it was a gentle way. It’s songs of faith, and it was kind of what that means to you as hopeful. So it’s not like we were making everybody sing about Jesus. It’s kind of like you could take that and sing something inspirational that means something to you.
Underwood said that the episode often felt more like a worship service than TV.
She also told the media outlet that she "hopes her journey from contestant to global star offers encouragement to aspiring artists navigating the industry while holding onto their faith."
"Remember where your gifts come from, because it's not from you," she said. "Everybody kind of has to make their own way, but it is possible."
And on that note, I'm going to leave you with a few videos of Underwood singing some tunes from her 2021 gospel album My Savior.
This is one of my favorites:
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