Carrie Underwood has experienced several full-circle moments since returning to American Idol as a judge after being crowned the winner of Season 4, and on Sunday night, she enjoyed another one, recreating her iconic performance of Heart’s “Alone” — nearly 20 years after she first sang it on the show.

The superstar proved she only gets better with time as her vocals were as strong, if not stronger than ever. 

Underwood’s performance drew praise from viewers, who complimented her vocals on social media. 

“This is what an ICON, sounds like. flawless and fierce,” one user wrote. 

Another added, “Vocal master class, incredible power, clarity and tone. Carrie Underwood is all of that.” 

One fan even declared that her original “Alone” performance was “still THE best Idol performance of all time” and later added, “I fell in love with Carrie the moment she sang her first note at the audition and her “Alone” performance sealed her win for me. Been a loyal fan of hers since I was 11 years old – grew up with her music guiding me through every stage of my life. What a full circle moment to see her sing this song again on the Idol stage.”

Prior to this unforgettable moment, Underwood looked back on her original performance in an episode of the web series, From Idol To Icon. 

“You might remember the high note, but you definitely remember the mile high hair,” she joked.

The eight-time GRAMMY winner went on to explain how she chose to perform “Alone” during her time on the show.  

“The theme for this week where I sang alone was number ones, so it’s kind of like you have your rules. Every week we’d get our new theme and we’d get to work on what songs we wanted to sing, and somewhere throughout this competition, I think I’d made it to top 12, and I was like, I’m going to go buy a laptop so I can actually do some homework. So we kind of got our list of years, what the number one songs were, and I remember I always loved the song. I’ve always loved Heart,” she explained. 

Underwood admitted that she always had the song in her “back pocket” and believed that this was the time to bring it out. 

“I feel like each week, I mean, you’re always second guessing. You’ve always got a couple of options. Once you get in and start working with the band, you might be like, ‘oh, maybe I don’t sound as good on that one as I thought I did.’ So you switch,” she recalled. “But yeah, I’d say it was the right choice.” 

Aside from her incredible vocal performance, this rendition of “Alone” had everyone talking about her sky-high hair. 

“The hair. The hair. That was some big hair. I feel like our motivation, obviously this is a song from the eighties, wanted to kind of fit the vibe, but I was kind of self-conscious of it in the moment,” she admitted. “It was a little not how I was used to seeing myself, so I was like, ‘oh my gosh, my hair’s really… Of course, now it’s iconic. I wouldn’t change a thing, but kind of at the time, I was nervous. I hadn’t fully embraced the fact that I was kind of playing a character and getting into a role. Now I’ll do that at the drop of a hat, but back then it was, ‘oh my!’

Carrie Underwood’s latest performance of Heart’s “Alone” took place during the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Episode. James Taylor was the guest mentor and the Top 12 was officially selected. 

American Idol airs on ABC Sunday and Monday at 8 pm EST. 

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