Entertainment Music Country Music Carrie Underwood Shares Throwback American Idol Photo: 'Can't Believe It Has Been Almost 20 Years' The 'American Idol' season four winner posted a throwback photo from her 2005 audition a day after the show crowned its newest Idol By Njera Perkins Njera Perkins Njera Perkins was a digital news writer at PEOPLE. She worked at PEOPLE in 2024. Her work has previously appeared in POPSUGAR, Teen Vogue, ELLE, Refinery29 and more. People Editorial Guidelines Published on May 20, 2024 09:00PM EDT Carrie Underwood performs onstage the American Idol Finale: Results Show held at the Kodak Theatre on May 25, 2005 in Hollywood. Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Carrie Underwood is fondly looking back on her American Idol days. On Monday, May 20, the season four winner, 41, posted a throwback photo from her audition day on Instagram captioned, “⭐️REFLECTION of the week: contestant number #14887 received her golden ticket to Hollywood!” “I can’t believe it has been almost 20 years since auditioning for @AmericanIdol! #ReflectionOfTheWeek,” the country singer added. The official American Idol Instagram page praised the alum’s post as well, commenting, “We 💙 you so much! 😍.” Underwood’s post comes just a day after American Idol crowned its season 22 winner, Abi Carter. The 21-year-old singer reflected on the emotional moment with PEOPLE after the finale show, saying, "I can't even express how amazing that was.” Underwood can similarly relate to the surreal feeling of being American Idol royalty. Back in 2005, she snagged her golden ticket to stardom after singing Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can't Make You Love Me” to original judges Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell. Despite her calling the latter “scary” during her audition, his reputation couldn’t stop the “If I Didn’t Love You” singer from wowing the trio with her vocals, which eventually helped her win her season after beating out finalist Bo Bice. Carrie Underwood performs after being named the next American Idol during the American Idol Finale: Results Show held at the Kodak Theatre on May 25, 2005 in Hollywood. Kevin Winter/Getty Underwood returned to American Idol in 2022 to serve as a mentor for the season 20 semifinals. American Idol Winners: Who Won Each Season and Where Are They Now? Carrie Underwood attends the 38th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center in November 2023 in New York City. Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic Today, the Play On artist and mom of two is gearing up for a return to Las Vegas for her extended Reflection residency at the Resorts World Theatre. She first launched the show in late 2021 before adding more dates for 2023 and even more this year, scheduled from May 22 to June 1, Aug. 14-24, and Oct. 16-26. Meanwhile, ABC recently renewed American Idol for its 23rd season overall, its eighth since moving to ABC from Fox. Following the recent finale, judge Katy Perry exited the show, concluding her seven-season run with a tearful farewell. Close