Carrie Underwood is a judge on American Idol now, and she recently joined a contestant singing Korn and Drowning Pool classics during his audition.
The country vocalist became a superstar after winning the fourth season of American Idol back in 2005. Nine albums later, her career has come full-circle and she is now a judge on the competition show.
The new season kicked off on March 9, and during the episode, a long-haired metalhead contestant named Insite covered Korn’s “Freak on a Leash.” He complemented his performance with some head-banging, and even pranced around like Jonathan Davis a little bit and scatted during the bridge.
Underwood lip-synced and nodded her head around during the audition, showing off her adoration for the song. Co-judge Lionel Richie noticed how into the performance she got, and suggested the two do a duet together.
“She knew every word! Who are you?” Richie asked her.
Richie admitted he enjoyed the audition, but joked that he wasn’t sure how they would fit the Insite into “Disney night.”
Luke Bryan, her fellow judge, added that he appreciated the contestant’s style but wasn’t entirely sure about him.
Thus, Underwood suggested he sing something a bit “softer.”
“My other song was ‘Bodies’ by Drowning Pool,” Insite responded, and Underwood stood up from the judges’ table and went onto the floor with him.
“We’re starting to learn about Carrie’s alter egos,” Bryan said.
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Underwood sang some of the song’s background vocals, without stealing Insite’s thunder of course. It’s not often that you hear screaming during a mainstream singing competition show, so this contestant definitely added a little spice to the beginning of the season.
Richie played the air guitar and Bryan headbanged along during the second song, so it appeared they were a bit more excited by “Bodies” than “Freak on a Leash.”
“That was high school for me,” Underwood remarked at the end of the performance.
“We are learning about our judge!” Richie asserted.
All three judges gave Insite the green light to move onto the next round, so we’ll have to wait and see which tracks he chooses to sing throughout the remainder of his time on the show.
See the full video of both performances below.
PICTURES: See Inside Carrie Underwood’s Beautiful Post-‘American Idol’ Home
Carrie Underwood invested her money wisely after winning American Idol in 2005. One of her first big purchases was a 3,099-square-foot home in the well-to-do Nashville suburb of Franklin, Tenn. Underwood paid $384,000 for a luxurious 3-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom stone and stucco home in a private gated community.
The house features a library, a vaulted ceiling and lovely amenities throughout, but while it’s very nice, it’s certainly not the kind of home you’d picture for a budding country superstar. Underwood wound up being a huge success right out of the gate with her debut album, Some Hearts, and she sold the home in Franklin for $372,500 in 2007, when she purchased the Brentwood mansion that she would later share with her husband, Mike Fisher.
Gallery Credit: Sterling Whitaker
